fade

Gideon grinned with a triumphant manner. He missed Freya’s company, and not just the shagging, of course, but also because her perspective enlightened him in one way or another. “I didn’t think for a second I could stay sober,” he laughed.

“You think so?” Gideon waggled both eyebrows. “Does that mean I can expect you to visit me?”

“I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t stay sober either.” She grinned sheepishly, shoulders shrugged. 

“I do know so.” She reassured him with a smile. “Of course. You are dear friend of mine and more importantly there will be free drinks.” Freya smirked. “Or maybe something else too.”

“Is it bad that I want to do nothing for a while? I’ll get bored—probably quickly too, I know me well enough—but I feel like I’ve been moving at lightning speed for ages and I want…” Gideon sighed as he mulled over his thoughts. “I dunno, a break, I guess.” His chocolate brown eyes lifted to meet Freya’s gaze, which, instinctively, caused him to flash a crooked smile. “I’m making no promises to stay sober.” 

After laughing again, mostly at his own expense, his grin softened. “Yeah, you know, bartenders listening to people’s problems and all that. Something about kindness in strangers, I think.” 

“Not bad at all, I know a handful of people who don’t want to anything, ever.” She has never been one of those people and doubted she would ever. “You will get bored. You are kinda like me, you need stimulation.” And that’s perhaps why they got along. “I didn’t think for a second that you would stay sober... Please.” Freya teased him with a chuckle. 

“They do it for the tips, not because they are genuinely interested.” She laughed. “Girls and boys will be all over you, whether you listen to people’s problems or not, you would get tipped a lot, that’s for sure.” She smirked.

“You’re really selling me on the whole graduate school thing,” Gideon chuckled as he took another swig of beer. He appreciated Freya’s advice—in fact, he already found himself taking it. Returning to Hogwarts was not out of the question, but he needed time to figure out life beyond the confines of academia. “I’m trying to do that, yeah. I think I want to bartend for a bit. Not forever, but, you know.” He shrugged nonchalantly. 

“You think I’d be any good at listening to other people talk about their problems?”

“School is not that bad. It keeps you busy, it’s better than doing nothing.” It was all about keeping her mind busy for Freya, she needed constant stimulation. “Bartending? That sounds like an excuse to get drunk every night.” Not that she was judging. “Which is amazing.” She let out a chuckle. 

“Hmm..” She stopped to think, pursing her lips together. “Maybe. I mean listening to other people is challenging but it’s also a good distraction, you never get to think about your own. It could work well for you.” She shrugged. “Why did you ask?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m not careful…”

“You better be, you wouldn’t want to end up dead I assume.” She shrugged. “Unless you are suicidal but I highly doubt that’s the case with you.”

“Dull and uneventful? For Freya MacDougal? Nah, I don’t believe that.” Gideon winked—or attempted to, rather; unbeknownst to him, it looked more like winking. He took another sip of beer. “Excited, nervous, I dunno. A bit of everything, I think. Any words of wisdom?” 

“I am as surprised as you are but being a grad student means you have no life anymore. I don’t remember the last time I have met someone new.” Then there was her internship at St. Mungos, which was something she really enjoyed but she barely had a social life now. “Why do you think I came back here?” Chuckling at his so-called wink, Freya took a generous sip from her beer. “I feel you. I don’t know if this would come as a word of wisdom but I say keep your options open. I’ve always thought I wanted to be healer, then I have quickly realized I made a huge mistake.” She shrugged. “Any plans for after graduation?”

“Because cauldrons just seem to explode around me. It’s a miracle I even got through my Potions O.W.L., let alone did well in it.”

“Cauldrons tend to do that if you are not careful.”

“Oh, is that what we’re doing?” Gideon laughed as he reached for an unopened bottle he brought out for later which now belonged to this witch. He figured Freya came by for more than drinks and talking but decided not to assume. Either way, he did enjoy her company. 

“How’ve you been?” 

“Do you want to do something else?” She asked with a shrug, chuckling. For now, drinks sounded good, a little chit chat wouldn’t hurt anybody after all. 

“Busy.” She wrinkled her nose, not that she had a problem with being busy but she missed being just a student. “My life is pretty dull and uneventful.” Freya sighed, taking a sip from her beer. “How about you? Are you excited for graduation?”

Dorcas laughed. “It’s a good thing you never had to tutor me.”

“Really?” She rose her brow. “Why did you say that?”

“Wow, tutoring in Potions must be a nightmare. Explosions left and right, I bet.” Contrary to her words, Dorcas sounded thrilled at the prospect.

“Explosions is not even the worst part.” She sighed. “What’s worse is; you can’t easily which part they got wrong. The student has to explain their whole process to you, which is tiring sometimes.” Especially when the student was incompetent. 

Although not particularly warm, the weather felt far better than weeks before, even days prior. Enough so that Gideon found himself perfectly content to drink a beer whilst tending to the countless plants sprawled across the front of No. 7 Low Street. He savoured spring—the freshness of the air, days lasting longer, that feeling of newness. Gideon sought to spend as much time outside as possible, even if it meant shrugging into a thick jumper and flare jeans. Everything about his life seemed content. Well, not everything; his last encounter with Emma still tugged at his consciousness and elicited anger that he had yet figured out how to process. Besides that, however, Gideon felt an ease that quieted and calmed his body. Spring weather simply had that effect on him. 

With a beer in one hand and watering can in another, a voice calling his name caught Gideon’s attention. He turned to take in Freya MacDougal and immediately smiled. 

“Hi there, stranger. What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

Arms crossed against the chest, Freya gave Gideon a shrug. “Nothing. I just wanted to say hi.” She said playfully, although they both she wasn’t being honest, she absolutely had her own agenda. Her gaze shifted to the beer he was holding, smirking. “Aren’t you going to offer me a beer?” She asked. “We can have some drinks while we catch up.” Her lips curled into a smirk. “I am thirsty.”

Dorcas snorted a laugh. “What did you tutor in?”

“Potions.” Freya responded. “Charms too.”

“Healthy is good. Can’t teach that.”