𝐀 𝑫𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬𝑹

there really wasn’t a whole lot that could’ve ruined mina’s day; the list, truly, only had like five things on it, and numbers two and five were the match being interrupted, so, it was fair to say that the blonde was more pissed off than she was fearful. and that? well, there was plenty to be said for that, considering she no longer knew where augustus was ... or fred .. or ellie... but, truthfully, mina hadn’t realized that yet. what mina had realized seemed much more pressing – she was only just barely steady on her feet, in a crumbling stadium filling up with smoke, which was making it a hell of a lot harder to keep track of those rogue balls who already had a dangerous mind of their own on a good day ..... and without a bat! her true lamentation, apparently, wasn’t the calamity that had interrupted the great match that had been going ... no it was that suddenly there was a distinct need for beaters and she wasn’t prepared. 

but she found her footing quickly enough, and just in time, too, as her eyes adjusted to the smoky air, pushing herself bodily into the person beside her to force them both out of the way of a too close bludger, and into a more protected crouch. “I need you to hold this for me,” she said, not waiting for an answer (and unwilling to have accepted a no anyways) as she pulled her bag off of her shoulder and pushed it into their hands. somewhere in there she was sure she had something she could turn into a bat, but for now, she supposed, her wand was just going to have to do. “we have to get out of here, and that is not going to be easy. it would be easier if I had a bat, but as long as we just keep moving, it’s gonna be fine. there’s no other acceptable outcome.”

     𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑦'𝑠  𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦  𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔               through  his  old   notes   when  the  knock  comes  through  the  walls ,    with  him   sighing   as  he  takes  his   time   moving   towards   the  source  of  it .     ❛     i’m  not  naked ,   ❜       is  her  greeting ,   then .    he  quirks  an  incredulous  brow  up  his  cousin’s  way .     ❛     but  you  realise  a   call   first ,   or  some  means  of   warning ,    would  be  far  more  helpful  in  preventing   that .   ❜    he  states ,   eyeing  the  food  with  a  step   back   into  his flat ,   leaving  the  door  open  for  mina to  come  in .

"that takes all the fun out of my picking any day of the week when you say I can, though,” she points out, tilting her head as she stared her cousin down for a moment – sure, she had to look up to do it, but that didn’t matter, the intent was there – before continuing as she stepped through the door, “and completely defeats the purpose of a good surprise.” the blonde handed off the basket, though, as she passed barty, flouncing off a few steps down the way as soon as she’d done so to whirl around and face him once more. “you’re the only one of your siblings that I haven’t seen all week, you know. careful, now, or you’re going to make me think you don’t love me anymore.”

           ❝   i  think  i’ve  got  to  start  washing  the  dirty  dishes  around  here  ,  mina  .  you’re  starting  to  go  mad  -  ❞  a  tease  as  he  swirls  the  liquid  in  the  small  glass  as  ted  listens  to  his  friend .  ❝ i  can  be  quite  unpopular  with  some  ,  but  alas  ,  my  charm  can  be  quite  appealing . ❞  charm  might  have  been  the  wrong  word  to  describe  why  a  particular  pureblood  kept  coming  around  ,  but  it  was  suitable  for  such  a  public  conversation  like  this  .  but  he  takes  that  swig  of  the  liqour  with  vigor  ,  the  sides  of  his  face  creasing  with  the  burn  but  it’s  what  mina  says  that  has  him  trying  to  hold  in  a  cough  .  ❝ shit  ,  i  might  kiss  that  fella  myself .  he  took  long  enough  to  finally  play  his  cards  ,  don’t  you  think ?     ❞  

she didn’t bother trying to tame the laugh that escaped her at his teasing, but she shook her head all the same as she jumped on the chance to tease him right back. “only starting to?! clearly, this is the beginnings of your descent into the madness pool, here, my dear edwardian friend.” her giggles continued though, as he tested the depths of his charm. “one of us probably should, though, since we obviously only count the ones with taste.” and while mina had suspected, of course, that she wasn’t going to be drinking alone, this had really been the reaction she’d been seeking, and she bounced on her heels for a moment, all too pleased with herself. “don’t you dare, ted tonks, all those batman kisses are mina’s now.” but the threat had no malice, especially not paired with a grin like hers, and she poured them each another shot as she answered his question. “he did, but I already told him he’s forgiven, so you’ll have to forgive him, too. and who were you kissing?”

“barty! open the door!” she continued knocking, loudly, but mina wasn’t about to (willingly) be face to face with a naked barty (again) anytime soon. once was too many, and that was more than she was willing to discuss. and in the middle of the afternoon, she expected her cousin to be fully dressed. “please don’t be naked this time! if you’re naked again, i’m taking this food and going home!”

        ted  had  just  placed  the  last  glass  cup  back  on  the  shelf  when  the  door  to  the  kitchen  bursts  open  and  his  rather  energetic  co-worker  decides  to  grace  him  with  her  company .  a  grin  is  already  placed  on  his  lips  ,  catching  the  glass  as  it  slides  against  the  surface  with  a  rather  curious  expression .  ❝  i’ve  played  rather  strange  drinking  games  before  ,  but  never  something  like  this .  don’t  you  think  the  winner’s  already  obvious  ?  ❞  a  jab  at  his  friend  ,  unless  he’s  missed  something  himself .  ❝  so  we’re  only  counting  this  week ,  then  ?   ❞ 

“this game doesn’t have a winner, so long as we both have at least one shot,” she answered, and her grin only grew. there were people in the world, right then, who didn’t know how fun it could be to work in a pub. “mmmm.. okay, we’ll say two weeks, because you’re a real catch, sir, and I don’t know ... you’re pretty popular. there’s a chance that neither of us can count that high.” still, the grin continued to grow, even as she raised her glass to ted, swallowing the whisky like water and tapping her glass on the counter twice before setting it down. “if there was a winner, though it’d definitely be me. unless you’ve also been kissing ludo bagman.”

he chuckled, barely suppressing a wide grin. “yeah, guess i did.” he was wry about it, he really liked alice but he wanted to keep what they had quiet for now. not because he was ashamed or anything but people had the nasty habit of ruining something new. if the rumor mill didn’t know about him and alice they couldn’t destroy it. but mina, he trusted her for some reason, and she knew alice so well it was good to keep her in the know. “i told her i couldn’t find it.” he admitted. 

“I found her, too. after you, apparently.” mina smirked at him then, and a few beats later finally grinned. “congratulations, honestly. I owe you a drink, because I heard no names, but that story made me blush.” with a laugh, she hopped off the stool once more, steering herself around the counter to her side of the bar – mostly to give him a little space; the blonde knew some comments were best left to simmer in their hilarity without too much discussion. and who was mina going to tell? “you would,” she said, shaking her head as she poured the man a fresher drink than the one he’d been nursing forever. she set it on the counter for him with a sly smile. “can’t say i blame you, though. I told her it was an excuse to go back for seconds, but she obviously didn’t. you, however, clearly understand that it’s a reason for you to show up unexpectedly. smart man.”

“Alright, there is no need to make fun of me like that,” there was not a bit of shame to him as he glanced toward her, looking her in the eyes, although something shone in them. Not shame, no, but endearment and sparks that announced the warmth to come. Ludo was convinced of this much : the more time he would spend with Mina and the more he would grow fond of her, and this, until the end of times, not because he was foolish, or cheesy (although he could be both at times), but because it had always been the rule and he would have hated there was an exception to it at any point in time.

He reached for her chin. His fingers tilting it up, he claimed another kiss from her, and there was a smile adorning his lips as he did. Right then, he wished he could have silenced the sound of the city to focus only on his Mina, and her perfume, the softness of her skin underneath his fingertips, and the taste of her lips against his.

“I have a feeling everything will feel more exciting with you in the equation,” he countered. He would sell even the most mundane trips as an adventure, and he knew she would make the experience so much better with her panache. “And that’s perfectly fine, until we need to get up,” he shifted in his seat, to let her sit better in his lap. “That promises to be difficult,” pecking her cheek, he leaned his chin on her shoulder. “Well, I did start cooking some things yesterday before practice. And I don’t know how I managed to make everything edible,” as if to counter him, he tried one of the dishes and grimaced, reaching for his glass. “That’s a no from me. I knew those pimientos looked hot but… Oh boy, this is bad, don’t eat that”

nobody else looked at her the way ludo did; people looked, and with vast and varied expressions, but none of their looks made her feel anywhere near the same. somewhere between heart-melting and downright giddiness, and still nothing like that at all, mina was awash in the feeling. she batted her lashes as she stared back at him, entirely unashamed of herself, but she had a bright smile on when ludo provided more kisses – and that feeling made the other feelings explode in a way they hadn’t in a very long time. it was a good thing, then, that the blonde still, definitely, had no plans to move anytime soon, broom or no.

“exciting ... difficult ... it’s such a fine line, ludo. i’ve been accused of worse.” sure, mina had always been a good sport, but even she was self-aware enough to know she could be a true menace; she didn’t usually mean to be, but she’d been guilty of worse (truly). but her smile softened as she leaned her head against his for a moment, where it rested on her shoulder. “I think I mentioned already this summer that as long as you’re there, i’m in. haunted pitch, this chair, wherever. I meant it.”

“let’s play a game!” mina said, loudly, by way of greeting as she bounced through the kitchen door and up to the bar, bumping ted with her hip when she got there. she grabbed two shot glasses, filled them with whiskey, and pushed one in front of her favorite coworker. “it’s called... take a shot if you were kissing someone cute this week, and you really wanna tell somebody about it.”

                          ❝   i’m   sure   you   do   plenty   of   that   yourself   then,   meen   ?   ❞   it   was   a   half-joke   as   he   raised   his   brow   towards   the   blonde.   she   wasn’t   the   most   graceful   person   he’d   ever   met,   but   she   sure   was   the   most   headstrong.   and   alice   is   his   sister.   ❝   don’t   you   know   me   by   now   ?   i’m   barely   legal   and   you’ve   given   me   something   lethal   enough   for   my   breath   to   light   on   fire.   this   is   totally   dangerous   of   you,   i’ll   have   you   know.   ❞   he   finished   his   fake   attempt   at   a   rant   the   moment   the   new   drink   was   in   front   of   him.   ❝   thank   you   for   my   juice   box.   ❞   maybe   rik   could   be   a   little   funny   when   intoxicated.

“every single day, and while covered in glitter so you can’t miss it!” it was easy for mina to laugh along, not insulted in the least, and always the cousin to choose if you needed a distraction (if you asked her). but she gave her cousin a sweet smile, shaking her head. “of course I do. you’re the very same sweet baby cousin i’ve been serving right here at this very bar the entire time i’ve been back.” but mina had the grace to toss a wink at rikard before laughing. “you’re very welcome. alright, so, we still want our drinks to taste good, that’s a good sign. I guess I could’ve just asked, hm? how’s home? you surviving? is your ma sending you up the wall yet?”

                       this   was   what   mary-jane   deserved   for   even   bothering   going   to   the   only   open   bar   left.   she   truly   just   wanted   a   martini   after   the   day   she   had   and   the   lack   of   supplies   she   had   left   at   the   crabbe   family   home.   she   sighs   deeply   before   cocking   her   head   to   the   side   and   forcefully   grabbing   the   drink   from   the   others   hands   before   immediately   tossing   the   contents   into   her   face.   ❝   don’t   have   to   ask   me   twice,   ❞   she   smiles   deeply   as   she   gets   up   and   heads   for   the   door.   that   would   be   the   last   time   she’d   give   that   establishment   the   benefit   of   the   doubt.

if there had ever been a cliche that mina simply couldn’t escape, it was this one; entitled, prissy things who liked to throw drinks. gin? in the eyeball? that was never pleasant, no matter the fact she needed to keep her shit together. but the telltale tip-tap of a woman who deserved to be slapped just walking away was enough to keep mina’s sigh - and brief pause to wipe the gin off of her eyes- short. grabbing her wand out of her pocket, she aimed it at the door first, and then moved it a little higher. of course, at this point, retaliation wasn’t necessary. she’d done her job, it was over, the girl was leaving; that wasn’t enough for mina though, she enjoyed a good walk of shame. so she gave the wand in her hand a twist, and a beat later, had created a showering of glitter over the woman. “won’t have to tell anyone. they’ll know just by looking at you. you have a nice night now, hm? don’t come back.” waving her fingers at the girl in the doorway, mina knew she was only inviting more trouble into the pub, but did she care? no. was she going to stop? also no. 

CLOSED / @hcrmincs

          he’d  collapsed  on  mina’s  couch  the  second  he’d  actually  gotten  here  and  hadn’t  really  moved  since  .   silas  wasn’t  in  the  mood  to  do  much  else  .   he  still  felt  hurt  even  if  he’d  been  healed  .   “ please  don’t  make  me  get  off  the  couch  today  .   i  still  don’t  feel  good  . ”     

“no judgement here, sugar, only suggestion. you have to shower eventually, and if you do, you can come right back to the comfy sofa. but if the flies find you before you find a shower, the buzzing will only make you feel more annoyed at life and everything else.” perching herself on the arm of the sofa she leaned down, stroking her hand gently over silas’ head. “plus that clean sheets feeling goes best with a freshly bathed feeling, right? wouldn’t bed be better than sofa?”