Otto

Except maybe herself, because she’d been so focused on the song she was singing she forgot to pay attention to where she was flying. She’d just been trying to flitter from the awning of one building to another. But she hadn’t seen the pigeon flying in her path until it was too late and she ran right into it, falling right into a busy street. Skye let out a fearful cheep and fluttered her wings, but there were too many feet around her to get the space to fly up and away. She was in a wizard street, at least, so she could probably get away with turning back into herself. But she’d also always been told to be careful with who knew about her magic, because wizards had some special list of which wizards could turn into animals. Which seemed sort of hard to keep track of, if you asked Skye. She’d probably be fine. Definitely more fine than getting trampled, which she was getting worried about as she dodged another set of feet. Only before she could make the decision to turn back into herself, one pair of feet stopped in front of her and then crouched down. Skye tilted her head up and saw herself looking up at a human man with a kind smile and kinder eyes, holding out his hands to her. Humans really were lovely. Skye let out a thankful chirp as she hopped closer to him and then into his hands, turning to look at him closer as he lifted her up. Her tiny bird heart did a little flutter as he smiled at her and said something sweet about how she was safe now. My hero, she wanted to tell him. Instead she fluttered her wings happily and flew up, circling around him for a few moments before settling on another awning. 

Skye should have just left things there and gone home before she got into more trouble. But Skye wasn’t all that great at making smart choices. And there was something about this bloke that was drawing her in. She wanted to meet him. To thank him, at least. So she followed behind him, fluttering from one perch to the next with her eyes on him until he reached a bar and went in through a back entrance. Skye did know better than to follow him through that door. She just hoped she’d find him in the front part of the bar. She stayed in the alley for a moment, turning back into herself. Then she took a second to smooth out her hair, not that her hair ever really needed it. But it was something she saw humans do a lot and she’d found it charming enough she adopted the habit for herself. What she did always have to do after turning back from a bird was adjust her outfit, smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her socks. 

Once that was done, she glanced around to make sure there was no one around who might recognize her—not that there ever was in wizard London—and then stepped into the bar, looking around for the bloke who’d rescued her.  And there he was, working behind the bar where there wasn’t even too much of a crowd yet. Skye walked over to the bar and took an empty seat off to the far side, where maybe she’d get some privacy to talk to him. Then she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and watched him with a shy smile on her face while she waited for him to come over.

Not only was this bird pretty, and nice, but she had a really great laugh too. And she was a bird, bird. That was so groovy. “So groovy!” A little less groovy was the fact that he couldn’t tell anyone. Especially after he’d already told people. Otto was relieved when she seemed cool with it. “You’re welcome,” he replied feeling a bit off kilter because of her smile. Otto felt a little bashful when the bird, Skye, said he was nice. The meaning behind her telling him not to tell anyone was cleared up by the next thing she said. “Oh!” Skye was still talking so he didn’t say anything else yet. He felt a little flustered when she called him cute and sweet.

Ludo always said that a bird saying you were cute or sweet was the kiss of death. But it wasn’t like Otto had any thoughts about this bird liking him like that so it didn’t matter that she was saying she didn’t. It still made him feel flustered. “Thanks. You don’t have to say thank you but you’re welcome. I’m glad I was in the right place at the right time. Plus it already seemed like you were thankful back when you were a bird.” Otto learned in and whispered the last two words since her being the bird was supposed to be a secret. “My mate and I thought about becoming animal what’s its for a laugh. But Davey got bored and I accidentally swallowed the leaf. It’s cool that you stuck with it.” Otto felt like they’d made the right choice not going through with it. It was a long process and he and Davey ended up having way more fun in that time then they probably would have doing all that crazy shit. Plus Davey had pointed out that they didn’t get to choose what they became and how it’d suck doing all that just to turn into some lame animal. “Must be groovy to fly though.”

Skye smiled brightly when he said it was groovy she could turn into a bird. She knew telling him had been a good choice! Especially since he’d told her he already told people, even when he’d thought that had been what she’d asked him not to do. The honesty was nice. It made her feel like she’d been right to feel like she could trust him. Nevermind that she’d been very wrong about that same notion in the very recent past. Maybe that was why she’d felt so compelled to follow this bloke and meet him. Skye needed someone she could trust right now, and it wasn’t going to be a Veela. Maybe it could be Otto. It certainly felt like maybe it could be when he told her she didn’t need to thank him, that he’d just been in the right place at the right time. He certainly had been in the right place at the right time. Her smile widening when he leaned in to whisper the bird part. Already taking care with her secret. “I’m glad you could tell.” She told him, pleased he’d been able to pick up on her bird body language. And even more pleased she’d decided to come thank him in person. She giggled when he said he’d tried to become a wizard-animal-thing—Skye could never remember what they were called, even though she was currently pretending to be one—and swallowed a leaf by mistake. The wizard process for turning into animals really was a strange one. “I don’t blame you for stopping, it really does seem like a lot of work. My whole family can do it so it kind of came natural for me.” That was probably more than she should have said, but Skye couldn’t help feeling like this bloke was trustworthy. Or at least wouldn’t make any problems for her. He was just a sweet, human bloke who’d helped a bird in trouble when he hadn’t even known she was an actual bird of the sort that human blokes tended to fall over themselves for. It was nice. He was nice. “Flying really is the best,” she agreed enthusiastically. “There’s nothing like it! I’d do it all day if I could.” Not only because it would mean being free of the club at the Ruelle and everything that came with it. “That and singing. I sing as a person too, but it’s…” Her brows pulled together as she shook off the thoughts of how she’d been spending her days recently. “It’s just nicer as a bird. I can sing whatever I want, for whoever I want.” And no one got hurt because of it. “What sorts of things do you like to do, Otto?” She asked, rather than linger on that. It was much nicer to think about this sweet bloke who’d saved her. 

Except maybe herself, because she’d been so focused on the song she was singing she forgot to pay attention to where she was flying. She’d just been trying to flitter from the awning of one building to another. But she hadn’t seen the pigeon flying in her path until it was too late and she ran right into it, falling right into a busy street. Skye let out a fearful cheep and fluttered her wings, but there were too many feet around her to get the space to fly up and away. She was in a wizard street, at least, so she could probably get away with turning back into herself. But she’d also always been told to be careful with who knew about her magic, because wizards had some special list of which wizards could turn into animals. Which seemed sort of hard to keep track of, if you asked Skye. She’d probably be fine. Definitely more fine than getting trampled, which she was getting worried about as she dodged another set of feet. Only before she could make the decision to turn back into herself, one pair of feet stopped in front of her and then crouched down. Skye tilted her head up and saw herself looking up at a human man with a kind smile and kinder eyes, holding out his hands to her. Humans really were lovely. Skye let out a thankful chirp as she hopped closer to him and then into his hands, turning to look at him closer as he lifted her up. Her tiny bird heart did a little flutter as he smiled at her and said something sweet about how she was safe now. My hero, she wanted to tell him. Instead she fluttered her wings happily and flew up, circling around him for a few moments before settling on another awning. 

Skye should have just left things there and gone home before she got into more trouble. But Skye wasn’t all that great at making smart choices. And there was something about this bloke that was drawing her in. She wanted to meet him. To thank him, at least. So she followed behind him, fluttering from one perch to the next with her eyes on him until he reached a bar and went in through a back entrance. Skye did know better than to follow him through that door. She just hoped she’d find him in the front part of the bar. She stayed in the alley for a moment, turning back into herself. Then she took a second to smooth out her hair, not that her hair ever really needed it. But it was something she saw humans do a lot and she’d found it charming enough she adopted the habit for herself. What she did always have to do after turning back from a bird was adjust her outfit, smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her socks. 

Once that was done, she glanced around to make sure there was no one around who might recognize her—not that there ever was in wizard London—and then stepped into the bar, looking around for the bloke who’d rescued her.  And there he was, working behind the bar where there wasn’t even too much of a crowd yet. Skye walked over to the bar and took an empty seat off to the far side, where maybe she’d get some privacy to talk to him. Then she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and watched him with a shy smile on her face while she waited for him to come over.

Skye’s grin widened when Otto looked at her, clearly surprised by the fact that she’d been the bird. She let out a delighted laugh at his words, nodding when he asked about her being an animal what’s-it. “I am!” She said happily, not a lie because he hadn’t asked if she was an animagus specifically and Skye had no idea who McGonagall was. She let out a giggle when he said he hadn’t thought she’d be so pretty, basically calling her pretty. A lot of human blokes thought Skye was pretty, but most weren’t so cute about it. Before she could tell him that she did in fact fly and stuff, her smile was falling when he said he’d already told his mates. Though her disappointment faded about as quickly as it set in as he kept talking and Skye realized he must have meant that he’d told his mates about saving a bird. Because he hadn’t even known she’d been the bird until now, so really he couldn’t have told his mates it was her. She smiled again. “Oh, that’s alright! I don’t mind that you told your mates you saved a bird.” If anything, she thought it was cute he’d told his mates about saving a bird. And even more than that, she thought it was sweet he’d told her he told his mates, even if that hadn’t actually been the thing she was worried about. It was a refreshing sort of honesty that Skye wasn’t used to. “Thank you for telling me, though” she said with a softer smile. “You really are as nice as you seemed.” At least Skye felt like this showed that. “I just don’t want anyone to know I was the bird,” she explained. “I’m supposed to keep it a secret. But it was so nice how you saved me I couldn’t help but come meet you. I mean, I had to say thank you! Plus I wanted to see if you were as cute and sweet in person,” she added, giggling again. 

Not only was this bird pretty, and nice, but she had a really great laugh too. And she was a bird, bird. That was so groovy. “So groovy!” A little less groovy was the fact that he couldn’t tell anyone. Especially after he’d already told people. Otto was relieved when she seemed cool with it. “You’re welcome,” he replied feeling a bit off kilter because of her smile. Otto felt a little bashful when the bird, Skye, said he was nice. The meaning behind her telling him not to tell anyone was cleared up by the next thing she said. “Oh!” Skye was still talking so he didn’t say anything else yet. He felt a little flustered when she called him cute and sweet.

Except maybe herself, because she’d been so focused on the song she was singing she forgot to pay attention to where she was flying. She’d just been trying to flitter from the awning of one building to another. But she hadn’t seen the pigeon flying in her path until it was too late and she ran right into it, falling right into a busy street. Skye let out a fearful cheep and fluttered her wings, but there were too many feet around her to get the space to fly up and away. She was in a wizard street, at least, so she could probably get away with turning back into herself. But she’d also always been told to be careful with who knew about her magic, because wizards had some special list of which wizards could turn into animals. Which seemed sort of hard to keep track of, if you asked Skye. She’d probably be fine. Definitely more fine than getting trampled, which she was getting worried about as she dodged another set of feet. Only before she could make the decision to turn back into herself, one pair of feet stopped in front of her and then crouched down. Skye tilted her head up and saw herself looking up at a human man with a kind smile and kinder eyes, holding out his hands to her. Humans really were lovely. Skye let out a thankful chirp as she hopped closer to him and then into his hands, turning to look at him closer as he lifted her up. Her tiny bird heart did a little flutter as he smiled at her and said something sweet about how she was safe now. My hero, she wanted to tell him. Instead she fluttered her wings happily and flew up, circling around him for a few moments before settling on another awning. 

Skye should have just left things there and gone home before she got into more trouble. But Skye wasn’t all that great at making smart choices. And there was something about this bloke that was drawing her in. She wanted to meet him. To thank him, at least. So she followed behind him, fluttering from one perch to the next with her eyes on him until he reached a bar and went in through a back entrance. Skye did know better than to follow him through that door. She just hoped she’d find him in the front part of the bar. She stayed in the alley for a moment, turning back into herself. Then she took a second to smooth out her hair, not that her hair ever really needed it. But it was something she saw humans do a lot and she’d found it charming enough she adopted the habit for herself. What she did always have to do after turning back from a bird was adjust her outfit, smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her socks. 

Once that was done, she glanced around to make sure there was no one around who might recognize her—not that there ever was in wizard London—and then stepped into the bar, looking around for the bloke who’d rescued her.  And there he was, working behind the bar where there wasn’t even too much of a crowd yet. Skye walked over to the bar and took an empty seat off to the far side, where maybe she’d get some privacy to talk to him. Then she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and watched him with a shy smile on her face while she waited for him to come over.

Skye smiled at his reaction to her flirting. So maybe he wasn’t being exactly receptive, but that didn’t phase her. If anything, she sort of liked that he seemed oblivious, or maybe not into it. There had been a few times in the past where Skye made mistakes with human blokes, thinking they were interested in her when really it was just the Veela magic drawing them in. That always left her feeling an odd combination of disappointed and also sort of guilty, even though she hadn’t ever tried to lead anyone on. She felt immensely guilty when she was forced to actually lead blokes on at the club, especially since she was often leading them to worse than just heartache. So this bloke’s reaction to her flirting, whether he was actually oblivious or just not interested but trying ot be nice about it, was refreshing. It made her feel like she could tell him she was the bird. Especially since he’d been so nice even when she’d just been a random little bird and not a veela girl. He didn’t see to be picking up on her hints that she’d been the bird. Skye probably hadn’t been clear enough. It was sort of a wild leap to guess the girl you were talking to was the bird you’d saved, anyways. Skye couldn’t help giggling at the bird comment, because she was very much both a flying bird and a herself bird. “I’m sure!” She answered him with another smile. “In fact I’m even more sure now,” she added, because eh’d just confirmed he’d saved her as a bird. But for all the times she was forced to be coy and misleading, Skye wasn’t a fan of games. It was one of the reasons why she liked humans so much. So while dropping a few hints to see if he got it was fun, Skye wasn’t trying to drag that out any longer. She wanted him to know exactly why she was here. She leaned in a little closer. “Can I tell you a secret?” She asked in a low voice, biting her lip while she waited for him to agree. Then she motioned him closer with her hand and leaned forward so she could whisper in his ear. “It was me! I was the bird! From earlier, in Diagon! You saved me!” She leaned back and beamed at him while lifting one finger in front of her lips. “But you can’t tell anyone,” she added. 

This bird was wya too nice, and super hot, for Otto to think she might be batty. Yet she kept insisting that they knew each other. All he could think of was that she was going to be disappointed when she found out the truth. Made Otto a little bummed to think about. He hoped she wouldn’t be too disappointed. Despite feeling a little bummed thinking that she was going to soon be bummed he couldn’t help smiling at her. She had one of those smiles that you just wanted to smile back to. Otto nodded when she leaned in and asked if she could tell him a secret. She sure was pretty. He learned in when she motioned him to do so. Now was probably when she told him she wanted to talk to Ferdi. Only that wasn’t what she told ihm. Otto looked at her wide eyed in surprise. “No way?” Had that bird really been this bird? “You’re one of them animal what’s its? Like McGonagall?” Otto laughed, still surprised and shocked. Aside from his old head of house he’d never met one. He didn’t doubt her story. Wouldn’t have even if she hadn’t known things that would have bene hard not to. She said she was the bird so she must have been the bird. That was insane. So cool too! Despite her addition he was definitely going to tell Davey. Otto didn’t think best mates counted when you weren’t supposed to tell something. Part of why he’d been so upset at Davey keeping all his secrets like he had. Besides how could he not tell Davey he’d saved the prettiest bird he’d ever seen. “Wow. I had no idea you’d be so pretty. Or a human.” He laughed. She’d been a pretty flying bird too but way prettier as a girl bird. “So you really fly and stuff? That’s groovy!” The latter part of her words made him feel like he ought to confess something. “I already sort of told my mates. I mean I didn’t know I had to keep saving a flying bird a secret,” he told her. It didn’t occur to him that she meant not tell anyone about her being the bird part not about all of it. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too mad.

Except maybe herself, because she’d been so focused on the song she was singing she forgot to pay attention to where she was flying. She’d just been trying to flitter from the awning of one building to another. But she hadn’t seen the pigeon flying in her path until it was too late and she ran right into it, falling right into a busy street. Skye let out a fearful cheep and fluttered her wings, but there were too many feet around her to get the space to fly up and away. She was in a wizard street, at least, so she could probably get away with turning back into herself. But she’d also always been told to be careful with who knew about her magic, because wizards had some special list of which wizards could turn into animals. Which seemed sort of hard to keep track of, if you asked Skye. She’d probably be fine. Definitely more fine than getting trampled, which she was getting worried about as she dodged another set of feet. Only before she could make the decision to turn back into herself, one pair of feet stopped in front of her and then crouched down. Skye tilted her head up and saw herself looking up at a human man with a kind smile and kinder eyes, holding out his hands to her. Humans really were lovely. Skye let out a thankful chirp as she hopped closer to him and then into his hands, turning to look at him closer as he lifted her up. Her tiny bird heart did a little flutter as he smiled at her and said something sweet about how she was safe now. My hero, she wanted to tell him. Instead she fluttered her wings happily and flew up, circling around him for a few moments before settling on another awning. 

Skye should have just left things there and gone home before she got into more trouble. But Skye wasn’t all that great at making smart choices. And there was something about this bloke that was drawing her in. She wanted to meet him. To thank him, at least. So she followed behind him, fluttering from one perch to the next with her eyes on him until he reached a bar and went in through a back entrance. Skye did know better than to follow him through that door. She just hoped she’d find him in the front part of the bar. She stayed in the alley for a moment, turning back into herself. Then she took a second to smooth out her hair, not that her hair ever really needed it. But it was something she saw humans do a lot and she’d found it charming enough she adopted the habit for herself. What she did always have to do after turning back from a bird was adjust her outfit, smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her socks. 

Once that was done, she glanced around to make sure there was no one around who might recognize her—not that there ever was in wizard London—and then stepped into the bar, looking around for the bloke who’d rescued her.  And there he was, working behind the bar where there wasn’t even too much of a crowd yet. Skye walked over to the bar and took an empty seat off to the far side, where maybe she’d get some privacy to talk to him. Then she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and watched him with a shy smile on her face while she waited for him to come over.

Skye smiled back at the bloke as he looked pleased that she was happy with the drink, and pleased by her tip. Hopefully that meant she was making a good first impression. Skye wanted this bloke to like her, but not just for the same reasons most wizard blokes tended to like her. Still, she giggled when he said he’d have remembered her; Skye certainly didn’t mind that he thought she was pretty. What she could have done without was him asking if they got the drink right so directly. Instead of answering him with words she just nodded her head, and thankfully he gave her something else to respond to when he added that confirmation that they’d never made a fizzy orange juice before. “So you made one just for me?” She asked with a smile, batting her eyelashes a little. It was sweet he’d figured out how to make the drink just for her, even if it wasn’t exactly right. It still tasted pretty good. She smiled again when he said his name and insisted they hadn’t met. “No, I don’t have you mixed up with anyone,” Skye told him with another giggle. “I didn’t get your name when we first met, though. You didn’t get mine either. You see, you were too busy saving me from getting trampled by all those people back by the apothecary,” she explained. “I looked quite different too, so I wouldn’t expect you to recognize me,” she added with a grin. Skye wasn’t one to keep people hanging for long, at least not when she had the choice, but she did want to wait and watch for the moment when he realized she’d been the bird—her wings had the same coloring as her hair did— so she kept that detail to herself for now. Though she did add, “And I was quite a lot smaller, too,” unable to help herself from saying more. She was just too excited for him to figure it out! Surely it was okay for this wizard to know she was the bird when he’d been so kind to her. 

Otto did’t get a lot of birds. The ones he did get were usually interested in his brother and Otto was just a way to get to meet him. So he wasn’t sure what to do with this bird giggling at him. She hadn’t even asked about Ferdi yet. “Well yeah, you ordered one,” he answered her question. “Glad we could get it right.” Otto nearly asked her if she had something stuck in her eyelash but decided that it might embarrass her to ask. Instead he was left trying to figure out why she thought they knew each other. He looked at her puzzled as she kept talking. “I didn’t save anyone, though. Are you talking about some time when we were kids? Cause to be honest I don’t remember saving anyone ever. The only things I’ve ever attempted to save were a skunk and a bird. Like a flying bird not like a you bird,” he added to clarify. Maybe calling girls birds was more confusing then he’d thought. Course he usually did’t talk about flying birds this much. “Are you sure you’re not confusing me for someone else?” Otto just wasn’t making the connection between this really pretty bird and the actual bird he’d saved.

Except maybe herself, because she’d been so focused on the song she was singing she forgot to pay attention to where she was flying. She’d just been trying to flitter from the awning of one building to another. But she hadn’t seen the pigeon flying in her path until it was too late and she ran right into it, falling right into a busy street. Skye let out a fearful cheep and fluttered her wings, but there were too many feet around her to get the space to fly up and away. She was in a wizard street, at least, so she could probably get away with turning back into herself. But she’d also always been told to be careful with who knew about her magic, because wizards had some special list of which wizards could turn into animals. Which seemed sort of hard to keep track of, if you asked Skye. She’d probably be fine. Definitely more fine than getting trampled, which she was getting worried about as she dodged another set of feet. Only before she could make the decision to turn back into herself, one pair of feet stopped in front of her and then crouched down. Skye tilted her head up and saw herself looking up at a human man with a kind smile and kinder eyes, holding out his hands to her. Humans really were lovely. Skye let out a thankful chirp as she hopped closer to him and then into his hands, turning to look at him closer as he lifted her up. Her tiny bird heart did a little flutter as he smiled at her and said something sweet about how she was safe now. My hero, she wanted to tell him. Instead she fluttered her wings happily and flew up, circling around him for a few moments before settling on another awning. 

Skye should have just left things there and gone home before she got into more trouble. But Skye wasn’t all that great at making smart choices. And there was something about this bloke that was drawing her in. She wanted to meet him. To thank him, at least. So she followed behind him, fluttering from one perch to the next with her eyes on him until he reached a bar and went in through a back entrance. Skye did know better than to follow him through that door. She just hoped she’d find him in the front part of the bar. She stayed in the alley for a moment, turning back into herself. Then she took a second to smooth out her hair, not that her hair ever really needed it. But it was something she saw humans do a lot and she’d found it charming enough she adopted the habit for herself. What she did always have to do after turning back from a bird was adjust her outfit, smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her socks. 

Once that was done, she glanced around to make sure there was no one around who might recognize her—not that there ever was in wizard London—and then stepped into the bar, looking around for the bloke who’d rescued her.  And there he was, working behind the bar where there wasn’t even too much of a crowd yet. Skye walked over to the bar and took an empty seat off to the far side, where maybe she’d get some privacy to talk to him. Then she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and watched him with a shy smile on her face while she waited for him to come over.

A bright smile spread across Skye’s face at the bloke’s reaction to her drink order. Liking fizzy orange juice was a very small thing to have in common, admittedly, but he had a very cute smile and his enthusiasm was refreshing after a day spent with Arnet. Skye liked people who could get excited about little things. She watched in a way that was hopefully not to obvious as he turned back to the bar and started some kind of discussion with the scary-looking bloke, who was then joined by another person. Was this about her drink? Did they not actually have fizzy orange juice? Surely he’d have told her if they didn’t. Then again, wizards often went out of their way to be nice to Skye. Which was something she’d always thought was sweet and charming and lately she wasn’t so sure. But this bloke had gone out of his way to help her when she was a bird, so she decided if he was going out of his way here, it was probably because he was just that sort of human. A good sort. “Oh, it’s pretty!” She exclaimed with delight when he came back over and set the drink in front of her. “Thank you!” She told him enthusiastically as she opened up her purse and rummaged through it for a moment before pulling out two galleons and sliding them both over to him with a smile. “Keep the change.” He’d certainly earned it, but Skye also wanted to make a good impression. “I’m Skye, by the way,” she added before he could leave. “We’ve actually met before,” she added with a playful smile before taking a sip of her drink. Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. It was…not exactly a fizzy orange juice, but it wasn’t bad either. It was a different sort of fizzy orange drink. “Mmm!” She said with a smile instead of risking trying to say something more specific. 

Otto grinned proudly when the bird liked the drink. At least the look of it, that was something. “Welcome.” She sure was happy. Must have been really wanting a fizzy orange juice. Really wanted one if her tip was anything to go by. Otto’s eyes widened in surprise along with his smile. “Yeah? Thanks a lot,” he told her pleased by the tip. He’d have to share it with the others since they helped figure out the drink but that was okay. Much better than trying to share his usual tip. Otto picked both up and went to turn but her words had him turning back to her. Otto chuckled at her comment about meeting. “No way. I’d remember. You gotta be the prettiest bird I’ve ever seen.” Otto could be a little goofy but he wasn’t dumb enough to forget a bird like her. Unless she used to be ugly, maybe. But he did’t remember any birds named Skye. At least he was pretty sure he’d never been mean to a bird, even an ugly one. Otto wasn’t mean to anyone. He’d rather just avoid people who were instead of being mean bck. He smiled, pleased when she seemed to like the drink. “Did we get it right,” he couldn’t resist asking. Probably not the smartest move to admit to a customer you didn’t know how to make her drink but Otto had never been accused of being smart before. “It's the first one we’ve ever made.” Maybe he’d make himself one later on his break. For now though he was really wondering where this bird thought she knew him from. “Maybe you’ve got me mixed up with someone. My name’s Otto. And like I said, I don’t think we’ve met.” Otto didn’t think he looked enough like his brother for that to be the mix up. She probably just thought he was some other bloke.

Except maybe herself, because she’d been so focused on the song she was singing she forgot to pay attention to where she was flying. She’d just been trying to flitter from the awning of one building to another. But she hadn’t seen the pigeon flying in her path until it was too late and she ran right into it, falling right into a busy street. Skye let out a fearful cheep and fluttered her wings, but there were too many feet around her to get the space to fly up and away. She was in a wizard street, at least, so she could probably get away with turning back into herself. But she’d also always been told to be careful with who knew about her magic, because wizards had some special list of which wizards could turn into animals. Which seemed sort of hard to keep track of, if you asked Skye. She’d probably be fine. Definitely more fine than getting trampled, which she was getting worried about as she dodged another set of feet. Only before she could make the decision to turn back into herself, one pair of feet stopped in front of her and then crouched down. Skye tilted her head up and saw herself looking up at a human man with a kind smile and kinder eyes, holding out his hands to her. Humans really were lovely. Skye let out a thankful chirp as she hopped closer to him and then into his hands, turning to look at him closer as he lifted her up. Her tiny bird heart did a little flutter as he smiled at her and said something sweet about how she was safe now. My hero, she wanted to tell him. Instead she fluttered her wings happily and flew up, circling around him for a few moments before settling on another awning. 

Skye should have just left things there and gone home before she got into more trouble. But Skye wasn’t all that great at making smart choices. And there was something about this bloke that was drawing her in. She wanted to meet him. To thank him, at least. So she followed behind him, fluttering from one perch to the next with her eyes on him until he reached a bar and went in through a back entrance. Skye did know better than to follow him through that door. She just hoped she’d find him in the front part of the bar. She stayed in the alley for a moment, turning back into herself. Then she took a second to smooth out her hair, not that her hair ever really needed it. But it was something she saw humans do a lot and she’d found it charming enough she adopted the habit for herself. What she did always have to do after turning back from a bird was adjust her outfit, smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her socks. 

Once that was done, she glanced around to make sure there was no one around who might recognize her—not that there ever was in wizard London—and then stepped into the bar, looking around for the bloke who’d rescued her.  And there he was, working behind the bar where there wasn’t even too much of a crowd yet. Skye walked over to the bar and took an empty seat off to the far side, where maybe she’d get some privacy to talk to him. Then she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and watched him with a shy smile on her face while she waited for him to come over.

Skye was used to people noticing her whenever she walked into a room, especially if she was walking into a room full of humans. It was something she’d always enjoyed until recently. Lately, people noticing her felt dangerous, at least in the Ruelle. Here it felt a little more safe, even with a few other people besides her rescuer looking at her. Still, it was a relief when it was the nice, cute bloke who walked toward her instead of the scary-looking bloke he’d been talking to. Skye’s shy smile widened when he approached her. “Hi!” she answered him brightly, surprised by the question that followed. Which was silly, she had come into a bar, after all. She’d just been much more focused on the bloke she’d come into the bar for than on what people actually did in bars. “Oh! Ummm….” Her lips pursed as she considered for a moment. She probably should have thought of this earlier. Alcoholic wizard drinks didn’t do much for her, or any Veela, so Skye tended to avoid them given that she didn’t think they tasted very good. But it would probably be odd not to order something, nevermind that it was probably already odd to have walked in here and then been surprised by the question fo what she wanted to drink. “Do you have fizzy orange juice?” She asked after a moment, settling for a favorite wizard drink she always got when they got to go into the town near Beauxbatons. 

This bird was even prettier up close. Had to be the prettiest bird Otto had ever seen. Ferdi sure got all the luck. Because Otto was sure that a bird like her could only be here alone for one thing, and it wasn’t a fizzy orange juice. Her having to think about what she wanted to drink seemed to be a sign he was right. Even if it was a surprise she hadn’t looked disappointed that he’d been the one to talk to her and not Ferdi. Her drink order was another surprise. Otto smiled. “Fizzy orange juice? Really? I love those!” He hadn’t had one in forever but he’d always preferred fizzy orange juice to any other drinks when he was younger. Even ordering them when everyone else had moved on to butter beer. “One fizzy orange juice coming up,” he told her. It wasn’t till he turned around and starting walking back over to where Ferdi was that he realized he had no idea if they could make one. But they had orange juice so surely they could. There was a little bit of a debate, that involved everyone working, and a look through the book they had tucked behind the bar that told how to make drinks before something he hoped would taste like fizzy orange juice was in a glass and waiting to be delivered to the pretty bird. It had orange juice in it. And it was fizzy. Otto made a quick garnish out of an orange slice and a cherry and plopped it into the glass hoping that would do something. What he wasn’t sure. Wasn’t like you could mask the taste of a drink with a garnish but it did make it look a bit more class in his opinion. Suitable for such a pretty bird, he thought. Birds liked stuff like that, he thought. “Here ya go, one fizzy orange juice.” He hoped. “That’ll be a galleon.” It wasn’t on the menu so Otto just chose another orange juice drink to charge her for.

Except maybe herself, because she’d been so focused on the song she was singing she forgot to pay attention to where she was flying. She’d just been trying to flitter from the awning of one building to another. But she hadn’t seen the pigeon flying in her path until it was too late and she ran right into it, falling right into a busy street. Skye let out a fearful cheep and fluttered her wings, but there were too many feet around her to get the space to fly up and away. She was in a wizard street, at least, so she could probably get away with turning back into herself. But she’d also always been told to be careful with who knew about her magic, because wizards had some special list of which wizards could turn into animals. Which seemed sort of hard to keep track of, if you asked Skye. She’d probably be fine. Definitely more fine than getting trampled, which she was getting worried about as she dodged another set of feet. Only before she could make the decision to turn back into herself, one pair of feet stopped in front of her and then crouched down. Skye tilted her head up and saw herself looking up at a human man with a kind smile and kinder eyes, holding out his hands to her. Humans really were lovely. Skye let out a thankful chirp as she hopped closer to him and then into his hands, turning to look at him closer as he lifted her up. Her tiny bird heart did a little flutter as he smiled at her and said something sweet about how she was safe now. My hero, she wanted to tell him. Instead she fluttered her wings happily and flew up, circling around him for a few moments before settling on another awning. 

Skye should have just left things there and gone home before she got into more trouble. But Skye wasn’t all that great at making smart choices. And there was something about this bloke that was drawing her in. She wanted to meet him. To thank him, at least. So she followed behind him, fluttering from one perch to the next with her eyes on him until he reached a bar and went in through a back entrance. Skye did know better than to follow him through that door. She just hoped she’d find him in the front part of the bar. She stayed in the alley for a moment, turning back into herself. Then she took a second to smooth out her hair, not that her hair ever really needed it. But it was something she saw humans do a lot and she’d found it charming enough she adopted the habit for herself. What she did always have to do after turning back from a bird was adjust her outfit, smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her socks. 

Once that was done, she glanced around to make sure there was no one around who might recognize her—not that there ever was in wizard London—and then stepped into the bar, looking around for the bloke who’d rescued her.  And there he was, working behind the bar where there wasn’t even too much of a crowd yet. Skye walked over to the bar and took an empty seat off to the far side, where maybe she’d get some privacy to talk to him. Then she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and watched him with a shy smile on her face while she waited for him to come over.

The bar wasn’t as much fun as working in the quidditch shop with Davey. But it was more fun than working at the quidditch shop without Davey. The weekdays were especially boring because then it was mostly the same group of people who sat in the same spots drinking their fire whiskeys or beers. Otto was finding out that weekdays in a bar was sort of sad. Weekends meant live music and a much better crowd. His co-workers were pretty cool. MJ was hot. The blokes were all nice, maybe not so much Ferdi but he wasn’t bad either just a little weird. All in all, Otto liked it. He greeted his co-workers when he got in and was telling them about the bird he’d seen since things were pretty quiet. Otto was so surprised to see a pretty bird, the girl variety not the flying, walk in that he nearly forgot what he was saying. Even more surprising was that such a pretty bird was alone. When he saw her smiling in his direction he figured she was probably looking at Ferdi. Maybe Ian, but usually it was Ferdi. Birds dug him the same way they dug his brother. But Ferdi never interacted with customers unless it was to toss them out, something he was surprisingly good at for someone his size. He had a whole intimidation vibe going for him. Which apparently birds liked. Otto was fully prepared to have to deliver a message to Ferdi and find some polite way of telling this pretty bird whatever Ferdi’s actual reply was as he walked over to the side of the bar she was sitting at. “Hi. What are you drinking?”

And yet, it wasn’t Death Eaters that landed him in St. Mungo’s. It was bloody bees. So now here he was with a small vial of antidote weighing heavily in his pocket, an ever-present reminder of how close he’d just come to dying and how easily it could happen again. ‘Not if you just take the potion, dumbarse,’ Doe’s voice echoed in his head. But Davey had always struggled to see past the small disclaimer he’d noticed on the bottle he was given after his first bee sting: 80% effective. 

Sometimes it felt a little bit like the universe was telling him something. From that first bee sting when he was a kid, to the incident with the Whomping Willow (though Davey had quite literally flown right into that one), to the attack on the quidditch shop, and now his latest bee sting, Davey wondered if his entire existence up to this point was a fluke. Or if this was a sign; everything in his life was changing so quickly, it was becoming harder to pretend he didn’t care. Or maybe it was just that before now, he hadn’t been pretending. He’d gone with the flow, and that worked for him. Only it hadn’t, had it? That was what landed him at the attack in the quidditch shop in the first place.

Whatever the universe wanted for him, though, the fact of the matter was Davey hadn’t died yet. He was still alive. And he was tired of lying to the people he cared about – especially Otto. Maybe he couldn’t tell his family about his new hobbies, but he also wasn’t going to lose them over it. Davey thought he’d already lost Otto, until he woke up in the hospital to discover the other had been by to see him. The fact Otto left said plenty about the state Davey had left their friendship in – but Otto had come. That had to mean he could still save it. So thanks to an eye-opening conversation with Doe, Davey stood at Otto’s doorstep just as he’d done a few weeks ago, with a 6-pack of his and Otto’s favorite firewhiskey in hand. But this time he wasn’t just going to apologize. This time he was going to tell the truth. All of it. Bracing himself for the sight of Ludo or Otto’s parents, or even for Otto to slam the door in his face – if he didn’t just ignore Davey’s presence altogether – Davey reached out and knocked.

Otto hadn’t seen the whole thing but he’d seen enough to know what was happening. He could have snuck away and waited till Davey had gone. That was sort of what he’d done at the hospital. He still wasn’t sure why he’d even bothered going. Except Gladys’ owl said he’d nearly died and well just because Davey had turned into a massive asre didn’t Otto had to. Still it had been a relief when Davey had been sleeping because Otto didn’t know what he’d say. Even though he hadn’t said anything about visiting he had a feeling Davey found out somehow and that was why he was here. It didn’t dawn on him that he’d bought the same gift, Davey’s favorite candy from Honeydukes, that he’d given Davey after the Whomping Willow. Or that he’d nearly signed the card, stopping after O. Or even that after all their years of friendship Davey would have been able to recognize his writing. Instead he’d thought he’d been pretty stealthy about it all. Except here was Davey.

With fire whiskey like the night Davey had decided they weren’t gonna be mates anymore. Otto didn’t know what to think. But he decided he wasn’t gonna sneak off anywhere. He deserved an answer as to what Davey thought he was doing. And why Davey had apparently not told his family they weren’t mates anymore. “Out of the hospital, eh,” he called out from behind Davey. That probably wasn’t what you said to an ex-best mate who owed you a hell of a lot of answers but Otto had never been aggressive. Or had any experience on what to do with ex mates, let alone a best one. He didn’t make any move towards Davey and his house. Ludo would have lots to say if Otto let Davey in and he didn’t really wanna hear it. He loved his big brother but some things a bloke had to do for himself. He figured this was one of those things even if he didn’t know exactly what was happening here or what to do with it. “If this is you deciding we need to have another one of those talks where you just decided we’re not mates anymore you can just leave the fire whiskey and spare me the half-arsed apologies and what-not.” The words didn’t have the heat he’d have liked them to have but there was still enough to get the point across that he wasn’t in the mood for another chat like their last one.