Djali took a moment to think about his situation and what he had going on, which didn’t take long because he really didn’t have anything at all going for him currently. He didn’t have friends, wasn’t in contact with family, and was jobless and borderline homeless until about two minutes ago.
“I could start tomorrow if that works. I just need a day to settle into my room and take care of a few loose ends,” he said, putting out his cigarette and pushing a strand of hair out of his face.
“Don’t worry, I’m a night owl anyway so that’s fine with me.” He flashed her a grateful smile.
“Tomorrow works beautifully,” Mia replied, nodding. She leaned back a little. She didn’t usually hire off the streets but her instincts were telling her that this would work out okay. And well, if it didn’t... he had Big Mama to answer to.
“Well, that’s convenient,” she chuckled, “I used to be too. But I feel I’m becomin’ less and less of one as I get on. Still, I’ll be alright to work things out after we close,” she added with a sigh. She looked back towards the Three Broomsticks - out the front was the employee who had argued with Djali. Mia rolled her eyes.
“I leave for five minutes and they’re off takin’ breaks when they just had one a half hour ago,” Mia sighed, shaking her head before looking back to Djali. “I don’t like to complain about my workers, but he is a pain in the rear.”
Already it was a lot easier to understand her than it was Silver. Not only did she speak slower and more clearly, but she didn’t have an accent. She also wasn’t prone to using words that he’d never heard of before. It took a little bit, translating it all in his head, but he nodded along, seeming to get the gist of most of it.
Maybe sometime in a far off future, he would have reassured her that he didn’t need his own room, that she could just as easily put him on the floor and he would be okay–but he didn’t have the confidence nor the vocabulary to get that across right now. At this point, he was literally just going to do anything that was asked of him, no matter where they put him or what task they put him to. He wasn’t fully sure what the extent of “clearing tables” was, but he would learn. He had no other choice. So he just nodded again, not keeping eye contact with her for very long.
“Good! Good, it... it’s pretty simple - the work, that is. It’s dealing with the customers that can be a little tricky, but I’ll teach you. That’s no problem...” Mia let her voice trail off, just letting her eyes flicker over the silent boy in front of her. She didn’t mean to go silent, she truly didn’t, but she couldn’t help herself. He looked so scared and alone, and she just so immediately and profoundly wanted to take him under her wing. He was something else, and her resolve to look after him only strengthened with every little tense nod and glance to and from her face.
“Okay, did you want to come with me into the kitchen? It might be easier for you to just choose what you’d fancy eating instead of me tryin’ to remember everything we’ve got.” With that, Mia stepped over to open the hinged section of the top of the bar, gesturing to it and motioning Quasi through gently.
Djali retracted the cigarette box back to his jacket pocket and motioned to lean against the wall again, but was taken by surprise by Mia’s offer to give him a job.
“You’re offering me work?” The question was almost spoken to himself in his disbelief. He wanted to laugh, maybe to cry a little bit. He started to laugh after all, shaking his head and finishing off his cigarette.
“If I’m being honest, this is the first good thing to happen to me in weeks.”
He took another moment to compose himself and think about the offer. Was she being serious? She must have been. He didn’t take Mia for a schemer or some kind of con artist, because hell, he’d met plenty of those in recent memory and she just didn’t fit the bill. But he also knew that the best con artists were the ones that won your trust, made you comfortable.
No, Mia wasn’t like that. He was certainly cautious and would be for the time being, but he didn’t remember the last time an opportunity stared him in the face like this. Maybe it really could be this easy some of the time.
“Guess I walked into the right place this morning. I’ll take the job Mia.” He hardly knew jack shit about bar tending, but he had picked up a few things from a girl he had toured with back in the Muggle world and he was a quick learner. Magical booze was bound to be ten times more interesting anyway.
“When do I start?”
And well, not looking like a con artist was one of Mia’s strong points. But despite that talent, she wasn’t trying to con Djali. She was just reacting to that feeling she was getting that this boy - well, man, she supposed, but when you got to her age everyone was a kid - needed a hand and someone to look out for him.
“Mmhm, I am indeed,” she laughed a little, breaking out into a wide, genuine smile when he mentioned it being the best thing in weeks for him. There was a part of the claim that made her a little sad - he didn’t seem to be doing very much to warrant such a bad time, but she was also glad she could brighten things up.
Mia’s smile turned into more of a smirk when he said he’d take the job - she’d been right, he definitely needed this. Nobody with much choice accepts a job from an old acquaintance that quickly if it wasn’t necessary.
“Well, when can you start? I’ll have to train you up a little, introduce you to my right hand men, but that can be done anytime. It can be done now, it can be done later today - but the sooner the better, honestly. Like I said - numbers are down and I just need hands on deck,” Mia remarked, before pausing. She didn’t want Djali to think she was just wringing work out of him.
“One thing - I only really have time to sit down and sort out the formal stuff - y’know, wages and the like - after business dies down. Which is... pretty late and won’t be until tonight. That alright with you? ‘Cause I know an old lady like me gets pretty tired after ten - though I s’pose that’s not an issue with a young man like you, huh?” Mia asked with a small chuckle.
He glanced up at her for only a brief moment when she told him he didn’t need to say sorry. He made the “S” sound to say sorry again before catching himself and biting his tongue, merely nodding small. He sat with his shoulders hunched, his head irreverently bowed as he waited for his orders. While Silver hadn’t been unkind to him in the least, he had no problem bossing the boy around, and it was the kind of dynamic he was more used to. He did what was asked of him.
But thus far, nothing had been asked of him. In fact, much to his surprise, this woman was telling him he didn’t need to talk. He looked up at her in surprise, letting the words sink in before he nodded again. He was secretly very appreciative that he wouldn’t have to speak much, though he was still wary of the authority figure before him.
Mia smiled, and was quietly glad that he didn’t keep making himself anxious by forcing himself to speak. She knew what was going on, she could just tell him and save the worry. “Alright, so - now, make sure you stop me if you don’t understand anything, okay? And once we’ve got this out of the way, I’ll make you up some breakfast before we do anything else.”
Mia clasped her hands and leant against the bar. “Okay, so, I’ve got a room you can use, it’s one up closer to mine so it doesn’t usually get used, so we can tidy it out and you can set yourself up in there more long-term as opposed to being in the room you were in last night. But, basically, I could use someone to help me clear tables, for the most part. It takes quite a lot of time if you have to do it plus other things, so I was hoping you could help me with that?” Not only was that a job she needed help with, but it was pretty low-stress - she didn’t want to overwhelm the poor kid.
Maui laughed heartily and grinned at her. “Well, I can’t argue with that logic now can I. You got me there Big Mama. Where would I be without you?” It was an incredibly corny thing to say but it was also true. Mia had become something stable in his life that kept him grounded. Like many others before and after him she was a force of good in the lives of so many that entered the Three Broom Sticks. Without her his recklessness and stupidity would have probably gotten himself killed or something a long time ago.
“Ah, well... I hope you would have made it okay anyway. But... I’m glad I was around to help the process along, hon,” Mia smiled, and for a second let herself reminisce - it had been a tricky process with Maui sometimes, it wasn’t always as easy as it was these days. But they’d gotten there. She shook her head after a second, smiling.
“But, anyway. I’m sure you want me to leave you to eat, hm?” she asked.
Djali had to admit he was rather skeptical. He didn’t know this woman well at all, just bits and pieces from the times he had skipped classes to hang out with friends near the inn and she happened to be there. She had always been kind, he did remember that clearly, but he had no idea why. They were all a bunch of rag-tag know-it-all kids at the time who mostly just liked to stir up trouble. She had little reason to care about what happened to them.
She had very little reason to care about him now either.
“I’m sure you’ve seen amazing things Mia,” he said, taking a drag of the cigarette he was still holding in one hand. “You don’t smoke, I suppose?” He offered one to her, gesturing with his own. “I know it’s gross but it takes the edge off,” he said with a casual shrug.
Mia brought up work again and he stiffened slightly. He couldn’t exactly lie about this one for long even if he wanted to. Living in the inn would allow her to see that he didn’t have a schedule, which means he didn’t have shifts.
“Well I was, until right before I got here actually. Got fired this morning.” He grimaced. “They thought I was stealing.” There was mockery in his tone and he laughed nervously, trying to hide his discomfort.
She may not have had obvious reason to care, but she did have an incredible sense for knowing when people needed to be cared for. And well... her sense was going off. Mia shook her head when he offered her a cigarette. “No, not for a very long time. And not unless I’m very stressed - so I guess I used to smoke a lot,” she remarked, giving a small laugh.
He was trying to hide his discomfort, but if she was being entirely honest she could see right through him. Still, she wasn’t going to let on that she could. Her expression softened sympathetically. “Oh, hon, that’s awful,” she managed, frowning small. She knew Djali had been rebellious in the past, and didn’t really know what he’d been up to since she last saw him. But he didn’t seem like an out-and-out thief - and that was good, considering the next thing that left her mouth.
“Well, I mean... are you looking to find a new job? Because I have an opening,” Mia casually added. She didn’t want to force him into it, but also wanted to explain. “My front-of-house girl just got a job at the Ministry - smart witch, I was lucky to have her as long as I did - but it leaves me without anyone to man the bar. I can do it, but... I have other things to do as well. Only got so much time, y’see? We’re having a lot of staff changes right now, so... I could use a kinda familiar face, if you were interested?”
Mia did then hold up her hands a little though, transparent as she could be. “But if the answer’s no, that’s not a problem, really - just puttin’ it out there for you.”
He didn’t catch her peeking, nor did he notice when she pushed the door open. It wasn’t that he wasn’t observant, it was just that she seemed to be quite good at getting about quietly–for some reason. So when her voice rang out, he did nearly jump out of his skin, giving a small gasp as he spun towards her.
It took him a moment to calm down, and she could see that he’d put his hand protectively over the bracelet. When he seemed to realize himself, a deep red flushed in his cheeks and he looked away guiltily. “S-s-sorry,” he murmured, letting his arms drop to his side. Just as he hadn’t last night when Silver had been doing all the talking, he didn’t make any eye contact with the woman before him. He took a deep breath. “M-my n-name is Q-Q-Quasimodo,” he said, carefully. He may have practiced it the night before, along with another few English phrases. For the briefest moment, he looked up at her again as her words sank in. “B-Big Maman?” He asked for confirmation before his eyes darted off again.
She shook her head immediately after he apologised, eyebrows dipping small. “No need to say sorry.” And then she listened as he carefully considered his words, watched how scared and unfamiliar he looked. And she knew. She knew, watching him introduce himself to her with that tentative tone and watching him sit there, skittish but surprisingly composed all things considered. Something had happened somewhere in the world, some fates had aligned, something had brought this boy to her. He needed protecting. More protecting than Mia had ever given even the most familiar of her somewhat ragtag group of students and strays. He needed everything.
And, after all that had happened in her life, she had everything to give.
Mia nodded when he confirmed her name, her smile small but warm as anything. “Mmhm, that’s right. Quasimodo... it’s really good to meet you. We didn’t get to talk much yesterday... and you don’t have to worry too much about talking a lot today, either. I can do most of the talking if you need me to.”
The bowl slid towards him and with one hand he stopped it without spilling a drop. He supposed he could understand why she stayed. The place ran like a well oiled machine with Big Mama at the helm. It was familiar. That was why he kept coming back after all. But a part of him couldn’t stand the thought of staying in one place for too long. Yes he lived in Hogsmeade but he was constantly venturing out on various research trips to anywhere the Ministry wanted him to go.
He sighed thinking a bit about the ocean and getting back out there. “I don’t know how you do it Big Mama. The world is just too big not to explore.” He took a spoonful and hummed in satisfaction. “And don’t you worry. As long as the cooking’s top notch like this I’ll stay built like a house for a long time.” He might have bragging just a little bit. He worked hard to maintain his massive build after all.
Mia grinned as Maui caught the food, giving a small shrug when he questioned how she didn’t travel. And well... the truth was she did travel. She travelled far more extensively than she ever let on, but that part of her life was not for public consumption. Or private consumption, really.
“Oh, honey, I know. Sometimes I think about travelling, but... I have what I need here. I like... stability, y’know?” Mia asked, smirking a little at his mention of her food. “And well, see? You’d disappear if I was out travelling and wasn’t here to cook for you.”
Djali chuckled. “Mia, got it.” He couldn’t help but feel at ease around this woman, despite her being only a distant memory of his past and essentially a stranger.
She seemed concerned about him, but he wasn’t going to admit that he had been uh… a little down on his luck in recent times. Things weren’t looking so good for Djali at the moment. He ran a hand casually through his hair, unwashed for a few days now. He had spent most of the week scrambling to make enough money at his now defunct job to afford a room at the inn to begin with, and had slept under the counter instead of a real bed.
“I’ve been working jobs here and there. I came back to finish my studies at Hogwarts, so you should be seeing me around more often these days,” he said, flashing her a charming smile. “Before that, I joined a band for a while but that didn’t work out for me so…” He omitted the part about him ripping them off, then ripping off the guy that convinced him to rip off the others guys and stealing his stuff, to add insult to injury. He’d been in hiding in the wizarding world since.
Mia listened to Djali as he explained what he’d been up to. And if Mia was being honest... something didn’t add up. Maybe it was just his casual nature which didn’t really match his earlier outburst, but she suspected that there was more going on than he was saying. Still, a lady wasn’t going to pry - not directly, anyway.
“Oh, good, good,” she smiled genuinely, “it’ll be really great to have you around again. Not sure I’ve seen a Slytherin like you since you left, so. And you’ve been up to so much, god, I don’t think I’ve done that much in my whole life,” Mia remarked, shaking her head small. That, of course, was a lie - but it was fine, it wasn’t a big one. Mia paused for a moment before getting back to her gentle, indirect prying.
“So, you’ve been working jobs, huh? Are you working right now, or...?” And honestly, if anyone else had said that sentence it would be transparent as anything. But Mia was tactful and, moreover, just genuinely curious and kind. There wasn’t any sinister motive behind her questioning, and it came through in the genuine nature of her voice and expression.
“You mean besides the infinite pleasure of your company, Ms. Bernard?” Denahi almost held onto the charming smile he gave her without letting out a laugh, but he just couldn’t help himself. Not because Mia’s company wasn’t an infinite pleasure, only because he was being just a bit over the top and could never hold in the giggles when he did that. “Don’t suppose you’ve got anything to drink back there? I’ll let you surprise me. Birthdays are supposed to be good days to be surprised.”
Mia smirked wide, clicking her tongue. “You flatter me, you do,” she shook her head and laughed, nodding small. “For you, I suppose I can scrounge up somethin’ to drink. And yes,” she remarked, turning around and waving her hand. Bottles started to make their ways off the shelves, some sort of cocktail seeming to compose itself behind her. She usually did these things by hand because, truthfully, the wandless magic made her seem more aloof than she cared to be. She kept waving her hand as she looked back to Denahi. “Birthdays are the perfect time for being surprised.”
Djali had been fixated on on rolling the lit cigarette between his fingers, staring at the burning ember at the end in an attempt to calm himself down, find some chi or something. It was then that the voice a woman, soft and motherly, spoke to him.
His gaze was averted from the cigarette and to a woman he recognized as Mia Bernard, the innkeeper. As a teenager at Hogwarts, he often skipped class to sneak into Hogsmeade, and the inn had typically been a sort of preliminary hideaway for him and his ragtag group of trouble-making friends. He had had few interactions with Mia at the time, but she had rarely questioned them and gave them little trouble, so he had mostly favorable memories of her. He couldn’t help but smirk at her nickname for the clerk back inside, and he straightened his posture and moved away from the wall out of respect. At least she remembered him paying and was n’t insisting that he was a lying cheat, like almost everybody else he ever ran into.
“Well, that’s good news Miss Bernard.” He puffed on his cigarette. “Guess I don’t have to worry about sleeping on the streets again tonight.”
Mia couldn’t withhold her small laugh when Djali referred to her - she wasn’t sure if she’d heard anyone call her Miss Bernard in years. Certainly not someone as young as Djali, that was for sure.
“Mia is fine. Big Mama if you really want to fit in,” she added, still smirking. At least he was addressing her - she wasn’t sure he’d want to talk after the little interaction with her employee. But no, it seemed to be going well, and he was addressing her politely, even if it was somewhat overly so. But then, then he mentioned not having to worry about sleeping on the streets again. Again.
“Again?” Mia’s concern was not veiled even one bit - it was obvious that she was worried. Putting everything together wasn’t hard - not having to worry, sleeping on the streets plus Djali’s little outburst at the Three Broomsticks employee... it didn’t exactly paint the prettiest picture. “I... no. No, you definitely do not.” Mia stood there, quietly for a second before leaning against the building next to her. She could be casual. That’s all this was. It definitely was not a prying-a-little-bit-to-make-sure-Djali-was-looking-after-himself exercise.
“So,” she remarked, “what have you been doing with yourself lately, young man? It’s been years since I’ve seen you ‘round here.”
At Mia’s invitation, Milo took hold of the sandwich and gave it a bite. “You always make a mean sandwich, Mia,” he chuckled after the first bite before continuing to chew and listen.
“I’ll bet. Whoever would have to cover for you would have massive shoes to fill! And yet you pull it off so seamlessly, you make the work look easy.”
She gave a little wink and a laugh at his compliment, folding her arms with a gentle sigh. She could feel the tightness in her shoulders and back - it really had been a while since she had rested.
“Oh, well, thank you,” she added, “I mean, the work isn’t too tough once you know how to do it. And I love it, I really do. It’s just teaching people how to do it that’s tough, sometimes. I sure don’t know how you teach for a living, honey,” Mia shook her head, almost disbelievingly.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Djali’s voice was a little louder than socially acceptable for being in public as he spoke to the attendant at the counter of the inn. He clenched his fists and pounded the wooden surface. “Look, I paid for a full month here last week, what’s the problem?” The inn employee pursed his lips and crossed his arms defensively. “We don’t have any record of a payment beyond last month.” Djali gritted his teeth in frustration, trying to keep his shit together. “Well then can’t you check harder?” The attendant rolled his eyes and turned to check a second time. “I’ll see what I can find sir.”
“I need some air. I’ll be back in half an hour.” He muttered under his breath as he walked out of the building, shaking out his denim jacket and shoving his hands in his pockets to search for a lighter. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and the lighter as he found a wall next to an alley to lean against. He lit one and breathed in long and hard before exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.
He had definitely paid for a room for the upcoming month. That was whole two week’s worth of pay and he wasn’t going to let those assholes rip him off. It was just so convenient of them to not have any record of it too, as if he hadn’t been there when he signed the papers. He skulked by the wall and brooded on his misfortune.
Mia watched the little interaction unfold - well, no, that wasn’t strictly true. She heard it unfold and poked her head out for the end of it, long enough to see who it was. Well, well, well. As I live and breathe. Djali Kozlov, back around my inn. Mia shook her head and glanced at her almost irate employee. She walked past him - he’d been giving her grief for a while now. Not everyone loved their job, she knew that. But they didn’t have to hate it as openly as he did. She mentioned that she’d seen the eye roll, and if he could keep checking the records, that would be great. He sighed and gave another eye-roll, though he definitely thought Mia couldn’t see it. She did, but stayed silent on the matter, just mentioning that she was going to head outside for a moment.
She undid the apron around her middle, putting it on a counter behind the bar as she went for the exit. Would he even recognise her? Who knew with kids - well, adults now, she supposed - like Djali? She had been polite enough to him back in the day, and despite his aloof and rebellious attitude, he was nowhere near the worst she’d ever seen. Having a word to him couldn’t hurt.
She left the inn and glanced around, catching sight of Djali near an alleyway. Still a brooder, she thought silently. She wandered over to him, unsure how recognisable she would be to him, in all honesty. She decided it was best to get off on a pretty universally right foot.
“I remember you payin’ up for the month, honey. I think the new girl took your payment, though. Probably explains why Captain Eye-Roll in there can’t find a record.”
It had been a very long day at the inn. Mia had just ushered out four drunk patrons before being able to start cleaning the dining room. By the time she started heading upstairs, it was almost three in the morning. She walked in, rolled her shoulders and shut the door behind her.
And froze.
Then immediately pulled out her wand, spun around, just in time to see a wizard trying to rush out the window of her room.
“Impedimenta!” Mia cried, and the wizard seemed to slow impossibly, enough for her to grab his cloak, yank him backwards and push him against the wall. He grunted as she drove an elbow into the middle of his chest, holding her wand up to his neck.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” she hissed. She got a proper look at his face, now - he was young, pimply-faced and ruddy, was this a prank? Maybe he’d just gotten stuck - no, no, he was hiding! Behind her! This was more than that. And as her eyes flickered down to the insignia beside her elbow on the boy’s chest, embroidery that was unclear in the darkness but perfectly clear to her, her blood ran cold.
How did they find m -- wait.
Mia moved back, keeping her hand against the boy’s chest. She kept her wand against his neck and the wordlessly, transfigured the fake human back into its true form - a roll of parchment. She breathed a quick, shaky sigh out. She was getting too old for this, goddamn --
She leant down to pick up the scroll, unfurling it and reading it. But that freezing feeling came back as soon as she read the first line.
Hello, Tawny. Or, should we address you properly, Mia?
They never used her name in correspondence. They didn’t know it. But now they did. They had never been this close.
We’re glad to see this letter found you, and do so hope you didn’t murder our Kenneth likeness too brutally, as you are wont to do. We are close. We know you’ve hopped the pond. You know that we’re on your scent.
And it was true, but damn it, she’d held them off for so long now. She hadn’t had to go quiet and cold for a while now, but when the letters started arriving, it was imminent. They couldn’t track the letters exactly - she had done enough so that they couldn’t trace her specifically. Countless charms and counter-spells were on her permanently, but the organisation she had spied for was ruthless. They sent the letters out indiscriminately, and once she received one, she had to leave, make noise somewhere far away, lure them out and disappear.
Would it be the same now that they knew her name?
You know your time is limited. The merciful thing to do is surrender yourself. If you do, we can just end your life - not that of anyone you’ve fooled into becoming close to you.
The words hurt, it was true. But the vague nature of them was promising - they didn’t use any of her loved ones by name. They would use the names if they knew them.
We will find you. You will pay for your indiscretions. You did your work for us in exchange for us looking after you. But you refuse to hold up your end of the deal. And we are on your tail. Whatever you do, we will find you. Your time is running out.
- Scops.
Mia had been hoping to sleep, but instead, she pulled out a small bag with an undetectable extension charm on it. She, nevertheless, packed light - she left plenty of room for the bag to hide herself, too. She would need to lay low for a few days - hopefully, just a few days. She worried about what would happen if the letters were seen and the wrong wizard recognised her name - god, how worried might Quasi be if he found one?
Mia took a deep breath and carried the scroll to her window. She opened it, pointed her wand at it , as if letting herself and her wand memorise its contents. It was a distinct scroll with a distinct stamp, and she ran her wand across the length of it before exhaling shakily. She then pointed her wand at her window, casting a modified vanishing spell. Mia found herself holding her breath as she ripped off a little of the scroll and threw it out the window - and just like that, as it passed through the frame, it disappeared. She stuck her hand out after it, but it remained exactly as it had been. Just as a precaution, she grabbed a book and passed it through - it too, stayed in tact. All that disappeared was the scroll.
Thank god.
And so, Mia went around to every room, every outside window and door was shrouded in the spell. The letter shouldn’t be able to get in, at least not to the Three Broomsticks. The next day, after explaining to Quasi that she needed to go off on some landlady business for a few days and calling in every bit of help she had for running the kitchens and bar, she would leave in the dead of night and would spend most of the darkened hours casting the same spell on surrounding stores, passing small parts of the scroll through cracks in doors and slightly ajar windows to confirm the spell’s effectiveness. It worked every time - it was transfiguration, after all.
And then she left. The landlady of the Three Broomsticks, missing for almost a week in Summer. Mild chaos ensued, but Mia was safe in [REDACTED]. And as soon as she came back, she tidied up the messes and problems just like always. She answered no questions, just like always. But, there was a little more fear in her eyes than was normal. She was a little jumpier, a little more wary. But she did her best to hide it.
Fiona Babette & Ethelbert Cavendish invite to join them on their wedding day:
Saturday | August 26th, 2017 | at 12:00 PM
Château Mont Royal
Allée des Marronniers, Route de Plailly, 60520 La Chapelle-en-Serval, France
Dress Code
Men in formal suit and tie, no jeans or sneakers.
Ladies in formal or high tea, no casual wear or cocktail dresses, please.
Accommodations
Rooms will be available at the hotel, if you don’t wish to stay at the hotel, please make other arrangements
For questions and information
Contact Fiona Babette via Owl, Scolla, or Phone
Kindly Respond by July 19, 2017
M______________________________________
_______ Delightfully Accept
_______ Regretfully Decline
Number Attending _______
Additional Names (Such as plus ones, children, etc.) ______________________________________________________________
Added to the invitation is the following note:
Ms. Mia Bernard,
I hope to see you at the wedding! Now, because it’s such a formal event, it’s being frowned upon to invite anyone who isn’t a pureblood. I think that’s ridiculous, so if you decide to bring a plus one, it’d be great if it wasn’t someone who was also pureblood. Go ahead and bring whoever you want! Don’t let my desires dictate your enjoyment of the evening, I just kind of want to see my future husband get extremely stressed out.
Lots of love,
Fiona Babette
A wedding? Well. Mia couldn’t say she was expecting an invite, but she did know many of the students from their Hogsmeade trips, so she was glad nevertheless. She could probably make it - she would probably need to lay low, as she generally didn’t travel out of the country for... reasons. But perhaps if she took someone with her... Looking at the destination, she didn’t know if Quasi would be interested in going. Not if it risked putting him back within the grasps of his former captor. Still, she was sure she could find someone to bring - and would probably be able to go herself. The inn would be okay without her for a few hours, she was sure.
She quickly scrawled that she delightfully accepted, and stated that she would bring a plus-one, adding “I’m not entirely sure who will be coming with me, I have to confirm, but it will likely just be a friend! I will endeavour to send more details if I can get them. I will make every effort to be there with bells on, honey!”
When John Silver had dropped him off at The Three Broomsticks, the first thing Quasi did was squirrel himself away into the room bought for him. It was the first time he’d ever had a roof over his head to himself since he left Notre Dame de Paris. It was almost…odd, in a way. Not to have to worry about the safest place to sleep, or who might be approaching him, or if he’d have enough money to eat the next day. Silver had given him a small bag of sickles and even a few galleons (a lesson in money he’d had to be taught quite thoroughly) and told him he’d be working the rest here at this inn. He didn’t know what it meant yet.
But he would soon find out. At the crack of dawn, earlier than what had been asked of him, he quietly slipped out of the room–which he’d left just as clean as he’d found it–and headed to the main floor. The entire place was empty. Anyone who’d been rowdily merrymaking the night before had either returned home or returned to their rooms. Rustic chairs sat placed upside down on rustic tables sat atop rustic floors with an overall…rustic smell in the air. It wasn’t like anything Quasi had seen before. He stood near the ladder, just like he’d been told to do and waited for his orders.
The boy stood at just under five and a half feet, with hands and feet big enough to tell that he still had growing to do, even in this form. His hair was long and disheveled, unkempt after over a month of travelling from Paris to Hogsmeade. Normally, he was left to his own devices to cut his hair but he hadn’t had the opportunity, and hadn’t even yet thought to at this point. He had way too many other things to worry about currently. As he waited, he folded his hands together in front of him, fingers nervously fiddling with the ties of his ever-important bracelet. Nervous green eyes flickered about the floor, waiting for the woman he’d been introduced to the night before.
Mia was used to taking in strays, but usually not literal strays. They had places to stay and families to stay with, they just came to her for refuge, sometimes. But from the sounds of it, this was no ordinary case. This boy - man? She wasn’t sure of his age, he’d been hidden in his room since she got word of him - needed to live at the inn. He didn’t speak much English, he was frightened, and if Mia had any jobs to spare he’d do them in exchange for board - and moreover, it was mentioned to her that he looked as if he needed some caring for. And well... she could do that.
She always got started early at the inn, and so by the time she heard someone coming down the stairs she was already in the kitchen. She peered out silently to see the boy - and he was just a boy, gods - standing, looking nervous as anyone she’d ever seen. She looked around the kitchen and waved her wand a few times, and besides the large-batch meals she was making for the day, a large pan started up with almost any breakfast element you could dream of inside it. She set it cooking, charming it to continue moving and cooking without her watchful eye, before moving towards the door out of the kitchen.
She pushed quietly against the door, walking through the doorway and letting it close behind her as she went to approach the boy, wiping her hands on the apron around her waist. Her smile was immediately warm, but she kept a little distance - this boy seemed the skittish type.
“Well, hello, there,” she said, avoiding her usual vernacular and pet names for now. “I’m Mia. Folks around here call me Big Mama. What’s your name?” Mia asked. Her voice was low and calm.
“That doesn’t really surprise me for some reason. You look like someone who doesn’t realize when they’re being beyond annoying.” Vivian watched her, slowly blowing smoke in her direction, “Yeah so… Move?” Viv shook her head a little tapping her cigarette before bringing it back to her lips. “Or at the very least offer me a good reason why you should stay here.”
Mia cocked her head a little, and as the smoke was blown towards her, it was almost as if it stopped short of her own face but blew back into the younger woman’s, as if a gust of wind had come past. It hadn’t, but Mia glanced back nevertheless.
“Well, I have to say, most people either find me quite pleasant or they don’t have very good taste,” she leant against the wall of the premises they were out the front of, pointing up at the sign above them. “And I don’t think I’ll be moving, because, y’see, this is the Three Broomsticks, and I run the joint. So. You can feel free to come in, but I won’t be moving any time soon.”
