Night Shift {{Open}}

[mercury]

I look at the world

and notice it's turning

[/font][/center]

Mercury glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. Four in the morning. She sighed put her head against the bar. Boredom was very popular for her, it came at least twenty times a day. She spun around in the bar stool and looked around. Empty.

Even the goofy students from Hogwarts who once in a while sneak out to come to Hogsmeade aren't out at four in the morning. All she wanted was some company while she was forced to sit here all night. It wasn't that much to ask. She put her head down on the bar again, carving little marks onto the wood with her fingernail.

She hated being a bartender, but she did like Hogsmeade. If it wasn't for the students coming here every weekend, just so she could reminisce for a couple hours about her adventures at Hogwarts. She missed them, and would give almost anything to go back in time, just to see the professors and her old friends again. Unfortunately, though, her friends kind of drifted apart after they graduated.

Since then, she'd been doing this every day. Sitting, bored, and carving into the bar with her crooked fingernail. But then she heard a click. She turned around then on instinct, so glad that she had something to do now. There was a click, so there had to be someone else here... unless it was gravity playing a trick on her. "Please tell me there's someone there...?"

[drake]

The alley was dark, shadows moved across the night air to fill in the spaces in between the buildings, and there was a small popping sound to break the silence of the night. The air swished around the form of a tall man, his wand out at the ready, and his denim eyes searching the night as he stepped from the shadows into the small light offered by the street lamp. The warm night air crossed over his face lifting his bangs up and off his forehead as he let his eyes roam over the immediate area. Noah saw no threats, and smiled to himself. The young adult had made his way to Hogsmead in safety. He was away from his father's home for what may be the last time in his life. Within two weeks he would enter the large castle on the hill, and finish his school career. Noah was now an adult, and he needed no supervision. He smirked to himself, placed his want in the inner pocket of his light jacket, and crossed the alley to the cobblestoned street beyond. His eyes locked on the lit up front window of the Three Broomsticks. Noah was going to have a drink. The first legal drink of his life.

He moved swiftly down the footpath, and touched the door. Noah had came to the Broomsticks on many different visits to Hogsmead on weekends away from Hogwart's school. This, however, was the first time he was coming to the bar alone as an adult. He turned the handle and moved into the small opening. The place was not crowded, but this did not surprise him. Many parents, or other adults, would be too busy with preparations for the upcoming school year. Noah was happy to not have those worries. All his possessions were already at the school. He had sent them a day earlier. His first thoughts were to use some of his saved fortune to rent a room in the top floors of the Broomsticks. This way he could have his own home away from the school for whatever needs he might have before and directly after graduation. With this in mind, Noah walked into the Three Broomsticks and took a small table off to the left of the long, stool-lined bar.

His lips moved into a smile as he looked at the menu. A small gurgle in his midsection let him know that having a late dinner might not be that bad of an idea. He would order something and chase it down with a fire whiskey before renting a room for the night. Perhaps more than one drink, and a night spent alone and drunk would be in order. He figured it could be a celebration of finally being away from an overbearing father, and the business he held no interest in participating. Noah almost laughed, but choked it down. He did not want to appear like a loon as he sat alone in the almost empty bar. In fact, he did not want to be noticed at all. Noah placed the menu on the table and looked for a waitress...

{{Well since you had an open one, I decided to simply reply to it instead of beginning a new one. Hope you do not mind?}}

[mercury]

{{Not at all. I completely forgot about this one}}

The few people who'd made their way into the Broomsticks were always served by the waiters who immediately took over. There were only like three people in there anyway, so Mercury didn't mind sitting there doing nothing, no matter how boring it was. And then, the door opened again. Finally! A person that she could actually talk to! She ran back behind the bar before any of the other workers could, and waited for the young man to take his seat.

He did, and smiled at the menu, and she tried to ignore his stomach growling. As soon as he looked ready, she slid over in front of him and leaned against the bar. "What would you like?" she asked. She hadn't really looked at the guy's face until then. She narrowed her eyes a moment. She'd been a Prefect back when she was at Hogwarts, and she knew that she'd seen this guy somewhere. Name, name, name, oh what was his name? It began with an N, she knew it did.

And then, before he could even reply to her question, she remembered it. "Noah! Noah, right?! That's your name, isn't it?" She probably sounded more exited that she should have been, but she couldn't help it. Finally! There was someone who could tell her how it was going to Hogwarts! She hadn't been there since she graduated a few years before, and this was her chance to see how her old professors were doing.

[drake]

He opened his mouth to speak, thinking he was about to order something from the menu, when his own name raced through the air. For the very first second Noah though he had spoke his own name, but in a much more excited voice. He even touched his own lip, and looked down where his mouth was -eyes slightly crossed for a moment- to see if there was something wrong. A second later he looked up at the waitress/bartender with his eyebrows raised. He had not seen her come up to her side of the bar, and it almost made him jump. He laughed thinking he must have looked a fool before it dawned on him: she knew his name.

Noah was intelligent, and well versed in remembering faces and names. He had to think only a few moments before he realized who she was, and then he tried to think if they had spoke much in her time at the castle. He decided that they had spoke some, but not as much as he would have wished. Mercury, completely beautiful. Self-assured. Proper. Smart. Much older than him, if you considered a few years much older, which he decided in that moment that he did not. She had been a prefect, and in Ravenclaw. Her duties in her last year saw her out and about much more than Noah, so they did not share much conversations in her final year at the school. Yet, when they did speak it was always friendly. He had harbored a small crush on her: his crush would never be announced.

"Hey, wow. I did not expect to see a familiar face tonight." He smiled brightly at her as he pushed the menu to the side. She looked very well, almost happy. She did seem a bit excited to see him which made him wonder why. "Yes, yes. Noah Drake, Ravenclaw. And you are Mercury. Fancy seeing you tonight. How are you?" He moved his hand across the bar and held it out for her in what seemed like an attempt to shake her hand. With a glance to his own hand, he dropped it on the bar top and blushed. Noah did not often make a fool of himself, but he was not actually at the Three Broomsticks with the best of intentions. He was going to get drunk this night, and now he had a familiar face to witness his own stupidity. Noah did not mind, too much.

{{Well thankfully I found it then. It fit our plot perfectly. We are just good like that!}}

[mercury]

Mercury remembered him exactly now. She they hadn't talked much, but it was so nice just to see a familiar face, and a familiar face that was still a student. Sure, he was a few years younger than him, she'd found him very nice in those couple conversations she'd had with him.

"Hey, wow. I did not expect to see a familiar face tonight." She only nodded at him, and then hesitated a moment. She probably looked way more excited than she should have, but she hadn't found anyone to talk to for days besides the other bartenders, which were beginning to annoy her. "I wasn't expecting to see anyone I knew either," she admitted, leaning her elbows on the bar before her.

Then he asked how she was. She sighed a moment, "I'm actually extremely bored here. But, I have nothing else to do and now I get free drinks. How about you? You should be... a seventh year, right? I bet you're never bored."

She didn't even notice his hand as it suddenly hit the bar. She did, however, notice him blush slightly. She didn't really think anything of it, she was used to customers coming in and blushing at her, except for the ridicules cocky ones.

{{Sorry I'm like three days late, but good news! I caught up on my NaNo!... and my fingers hurt, so sorry it's short ^^}}

[drake]

Noah laughed at the idea of him not being bored. He was normally getting into serious detention activity. How could he hold the record for most detentions in school history and not be always getting into something? Noah was looking forward to the next year, and then graduating after. He had a plan, and his whole life was in front of him. He could do whatever he wished, now that he was an adult. Noah glanced around, smiled, and looked back to Mercury.

With a nod, "Fire whiskey, please? One of us obviously does not get free drinks." He added a small laugh and tried to remember how many years there were apart. At the moment he could not recall, but he did not think it was very many. He moved the menu back in front of him, and glanced at the back page. "Can I add a hamburger, and fries? Nothing special. Pickles, mayo, extra onions; unless you plan on making out with me later? No? Well then, extra onions."

Noah was not trying to be rude, but he figured it would not hurt to flirt a little and maybe make her smile. After all, he was in a wonderful mood, and wanted to spread his mood. "Hey, when are you off? I plan on getting shit faced, and maybe you could join. If for nothing else, so I will at least have someone to laugh at me?" He smiled to her, his light blue eyes twinkling in the light of the bar.

{{You will never get yelled at for being late with a post from me! How long did you wait for this reply? I hope it is alright. You know what I am doing this week, and weekend.}}

[mercury]

Mercury knew that Noah had probably turned into a little troublemaker. If he wasn't, then he was probably pretty close to one. She remembered he was little bit sneaky when she was there, and wouldn't doubt if that sneakiness turned into mischief. She wouldn't doubt that he'd been to his share of detentions. And she'd heard a couple rumors about him getting kicked off the Quidditch team. That she wouldn't for anyone, not that kind of humiliation.

And then he ordered. She spun around, her hair flowing behind her as she started making his drink. The food, however, she wrote down after she slid his drink to him across the bar. She'd had plenty of practice from working here so long, so it had only taken her a few moments to mix the drink and slide it toward him, stopping right in front of him. She wrote down the rest of his order and then gave it to the cook behind the bar. He wasn't much of a cook, all he made were things like hamburgers, but it was better than Mercury could do.

She just laughed softly as he flirted. He was a bit young to be flirting with her, but she didn't mind. She was used to the younger students hitting on her all the time. But Noah seemed nicer and more considerate than most of them. She looked back at him when he asked her when she got off. "Well, I kind of have the night shift. But the drunkards usually start leaving around midnight, so I could sneak out then," she smiled at him. "And if you want my opinion, I definitely would recommend your getting 'shit faced'," she admitted with a smirk, "Not that I wouldn't find it entertaining..."

[drake]

Noah smiled in her direction. He could not help but think she would make a perfect girlfriend. She was witty, and attractive. It was a shame she was older, as he imagined she was probably dating some older guy. She had probably been swept off her feet, and was living the great life. Noah did not think he would be far behind though, as he was going to rent his own apartment in short order. First things were first though, and drinking was in high order.

"You might find it more entertaining than you know," he called to her as she moved away to prepare his order. He did not know she would have to cook it. If he had, Noah would have ordered something cold. He was constantly forgetting what time it was. It was too late to change the order now, and he was really hungry. He heard drinking on an empty stomach was a real bad idea. He turned his attention to the crowd, or lack thereof.

Noah had always thought that when he became an adult, the freedom granted would allow him to go out more, and do whatever he wanted. He was always sort of surprised when he would walk into what he would consider a "hot spot" and the establishment was completely empty. He knew times were strange, but still. As an adult he wanted to do things that he had never been allowed. Noah supposed that included getting drunk in the Three Broomsticks in front of a former Ravenclaw girl that could probably have any man she wanted. Noah smiled his charming smile, and waited for his drink.

[mercury]

Mercury was a lot smarter than she looked, and she looked smart. She was genius at reading people. There expressions, eyes, body language, everything. She'd down from back when she was at Hogwarts that Noah Drake was one of the many boys to crush on her. And from the looks of it, he wasn't much over it, no matter how much older than him she was.

She turned just as the somewhat of a cook held out Noah's order, and she turned, her hair swooshing, to set it in front of him. "Well, entertaining or not, it's a lot different than it sounds. Trust me, I work at a bar," she smiled at him. Setting his order out in front of him, she fixed herself her own drink and set it next to his. She came walking around to the other side of the bar and sat down beside him. He was thinking about her boyfriend. Yeah, it was written all over him. But he was trying to think of a boyfriend for her that didn't exist.

"Despite what you're thinking, I don't have any special guy in my life right now," she smirked at him as she sipped her drink. "Unfortunately, there aren't any decent ones who stop by here for something other than to get insanely drunk. Who would've thought, huh?"

[drake]

Noah paused in mid-bite and looked up to her. He smiled, and then lifted his eyebrows. "If I did not know better, I would assume you just insulted me." He laughed, still a little unsure and bit into his order. He nodded his approval and then could not help but take another bite. She was a wonderful cook, something he would not have expected. The order was perfect, and he enjoyed it. He took a long tug of his drink, and smiled to her again.

"Something other, meaning I am in the category of being decent, but only to get insanely drunk? Yeah." He laughed at his lame attempt at a joke hoping that the ice had been cut between them. He did not want tonight to turn uncomfortable for either of them. Noah liked her, even if he knew he would never stand a cold chance in hell to ever be with someone like Mercury. She was a beauty, one that was miles above him on the scale of life. That was saying something, considering Noah's breeding and rich family. He decided not to think about such things, and finish his food. He thought to keep conversation light while eating so he would not appear rude.

"What do you want to do? I mean, other than tending bar and making wonderful food?" Noah did not want to come out and say that he did not believe a Ravenclaw could ever be happy just running bar tabs. He was not looking down on her choice. Hell, his own goal included working for and with muggles. Noah would never say anything negative about anyone's life choices. Still, he wondered if she wanted more in life.

[mercury]

Mercury smiled brightly at him. "I'm just picking on you. You definitely go under the decent guy category," she admitted. "Decent guys are hard to come by, so never change."

She kind of zoned out as she said that. She'd been with a couple of guys in suits who showed up at the bar after work. Most of them were fancy but still young ministry guys or just bored wizards who'd had a bad day. She couldn't say she hadn't found a few of them attractive because she'd hooked up with a few of them. But she hadn't had any luck finding a decent guy to actually go on a date with. Most of them either worked all the time or ended up married. She didn't know he was married of course, until afterward, but it still made her feel like an idiot.

She looked back at Noah then when he asked her his question. "Honestly, I hate working here. But the only reason I do is because of the tips those alcoholics give me. When men are drunk and you flirt with them a little bit," she nodded slightly as she spoke, "They give big tips." She laughed a little bit almost silently and sipped her drink again. "And the few of them who come here only once or twice because of something that had happened earlier that day... they usually have interesting stories to tell. Stories that they wouldn't dare tell unless they were drunk. Story time is my favorite time around here... except for payday. Payday is good, too."

[drake]

Noah nodded as he finished his meal. He thought that her job must be really interesting. He could not imagine having to deal with all those drunk men though. It might be different for a female, but he doubted he would ever be able to come close to holding down her job. He admired her for being able to put up with certain people. Noah pushed his plate away, wiped his mouth with his napkin, and picked up his fire whiskey. He had the amber tinged liquid before, but never as a legal adult. He smiled, and lifted his small vessel to the air.

Well then, to you, to your health, to wonderful tips, and to get shit faced drunk!" Noah laughed a little and downed the shot. He did not choke, but did make a sour face. He never could stand the taste, but the burn that followed his swallow made him smile. He smacked his chest with his fist, fished out several galleons from his pocket, placed them on the table, and lifted his eyes to the beauty in front of him. "Well, let's take the whole bottle then. Oh, and I want to rent a room upstairs, two year lease please? Can you do that, or do I need to wait for another manager?"

Noah did not know, but he felt he should at least make an attempt to get the room before his mind swam off into the land of drunk. He smiled to Mercury. "Want to take the next shot with me?" He laughed as he spoke. He had a long way to go before becoming drunk, but he thought for sure that he was feeling really good at the moment. Light conversation, nice eye candy, wonderful food, and a warm drink... what else could Noah ask for on a night like this?

[mercury]

Mercury just smiled and laughed slightly at his little toast. She raised her drink, too, and swallowed it down. Of course, being a bartender for three years does pay off for her alcohol tolerance. She did enjoy Noah's face, though, as he swallowed it down. She hardly felt it as she swallowed it down her throat anymore. She remembered the first time she'd tried it, though, and she knew she probably looked more ridicules than Noah at the moment, if that was possible.

She slid over the bar to get back on the other side, and set the bottle on the bar before Noah. She filled his shot glass. But when he asked about a room, she only smirked at him. She shook her head slightly, "No, you don't need to talk to anyone else. I am the manager. After you're slobbering drunk I'll show you you're room."

She set another shot glass on the bar beside his when he offered to share the next shot. She raised hers up for a moment and swallowed it down easy, and waited for Noah to do the same. She wasn't one for getting drunk, due to the fact that she might end up in one of these drunkard's rooms the next morning and have no remembrance of it, but she was curious to see how long it took before her little secret admirer got drunk.

[drake]

Noah lifted the amber colored liquid and eyed it a moment. He saw she had already downed her drink, so he followed. The burn was not as mighty as it was with the first one, but the small surge the room made was a bit quicker. He knew that it would not take much for him to be toasted, but he did not mind at all. That was, after all, what he had come for. He nodded to her and set his glass on the bar, and smiled. "More, and soon we might drink out of the bottle itself!" He laughed and made a small salute to her.

His ears were already getting a little red, and he knew that if he continued he might not remember the night much after all. He was not worried, Mercury would take care of his room, and the next day they might share a small laugh at how stupid he had been. Noah had been known to be rather stupid at times. He might be the smartest stupid person he ever knew... Noah blinked. What was he thinking about? Wow, this shit really hit hard when it hit. He smiled, and reached for the bottle.

Noah poured himself another shot, and pushed it her way. He placed the bottle to his lips and took a tug that would be the equivilant of three shots. The effects were almost immediate as the room spun in a half circle, and his vision doubled for a fraction of a second. The warm liquid danced in his belly, and the dance made his recent late dinner move in small waves. If he ever had butterflies, then they would be stoned made drunk at the moment. Noah, however, thought he was ready for some more. He smiled back to Mercury, "We should play some music, and dance! A celebration of... well... anything! Everything! All things!" He lifted the bottle, toasted her in the air, and took another deep drink!

[mercury]

Noah was definitely interesting. She couldn't wait to see what type of drunk he was. He might be the absolutely nutty kind that runs around like some kind of idiot until he passes out. Or maybe he'll be the really giggly kind that just laughs constantly until he passes out. Mercury didn't like those very much, especially when they had obnoxious laughs. Mercury was the kind that was just a little more emotional that she would be normally. Sure, she was a little bit gigglier, but that was just a side effect that almost everyone who was drunk got at some point. But a part of her hoped that Noah would be the kind that once he was drunk, he would be the emotional kind. Where he wouldn't be afraid to talk about all his issues to an almost-stranger.

She snapped out of her thoughts when he spoke. She just smiled and shook her head slowly. "You can drink out of the bottle itself. I'll be your designated driver for tonight." Being a bartender, she was a whole lot of people's designated drivers. Of course, that meant she knew where all the drunkards lives around here. She also knew their stories. That was the only thing she truly liked about being a bartender.

Then Noah starting going on about dancing. Wow. It was very obvious he didn't drink much. She laughed then, "Well, there's a music maker over there if you think you can walk steadily enough to get there and back without falling on your face." Most of the men around here needed someone to help them walk even to the bathroom once they were drunk enough. But it would be very sad if Noah was already that drunk just from a few big swallows. Then she might even have to take it away from him. In a way, it was her fault if anyone died or got hurt form drinking way too much.