milliways_bar | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

The door opens, and the chatter on the other side of the door is almost similar to the chatter within the bar itself. (He'd been in the Great Hall.)

A young boy of sixteen lingers by the woodwork, staring with wide eyes. They're familiar eyes, for those who knew his father (and, as Albus knows very well, there is hardly a wizard or witch who hasn't heard of his father) - or better yet, his grandmother - and the jet-black, slightly messy hair is a another characteristic that bears a striking resemblance to the Boy Who Lived.

But on closer inspection, one can spot the differences. This young boy does not wear glasses. And he does not have the same air of confidence the Potters tend to have. (No Potter, for example, would hesitate by the doorside, contemplating slipping back out as if he'd never stepped in at all.)

Whether one recognizes the boy or not, the unmistakable 'I've never been here before, what is this place?' look is a familiar one for any regular patron of the bar.

[ooc: I meant to do this weeks ago, but did not get a chance. :( I really wanted to stick him in though, so here goes! This can totally be used for car keys, by the way! Should make it easier for some to tag. ;)

It is also subject to slowtime.

tiny!tag: albus potter]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Oh."

He thinks he gets it.

In any case, he thinks Alexis is pretty amazing right now. He would never have the guts to sing or hum or anything!

"That would be a cool theme to have."

"It's a lot better with actual instruments."

Or when you're alone in your house with the lights off, a laser tag gun, and free reign to plaster yourself against walls and look utterly ridiculous without anyone ever knowing about it.

That would really be awesome. If Albus could even picture such things. Alas, he has never known the fun of playing laser tag.

"Epic. That's the word, right?"

"Uh-huh."

She manages to lift her eyes from the flooring this time around, smiling over at him - eyes crinkled and absently pushing her bangs out of her face.

"That one definitely works."

His smile widens for a moment, before he gets lost to the bashfulness once again.

Then it's back to their mission at hand.

"Some of these doors ... they're closed," he observes.

"Think that means we should open them?" she inquires.

It probably couldn't hurt.

And it wouldn't be much of a mission if they didn't do anything.

He nods.

"Yes. It's worth a try," he says.

Because - yeah. Missions tend to involve doing things that most people wouldn't. It's what makes them challenging.

Yes! And they are ready and willing for challenges.

Library-themed challenges. But still.

She points to her left.

"You open that one -" and then quickly over to her right. "And I'll open this one?"

Well, it's an improvement from no challenges at all!

He glances to the door she's gesturing at, then to the one to her right, and nods.

"All right," he says, shifting to get to it.

This is true.

They're working their way up. Slowly but surely.

She curls her fingers around the doorknob, twisting slightly and glancing back over her shoulder with a grin, "On three then?"

And the countdown begins.

He does the same too, following her motions quite precisely.

"One. Two ..."

"Three!"

She turns the handle the rest of the way, and tugs the door toward her, blinking in an entirely unimpressed manner at the brooms that don't so much look back at her as they sit there and don't do much of anything.

"Closet," she informs him dully, before letting out a quiet laugh.

"- toilet," he reports, as he finishes opening his door. He wrinkles his nose.

"A not entirely clean one either, unfortunately."

She snorts - possibly unladylike, but hey - and makes her way back over to his side, eyes crinkled and looking a fair bit amused with their overall misfortune.

"Wow, we suck at this."

"Or the bar isn't helping."

He frowns.

"There must be a - um. Library entrance door. Usually library entrances look a little more ..."

Uh.

"Impressive?"

'Like in Beauty and the Beast,' she wants to say. But has some doubts as to whether or not he'd have any idea what she was talking about. Leaning a bit more toward the 'not' than anything else, really.

"Unless it's hidden."

Okay, maybe the spy idea is infecting her brain just a bit. But the theme song is stuck in her head now. She can't help it.

"Then it would probably look like a bookshelf or something. And you'd have to pull a secret lever."

"Oh. A sort of trap-door," he puts in.

He knows this game! He's even been victim of it a couple of times.

He glances around them.

The walls are perfectly bookshelf-free.

"There aren't any bookshelves," he says disappointedly.

"This would be a lot cooler if it would just cooperate."

Not that life works like that.

But still.

She tugs, a bit half-heartedly, at another - remarkable nondescript, really, and certainly not at all bookshelf-related - doorknob.

"That's it," he says immediately, peering over her shoulder - and leaning in a lot closer than he might normally do.

"Look! It's a whole ... look at all of those books."

She lets out a gleeful noise - bouncing a bit on her toes before sweeping him into an utterly joyful hug that breaks itself off almost as soon as it gets there, spinning around to blink in an awed manner.

It's huge.

Like bigger than Beauty and the Beast huge.

"That's so awesome."

"How does it fit into this Bar?" he wonders aloud - after properly turning a whole new shade of crimson.

"It's ... bloody brilliant."

And immediately, he's walking towards the nearest shelf to touch the spines and peer at all of the offered knowledge.

It's a nerd's paradise. Truly.

She's glancing around herself, one half of her mind occupied with taking in the lay of the land, while the other half is looking for one of those rolling ladders to swing on. Not that she would do that (while someone else was here) of course.

Just - checking.

"Magic?"

A laugh.

"Maybe they have a book on it," she breathes incredulously. "Not that I'd even know where to start looking."

"Me either."

He may now be looking for a catalogue.

"But um. Magic. That's the only explanation for this."

He pauses.

"It's really quiet here."

"It is."

She grins, letting her own fingers wander over the edge of one of the shelves.

"It's kind of nice, actually."

He nods in agreement.

"Sometimes," he starts, "at school, I'd go to the library ... just to spend a bit of time in the quiet."

That makes him a huge loser, doesn't it?