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Penny was never really that good at Divination and just about managed Arithmancy. Still, she'd gone outside to the lake and picked up enough rocks to make a rune set out of. Being a Ravenclaw, when packing up for an escape into nowhere in particular, she brought all of her textbooks with her in her Bottomless Backpack. That includes her sixth year Divination textbook that included runic divination.

Now she's sat at a table in the bar throwing nine rune stones again and again with the same result each time. It's almost uncanny if you watch it. You'd probably get some entertainment from the not-quite swearwords she's muttering as well. She could probably do with a break to be honest but she's not going to do so on her own; she's too focussed on getting a different answer out of the rocks in front of her to do so.

Comments

[gorgonfondness]

Mia doesn't put too much stock in Divination. There are more useful types of magic to study in her opinion. Thus, she only vaguely recognizes what Penny is doing.

What she recognizes even more is the need to take a break, like the one Mia is having now while her mother watches the baby for an hour or two of Nana Time.

So she goes to the bar and comes back with two glasses of lemonade, one she sips from and one she sets on the table for Penny.

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Penny doesn't notice the arrival of the other woman until the glass of lemonade is put in front of her.

"What?" She looks up from the stones to the glass to the woman. "Oh, thank you." She hadn't realised she was thirsty until the drink was there and she nearly drains it once she picks it up. "I, um, well I don't know you but like I said, thank you anyway." She smiles at her and determinedly puts down the stones for a bit.

[gorgonfondness]

"You're welcome," she says, smiling.

And then she shrugs.

"I'm not sure I know you, either, but you looked like you could use a break."

She glances at the stones.

"Divination, is it? I've never really looked too much into that branch."

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"I probably could, I've been at this for," she stops to look at her watch and starts, "far longer than I thought I had been. Wow."

"Neither did I but I really want to know if I get out of here at any point. They keep saying the equivalent of 'Probably, ask again later for a clearer answer' from what my book tells me." She lifts the textbook off her lap and closes it with a loud 'thump'. "There's a reason I dropped this subject before my final year at school."

[gorgonfondness]

"I wouldn't worry about that. Nobody stays in Milliways forever, even if they'd like to."

She takes a long sip of her lemonade.

"Are you fairly new here? I was preoccupied in much the same way when I first arrived."

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"No? Well, I suppose that's good news if nothing else."

Penny finishes her drink and is a little surprised when a waitrat brings over another one. Seems the Bar has taken notice of her lack of drinking for the last few hours.

"Yes, I only got here a couple of days ago. I'm not sure I want to go back yet though - just at some point, you know? I'm starting to miss my family." And Percy but they'd agreed that it was safer for them to be over than together in that atmosphere. Especially in his position in the Ministry.

[gorgonfondness]

Mia's already halfway done with her own and is considering a variation on the lemonade next time. Maybe strawberry or blueberry.

"Oh, I remember that well. After a while I missed my mother terribly."

And Nash, too, at that time.

"But I've found this place is nice for alone time. Right now I'm taking a little breather while Mama watches my son."

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"I'm trying not to think about it. I'd sort of resigned myself to not seeing them for a while before leaving but I didn't realise I'd end up with no way of contacting them."

Penny smiles a little when the other woman mentions her son as well as who must presumably must be her mother. "How old is he?"

[gorgonfondness]

"It'll be all right," she reassures Penny. "There is plenty to do here to keep yourself occupied. And I know your family wouldn't want you to be unnecessarily distraught."

She smiles brightly at the thought of her baby.

"About five months old."

Mia reaches into her pocket and gets out a picture of the baby, apparently taken while he was preoccupied with a green teddy bear.

[followfootsteps.livejournal.com]

Teddy, from the looks of it, wasn't expecting bar, judging from the fact that he's bleary, barefoot and topless (in pyjama trousers decorated with teddy bears) and holding coffee in one hand.

"Runic divination?" He asks, peering at the table. "Well, it's more reliable than crystal balls or tea leaves, I suppose."

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Penny blushes a bit at the sight of a topless Teddy although the sight of the teddy bear trousers dampens it down a little.

"I was best at Runes so I thought I might be better at that divination. Apparantly not, I keep getting a sort of unclear answer about my rather simple question." She sighs and waves a hand at a seat at the table. "How've you been anyway? Doesn't look like you expected to be here considering."

[followfootsteps.livejournal.com]

They were a gift. People are fond of giving Teddy things with teddy bears on them.

"What's the question? Oh, and I'm all right," Teddy says, sitting down. "The door tends to show up wherever it likes, so I'm not too surprised."

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She looks a little uncomfortable, as if what she's asking is rather silly. She sighs and answers his question in a rather small and tired voice. "Will I be here forever, will I be safe?"

She'd rather change the topic now though and in the end can only think of the thing that first made her blush. "Aren't you cold? I have a fleece blanket in my backpack if you want to borrow it. It'd actually match your bottoms qute well." And then she realises what she said and just puts her head in her hands. "Don't mind me, I'm just a little crazy today."

[followfootsteps.livejournal.com]

"You won't be here forever, nobody is. Except maybe dead people," Teddy says.

He headtilts, then looks down. "No, I'm pretty much fine. It's not too cold here." Pause. Wryly: "They were a Christmas gift. You've no idea how often that happens. I got mocked so much when I manifested a kodiak bear patronus."

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"Yeah, that's what I was getting. 'Not forever' and 'Probably'." She doesn't quite know what to make about the comment about dead people so just waves over it for now.

"Honestly, I'd be wary about mocking anyone who could bring up a Patronus like that. I kind of know what you mean though, I've had Beatles stuff thrown at me since I was little. You know, Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes... I'm not even that keen on them. At least the gift's come in handy." She finishes with a shrug.

[followfootsteps.livejournal.com]

"Well, Beatles records could be used as coasters," Teddy offers. "That's useful."

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Penny laughs at the thought, "Ah, perhaps, if my parents wouldn't kill me if I tried it. Still I left all that junk behind when I scarpered so I wouldn't have to worry about Beatles memorabilia clogging up my bag. It's only useful stuff in there." She looks at the textbook and stones on the table, "Okay, mostly useful stuff in there."

[a1enzo]

Do the runes alert her to the presence of a green, apparently teenage, boy under her table?

Oh, wait, no, that's not the runes. That's him jostling the table leg.

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Penny notices the jostling and it breaks her out of her Divinatory cycle. She peers under the table and is more surprised at herself that she seems not that shocked at the green boy under there.

"Hi there."

[a1enzo]

"Oh, hey, sorry. Just, uh, just checking for gum." He displays a paper towel with an unpleasant pink wad in the centre. "None on this table, though."

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Penny frowns, "Why are you looking for gum? If you want some, I've got some in my bag and it's got to be more hygenic than anything you get of the bottom of a table."

[a1enzo]

"Ew, no! I'm cleaning up the gum."

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"Oh, right!" she looks a little relieved, "Why?"

[a1enzo]

He sighs and scoots out from under the table.

"I broke one of the Rules. Hit a guy. I didn't really hurt him and I turned myself in, so this is my slap on the wrist."

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She looks over the boy, who must be a fair few years younger than herself, "Well, at least you did the right thing. Why-" she was going to ask why he hit this other person but it's not really her right to know.