milliways_bar | (no subject)

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There is a familiar sort of conversation going on over at the bar. A temperamental teenager receives a napkin. There is frowning and griping. Another napkin appears. Another round of griping. And it ends in the usual fashion.

Threats and a new message on the board.

Happy Hour
1/2 off Smoothies - your choice of fruit and ice cream

There had been some consideration toward "1/2 off drinks if you have/have access to a woodchipper" but that was more drama than Rachel wanted to enter into tonight.

Hopping up onto a bar stool and crossing her legs, Rachel opens her fashion magazine on her lap and peruses the pages.

But, uh... drink's still on, folks.

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"It's Rachel, yeah?" Lily asks.

They met once, she thinks.

A while back.

Blue eyes flick up from an outfit Rachel is pretty sure comes from long after her time. Jeans on the rack that come pre-ripped? Come on. No way are those going to take off.

But she smiles at the new face and nods. "Yeah, that's me. And, um..."

A pause and she winces, expressively.

"Sorry, there are a lot of people that come through here."

"Just a few," Lily agrees, cheerful and thoroughly unoffended.

"Lily Evans," she supplies.

"Hogwarts School, Scotland, Earth, 1976."

And the tie knotted under her jumper will pretty much look exactly like the one James wears.

"Oh!" says Rachel, perking up as that falls into place - Hogwarts, as well as the year. It had been a recent discussion with James. Bell bottoms were involved.

"Yeah, I remember. You go to school with James Potter, right?"

Lily nods. "Yeah, I do.

"You know James, then?"

Rachel nods, setting the magazine aside. "Yeah, I guess. I see him a lot here."

One thing they do not talk about, really: James' crush-obsession. Or there would be some warning bells going off right now.

Well, she's less of a crush-obsession and more of a girlfriend these days, anyway.

(Which would make an unmentioned and very pretty blonde a bit of a cause for concern, except that Lily is pretty sure that's something she doesn't have to worry about with James. Ever.)

"It's very nice meet you again, then.

"James is my boyfriend."

And then she blinks.

"I've never said that out loud before."

Lily can exchange her 'pretty sure' for an 'exactly right,' free of charge.

Rachel blinks back.

And then grins, a little awkward but certainly amused. "Oh, okay. You must be the girl he was asking the whole bar about, his last happy hour."

Friends abuse friends because they care.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you," Lily says, automatically.

And then ...

"Asking the whole bar about?"

Because that's news to her.

"On the sign," Rachel explains, grinning as she points to the one behind her, "offering discounts to anyone who could explain girls. Apparently, you were confusing him."

As the great and loyal friend to one James Potter, Rachel follows this with a hand lifted into the air, palm toward Lily.

"High-five."

Lily stares at the sign for a moment, and then starts laughing, even as she reaches out to tap Rachel's hand with hers.

"He didn't. Oh, God.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. I swear, he almost had a line out the door of well-meaning people trying to decode the secrets of Girl for him.

"Which is part of the reason why my congratulations was kind of surprised."

"I see," Lily says, still giggling.

"And, um, when was this?"

Rachel waves a hand, shrugging. "A few months ago, I guess."

It's hard to keep track of the calendar when... there's no reason to keep track of a calendar.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Ah," Lily says, as if this explains things.

(Which it does. He's changed a lot, in the last few months. So has her opinion of him.)

"Sure. Though I'm not sure what a smoothie is."

"Fruit and ice cream blended into a shake," Rachel replies, making a blendy-motion with a finger. "Or just fruit, ice, and juice if you want. It's the only interesting thing I know how to make without breaking out Bar's drink book, and that's mostly alcoholic."

"It sounds good.

"Strawberry, maybe?

"So, how've you been?"

Rachel nods and reaches for a glass. She'd pulled several cartons of fruit out before the shift officially started, so it's no trouble to talk to Lily while she's preparing the drink.

"Okay. It's been a while, right? How about you?"

"Right now, I'd say I'm good," Lily says, easily.

"School is keeping me a little busier than I'd like, but other than that, I'm good."

"Due to the dating?" Rachel asks, amused.

"It's definitely a contributing factor," Lily says.

"Though not the sole cause."

Rachel grins and passes the smoothie over, adorned with a red and white striped straw. "So what's it like? Your magic school? Talking to James about it is useless, he just goes off and forgets he's not talking to a... what's the girl equivalent of a wizard?"

"A Witch," Lily says, taking the smoothie.

"And it's brilliant. I love it there.

"Though, honestly, classwork aside, it's really not that different than any school. Well, any boarding school. You just fret over Potions instead of maths. But you still have cliques of students and teachers people like and teachers they don't. Everyone gossips who's in trouble and who's dating whom. And boys talk about Quidditch exactly the same way they talk about football back home."

"Witch, really? That sucks."

There's a lot less insult in a word like 'wizard.' Shame.

Rachel nods, taking a seat on her stool again. "Yeah, that's what it sounds like, once I tune out all the details. The results of a class called Potions have got to be more interesting than the results of math class, though."

"'Witch' doesn't carry the same connotations in the Wizarding World," Lily says.

She doesn't mind it.

"And, well, things are certainly more likely to explode in Potions than they ever were in Maths."

Rachel considers this for a moment, then shrugs.

"Would have been easier to stay awake."

"I don't think I've every seen anyone fall asleep in Potions.

"History of Magic, though. That one puts people to sleep.

"The teacher is ghost. He's less interesting than that makes it sound like he should be."

"I'm willing to give a little leeway to teachers when it comes to history," Rachel admits, making a face. "It's hard to make 'this has already happened' sound real engaging to a bunch of kids."

"Yeah, but Binns can't even make things like Giant Wars sound a little bit interesting.

"He's just a terrible teacher.

"Who will never retire."

"Oh."

Then a moment, as the reality of a more-or-less invincible, untiring teacher sinks in.

"...oh."

Well.

"That sucks."

Lily laughs. "Doesn't it?

"Most of the other teachers are good, though.

"I suppose everyone has one bad teacher."

Theirs is just transparent.

"And if you only have one, you're probably doing pretty good," Rachel points out, smirking.

Ben's feeling mostly good for once and so decided to take the chance of Milliways when it showed up. And there's someone at the Bar...weird.

"I didn't think the Bar was ever tended," he says with what he hopes is a friendly smile. Though it's been most of a year, he still isn't sure about the facial expressions his new body makes.

Well, that's... interesting.

Not the weirdest person/creature Rachel's ever spoken to, but definitely getting a glance up from her magazine.

"...only when she gets too lazy to do it herself," she reports, lifting her head. "Can I get you something?"

She looks familiar now that he sees her face.

"Yeah," he says catching sight of the Specials Board, "Um..can you do a protein shake? Banana and blueberry flavored?"

"Sure," Rachel replies, setting the magazine aside to slide off the stool. There's not a whole lot of conversation that can go on while the blender's running, but it doesn't take too long for her to put the drink together.

It is offered to him with a neon blue straw, and a tight smile. "Here you go."

Yeah he remembers her now that he's seen that tight smile.

"I think I remember you," he says hesitantly. "You were that gal with the hawk or eagle...when I first came here. R something right? I'm Ben."

"Hawk," Rachel corrects automatically, frowning a little at him. "I'm Rachel.

"Hi, um. Sorry, I don't think I remember you."

He is kind of memorable at the moment.

Ben laughs.

"I was that idiot frat boy who said interesting things like magic bars don't happen to him. I was human back then so if you don't remember me that's fine."

Rachel blinks and that look of dawning almost-disgust on her face shows she does remember him.

And is looking him over now, too, smirking a little.

"Your sense of fashion's improved."

Ben continues to grin.

"I thought that tie was pretty decent," he says in mock outrage, "though on retrospect, the toga might have been a bit much."

"Yeah, somehow Roman Empire and business casual never really combined in the department stores."

"I'll remember that for next time...though I doubt there ever will be a next time," he says and covers his admission with a sip of the shake. "Tasty!"

"Not planning to show up in another sheet?" Rachel teases, friendly as she wipes down the bar. "I approve."

"Not if I can help it," Ben replies a bit off balance by her friendliness. "Though my dance card ain't exactly over flowing so I doubt I'll get the chance."

Rachel lifts an eyebrow at that, automatic. "So your fashion sense hasn't actually improved, the likelihood you'll be invited to parties has just decreased?"

"Well it wasn't like I worn togas all the time, just for parties. You know for fun. I'll admit the tie was a bit much though. That I wouldn't repeat."

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