The Long Shift (Raychel)

[calcetines]

Angel sighed as she came out of the cellar, a keg of fresh mead floating behind her, being guided by her wand. A strand of cobweb clung to a strand of red hair that had escaped its bun. It was Hogsmeade day for the Hogwarts students, so consequently, the place was packed. And of course, the other person on shift, Evan, was sitting on his bum doing nothing.

The door opened as Angel vanished the empty keg and the full one placed itself where the other used to be. Angel grabbed a goblet from the shelf and looked over her shoulder. "What can I get you?" Angel asked of...

[broadway]

Raychel had casually wandered into the pub, not really thinking. She sat down at the bar and was greeted by the red-headed, pregnant woman working. She looked vaguely familiar, but Raychel said nothing. She looked up and smiled politely, pushing a strand of her dark hair away from her eyes. "Um, a butterbeer please. Thank you." she replied. She clasped her hands together and crossed one leg over the other as she waited for her drink patiently.

[calcetines]

"Sure thing," said Angel, tapping her wand at the goblet. It floated over to th appropriate keg, positioned itself beneath the tap and filled. "Anything else?" asked Angel as the cup placed itself before Raychel. Yes, Angel remembered her well, they had been in the same year and house before she had decided to drop out. They weren't friends, but Angel couldn't recall any quarrels with her.

[broadway]

Raychel shook her head and grasped the goblet with one hand. "No thanks, I'm good." she replied with a smile. She took a sip of her drink, surveying the pub. She pointed off-offhandedly towards the other employee. "Not doing much, huh? That bites." she said to the girl.

[calcetines]

"He never does," Angel said quietly with a slight shake of her head. If she were in any better of a position, she would have probably sacked him weeks ago and replaced him with someone who actually worked. "Oh, I'll be back in just a moment," said Angel as she witnessed a party of ten come in. She whipped out her pad of paper and an enchanted inkless quill and took their orders.

[broadway]

Raychel nodded as the girl walked away. She continued to study the boy, but before to long she was bored. Using her telepathy, which she hardly ever used, she entered his mind. Scanning for what was taking his focus away, she just saw fields. 'Odd...' she thought to herself. Raychel pulled away from his mind just as the girl was returning to the counter.

[calcetines]

Angel flicked her wand at the goblets and they began to fill themselves with the requested drinks. She was glad to have learned that spell, otherwise she would have had to fill them all by hand. Three butterbeers, two elf-made wines, a firewhiskey, and four meads. With another flick, each glass landed in front of the appropriate person. For once, everyone in the pub was content. "Raychel McFarland, correct?" asked Angel of the girl.

[broadway]

Raychel took a drink of her butterbeer as the girl approached. She swallowed abruptly and nodded. "Er, yeah. Angel Potter I presume?" she replied with a smile. It took her a bit to realize who this girl was, but her wand-work and her fiery hair was a dead giveaway.

[calcetines]

"That's right," said Angel, then leaned against the counter, glad to have her weight resting upon something other than her feet. She wasn't sure how to make conversation with Raychel, they hadn't really been close. Had Raychel done Quidditch? No, not that Angel recalled. "How have you been?" asked Angel, the only conversation topic she could come up with.

[broadway]

Raychel could tell Angel was feeling a bit awkward. She wanted make this as easy going as possible for the red-head. "I've been good. And you... wow." she replied, gesturing to Angel's growing belly. "Congratulations. Have you come up with a name... or names, judging on how large your stomach is." she asked with a small laugh.

[calcetines]

Angel's throat tightened, she didn't really like to talk about her pregnancy, but it was true that she was huge, especially with having twins. She didn't like to think about what she was going to look like come September, she was only four months along now! "After a long and tedious process, yes," said Angel with a smile. "Isaiah Blaize and Morgayne Isaac."

[broadway]

Raychel smiled gently. "Absolutely beautiful names. They're gonna be real lady killers." she joked, adding a small laugh. She looked up at Angel, smiling. "So, did you go to Beauxbatons for the Tournament?" she asked, hoping to come across a topic that would spark an interesting, non-awkward conversation between the two girls.

[calcetines]

She laughed at Raychel's mention of her twins being "lady-killers," but the Angel had to swallow forcefully to prevent herself from crying at the mention of the place. What she did in France was the reason that Harry had thrown her out, why that she had Morgayne and Isaiah growing inside of her in the first place... "I don't really want to talk about it,"Angel said quickly.

[broadway]

Raychel stopped abruptly. "Oh god. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up..." she replied hastily, looking away. She was blushing fervently. 'That was dumb Ray...' she thought to herself. She mentally scolded herself for some time, looking down at her hands. She was so embarrassed and she felt awful about saying anything.

[calcetines]

"No need to feel bad," Angel said quickly. "You were only being curious, after all." She too blushed a little bit, but not nearly as much as Raychel was. If her time-turner could take her back that far, she would try to go back and stop what had happened. But by the time that she had found out she was pregnant it was too late to stop it.