week e n d |Ella|

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After a particularly brutal week at work, involving the capture of an Auror and more muggle murders, Devon had requested that Ella meet him at the Three Broomsticks. He figured it would be an easy place for her to get to, considering the close proximity to the school. He felt as though he hardly saw his wife anymore, though Devon tried to write as much as possible. Still, with her working at Hogwarts, they hadn't talked nearly as much as usual.

Devon ordered a butterbeer and then took a seat at a table in the corner, waiting for Ella to arrive. His butterbeer arrived after a few minutes, but there was still no sign of his wife. Not knowing Ella to ever be late, Devon checked his watch to see if he was still early. It was a few minutes to seven, which meant that Ella wasn't late yet. Still, Devon had expected her to be early. Forcing himself to relax- he was especially paranoid these days- Devon took a sip of his butterbeer. At last the door opened, and Devon hastily set down his glass, looking up to see who it was.

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Ella walked in, appearing to be just as frazzled as most of the Order members these days. She hoped that at least finally getting some time with Devon would ease her stress level, it had been a long time since she had seen her husband. "Hello, dear," said Ella once she had joined her husband, and then gave him a short kiss on the lips. She seated herself, royal purple robes still fluttering slightly.

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A warm smile came across Devon's face at the sight of his wife entering the Three Broomsticks. No matter how frazzled or tired she looked, Devon always thought she looked beautiful, and it was always a relief to see her. He welcomed her kiss and smiled again. "Hello, love," Devon said in reply. "How have you been faring?" Ella certainly looked stressed; it wasn't uncommon for the Order members to be feeling this way, but Devon still felt that it was somehow unfair.

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"The best I can at this point," said Ella, frowning a bit. She wasn't big into alcohol, but she had been so stressed of late that even firewhickey sounded good. As if sensing that she needed to relax the bartender brought her a firewhiskey without her even asking. She nodded to him, and slid a few Sickles across the counter to him. Ella took a sip, the liquid stinging her throat, but she welcomed it. "I feel a hell of a lot better around you, though," Ella added, reaching for her husband's hand. Pubs had always made her feel uneasy.

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Devon nodded solemnly. Ella's response didn't seem much different from the rest of the people Devon had been dealing with lately, but it hurt him a bit to see his wife so stressed. He gave her hand a small, reassuring, squeeze. "I feel the same," Devon replied in his deep voice. "It's been a bit odd without you around all the time." Devon had been rather lonely since Ella had taken up the Charms job; he was still adjusting to her being home less than he was.

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Ella nodded, and then quickly gulped down half of her drink, shuddering a bit as it went down her throat. Firewhiskey was some powerful stuff, she didn't drink it all that often. Besides, everyone knew how poorly she handled her alcohol- it didn't take much for her jugement to get screwed up. "I'm not sure if this job was such a good idea," Ella said quietly. She was thankful to her sister for giving it to her, but it was killing her not being able to see Devon as often as she would have liked.

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Devon watched quietly as Ella downed half of her drink, shuddering as she did so. Devon made a mental note to stop her from having another drink if she asked for one. Ella didn't handle alcohol very well, and Devon knew she would later regret it if she had too many drinks. "Oh, don't say that," Devon said after Ella's comment. "Sure, things are tough now, but I can come every weekend if you want. And besides, it's what you've always wanted."

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"That may be so," said Ella, tracing the rim of her glass with her finger, "but now that I've got it, it doesn't seem as good as I had thought." It mainly seemed like a lot of uneccessary stress, Ella didn't like not living under the same roof as her husband. Perhaps they could buy one of the cottages in Hogsmeade, so they could be together every night- commute shouldn't be a problem for either of them, what with apparation.

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Devon gave Ella's hand a squeeze. "We'll make it work," he said, trying to give her an encouraging smile. "We can always move so that we can still live together. Or you could apparate home sometimes if you wanted." Despite Ella's protests, Devon doubted that she truly hated her job. She had always wanted to be a teacher, and he figured she was probably doing pretty well.

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"Let's get a cottage," Ella said after a short pause in which she finished the rest of her drink. "Here. In Hogsmeade. It doesn't have to be now, but when we," her voice faltered a bit, "start a family." It was no secret that Ella wanted kids, she just wasn't sure how it was going to happen for them. A trip to a healer confirmed she suffered from the same condition as her mtoher and sister, which meant that even if she did get pregnant she would be liable to miscarry. Ella was frightened about it, but her desire for a family far outweighed her fear.

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Devon nodded and gave Ella's hand another encouraging squeeze. He knew that right now wasn't exactly the best time to be starting a family, but he figured they could make it work if that was what Ella wanted. Devon would do anything for her. "Alright, perhaps we should start looking after the school year ends," he suggested. Devon had actually never been inside one of Hogsmeade's cottages, so he didn't really know what they were like, but they seemed nice from the outside. Hopefully the couple would find something they truly loved.

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At that Ella smiled the most genuinely she had that evening. She was actually looking forward to it. Maybe, just maybe, with a little luck they might find something. She was certain they would, the cottages in the village seemed so cute, and with magic there really wasn't any telling how large they might be on the inside. "That sounds lovely," said Ella.

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Devon's face lit up at the sight of Ella's true smile. She seemed to be hiding it more as of late, but at last her smile was out in the open again. "It does, I agree," Devon said, giving her his own smile. He was excited at the prospect of moving. With magic it wouldn't be too difficult and Devon had always like exploring new places. For him, this would just be another adventure.

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Ella was finding herself especially thankful that the end of term was approaching, she hadn't had much in a long while to look forward to, and somehow house-shopping seemed like just the thing to cheer her up. June it seemed wasn't going to come quickly enough. Without even gesturing, the bartender set down another firewhiskey in front of her. Ella quietly thanked him and took a sip. This would be her last drink that evening.

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"Don't drink too much now," Devon said in a teasing voice, though he was worried about Ella having too much to drink. She had never handled her alcohol well and Devon didn't want her to regret drinking later. Devon sipped at his butterbeer, which was an unusual choice for him. But that evening, he had felt the need for a warm drink. Plus, butterbeer never failed to make Devon feel better, even if it was just a little bit.