s l o w day [open]

[holmes]

Elizabeth had been hard at work over the past few weeks, renovating and cozying up the eight rooms the pub had on the second level apart from the flat where she lived. It had been quite the investment, getting new furniture, linens, towels, and everything else needed to have an inn above her pub. Though she hoped to make that money back over the course of a month or so with having people stay, but she wasn't sure how to bring in overnight guests. So far she only had one man renting a room, he had paid cash for a whole two weeks' stay, and Elizabeth suspected he may be a vampire, but it felt good to be getting some kind of business.

Things were perking up as far as business went, the regular crowd was still there, though since she had taken charge a new, albeit rowdier, client base had been coming in on the weekends, participating in loud drinking games and generally having a good time. Of course, it generally meant more vomit to clean up and more fights to put an end to, but Elizabeth was enjoying herself. Though that business did nothing for Tuesdays, which were always the slowest days of the week. In fact, that evening hosted only the old wizards with their pipes that seemed to spend more time in her pub than out of it. But they were reliable, and seemingly unaffected by alcohol as they were on their seventh or eighth round and were conversing just as calmly as ever.

Elizabeth herself could hold her drink very well, though she most likely wouldn't be able to walk straight if she went as heavy on the ale as those men. But they always paid, and they tipped well, Elizabeth wasn't going to complain, even if it was exceptionally quiet. As if sensing her thoughts, the bell over the door rang, calling Elizabeth's attention to...

[nixnight]

Nix was rather upset. She had left the school during the afternoon as shadow and been hunting in the forest when the centaurs had spotted her and told her that she should have waited until dark, they knew she wasn't a werewolf they also knew a wolf running around during the day on the forest wasn't very good. So nix had left and had come in to hogsmead to see Tain and the other forests, she had met Maya in the street and been told that Tain and Jark were away at a funeral and nix had started to worry. Of course once they got home, Kevin had explained that Eliza had died in her sleep the week before and the mother of the adopted five was now gone.

Nix had taken a fair few hours to stop crying over it all, she wasn't a forest herself and had never been adopted formerly but Eliza and Jark had treated her like a daughter. She and grace had been great sisters to each other and she had taught the twins to fly, she loved Maya to bits too and planed on working in the broom shop when she finished school but now she wasn't sure.

So she had left the shop once Tain and jark had come back, he hadn't spoken to her and avoided her eyes alot while jark barely looked up from the floor. So she was waking down the street, not really going anywhere piticular, when she had come to the hogshead. She paused to think for all of six seconds before knocking on the Door, she was only 16 so though knocking would be more polite than just walking in but of all the times to want to have something to drink, now really counted

[holmes]

Elizabeth looked at the newest customer to enter her establishment. The girl looked young, fifteen or sixteen if she was going to guess, so she found herself frowning a little bit. Every so often she would get an underage witch or wizard in her pub trying to order a firewhiskey or ale, though she almost always could tell who was of age and who was not. It was rare for her to get underages, however, sometimes she got a few on Hogsmeade weekends at the school since she charged less for butterbeer than the Three Broomsticks did. So yes, she did allow minors in, but usually didn't end up serving them.

Of course, she did have a rule that no underage witches or wizards were allowed in her pub after eight in the evening on Fridays and Saturdays, that was when the party crowds came in, and Elizabeth didn't want kids getting caught up in that sort of thing. The girl before her looked troubled, as if she had just had a very rough day. She also looked as if she had been crying. Elizabeth just hoped that she wouldn't try to get anything stronger than a butterbeer off of her. She certainly wasn't going to supply it unless the girl could prove she was seventeen.

"Hello dear," said Elizabeth in her usual soft tone, "you look like you've had a hard day, why don't you come and sit down?" She walked behind the bar, her heels clicking on the newly polished wood floors. They scuffed easily, but she had found a nifty spell that repaired them as she saw fit. "What can I get you?" Elizabeth asked.

[nixnight]

The door opened and nix didn't even lift her head, she twitched as she heard a voice address her and then sighed and lifted her head slowly and looked over to the barmaid and forced a smile ,"just a butterbeer, I won't insult you and try to get anything else. My birthday is still a couple of months off" she said in a forced voice before looking around and spotting a table of old men. She shook her head gently and then paused before she walked over to a table close to a window and sat down. "id rather sit out of the way after my day, sorry if its a bother" she said to the barmaid as she slid on to the seat properly. She looked outside to the street she had just been walking up and then lifted a hand to whip her eye as she felt yet another tear well up and try to escape down her face.

She considered taking off her cloak but she liked the way it hung over her and kept her warm so didn't but inside dipped a hand inside it to her robes and took out her wand and then balanced it on one finger before remembering she would need to pay for her drink. She put her wand down and then lowered her hand to her belt where she kept a small coin bag and then pulled out three galleons and put them down on the table beside her wand, she knew she would end up having more that one drink so there was little point in keep dipping a hand in and out of her coin bag over and over.

[holmes]

Elizabeth nodded, glad that this girl was honest about her age. She didn't like having to be mean and refuse service, but she could not in good conscience serve firewhiskey to a minor. Not only could it land her business in hot water, but she was also a mother, and felt the need to protect all children, not just her own. She didn't want underages getting involved with things that they weren't ready for. "All right, dear," said Elizabeth, grabbing a freshly cleaned mug from beneath the counter and walking to fill it at the butterbeer tankard.

True, she could have filled it by magic, but it seemed a lot less genuine and a lot more lazy of her to just flick her wand to serve customers. She actually insisted that all her bartenders served the muggle way. "I understand," said Elizabeth, clicking her way back to where the girl had seated herself. She set the full mug in front of the girl, feeling her maternal instincts kicking in. She wanted to comfort her, but that seemed a bit awkward. "On the house, you look like you need something nice," Elizabeth said quietly.

[nixnight]

As the barmaid stepped away, nix rested her head in her hands yet again. She had done it so many times today that her face felt bruised, she heard the sound of a tap and smiled softly before sighing again as she heard footsteps coming back to her. Her mind flashed back to the day she had met Tain and she smiled to herself, she had been a first year and had been hanging from on of the schools chandeliers upside down when a 6th year had come towards her. He'd been carrying a black owl and a letter and nix reached out and took the letter before the bird, he'd looked up to see her climb on top of the chandelier and he'd laughed at her. Nix had opened to the letter to see a list of school items and had chuckle as the boy had written ,"don't let mum send any toffee" at the bottom. He'd taken out of the school to try the said toffee only a few weeks later.

The barmaid placed the drink on the table and just as nix had been about to push the money towards her, she'd said it was "on the house". Nix blinked quickly at the odd show of affection by someone who didn't even know her before shaking her head ,"I can't, it's hardly fair" she said in answer to the offer before pushing a galleon across the table as payment. She was miserable but she saw no reason to short change someone because of it

[holmes]

Elizabeth wondered why she was getting so concerned over the redheaded girl, it seemed as if something terrible had happened to her that day. She couldn't just pass her by without at least attempting to do something nice for her. But she would curb her instincts the best that she could, Elizabeth didn't want to make the poor girl uncomfortable by being too mother-like with her. They were complete strangers, after all. She frowned a bit when the girl refused to take her butterbeer on the house, though she could tell that she wouldn't be persuaded otherwise. "Very well, let me get your change from the register," said Elizabeth, picking up the coin.

She walked back behind the counter and deposited the Galleon in the register, picking out three Sickles from the tray as she did so. Elizabeth only ever changed fourteen Sickles for a mug of butterbeer. She walked back to the redhead and put the change on the table. "My name's Elizabeth," said she, "call if you need anything else." She offered the girl another smile and then went to check on the group of wizards, no doubt by now they needed refills on their ale, or perhaps they had gotten hungry in her absence.

[nixnight]

Nix nodded as the barmaid noticed her stubbornness and smiled a little as she realised nix was not one to back down on the topic of money, nix lifted her head as she walked away and looked out the window to see maya walking down the street and towards honeydukes and she sighed softly. Maya and grace would be hardest hurt by this, they had been closest to their "mother" and now that jark was due to move away, the two of them only had Tain and the twins to support them. And of course nix but she had to grow up and level hogwarts before she could take a role with Tain in the shop.

She turned her head back as the barmaid brought her change back and felt a bit more comforted as she smiled down at her and nodded her head, she reached over and took the change and dipped it in to her coin bag before seeing Maya leave honeydukes and wander across the road to matchsticks again. She smiled to herself again and nodded her head, there was no point in being sad, eliza would have slapped them all round the ear if she'd known they had all been moping around all day. Nix smiled at the last time her mother had caught her moping and nodded her head, she should get on with life and school and remember her mother. Not drown herself in sorrow for losing her

[holmes]

Elizabeth waited on the group of six old wizards, bringing them each a bowl of the requested stew along with a fresh-baked piece of her handmade bread. She was glad that people were ordering her food now, word had finally gotten around that not only could she serve ale, but she was a talent to be reckoned with in the kitchen. Elizabeth had been against the idea of serving food at first, but now it was profitable. She made hearty stews and soups, and both hot and cold sandwiches- plus the slow-baked bread. The recipe had been handed down to her from her grandmother when she turned seventeen, so long as she vowed to never share it until she had a seventeen-year-old granddaughter.

"There you are," Elizabeth said cheerfully to the men, serving them each their portion of stew. They only nodded to her, and she decided that it would be best to leave them alone to their quiet conversation. She decided that she would check on the redheaded girl. She didn't look nearly as miserable as she had been when she had first come through the door, Elizabeth decided that she would take it as a good sign. "How's the butterbeer treating you?" Elizabeth asked, wiping the flour on her hands from handling the bread onto her purple apron.[/blokquote]

[nixnight]

Nix found herself bored very quickly after deciding not to keep worrying about life with out her mother, she gave a small sigh before turnig sideways and opening her school bag. She took out her potions essay and looked at it before groaning and then taking a quill from her bag and a sip from her drink as she heard foot steps coming back to her.

She lifted her head and forced a smile and then nodded ,"it's taught me not to dwell on pain so it's kinda been nice to me" she said with a small chuckle at the idea of a talking drink. She turned her head to the group of men before nodding it slightly and looking up at the barmaid, "I don't suppose you'd have any sort of cake? I've kinda had the sort of day that would allow anyone to eat way to much cake" she said with a small smile as she looked towards the bar again

[holmes]

Elizabeth saw the girl working on what could only be schoolwork, so she took it as a good sign. Or perhaps it was only a coping mechanism with whatever had caused her to have such a terrible day. Though in a way she felt that she could relate, some days with her ex-husband had been like that. The days where he would take his anger out on her, how she had forced herself not to cry in front of the children as she tucked them in at night bruised and in pain. Elizabeth smiled as the girl said it was being "kind of nice" to her. "I'm not sure what I've got, I'll go back and check the kitchen," said Elizabeth, "I'll be right back."

Her heels clicked away back behind the bar again and through the door back to the kitchen. It was of a simple, cavernous build, though cozy with its brick oven and wood-burning stove. Something about the heat they gave made the food all the more better. She poked at the desserts she had left, she had a couple of thick brownies of her own creation, and a solitary cherry danish, also of her own creation. Elizabeth grabbed both so the girl could choose what she wanted and then clicked back to her table. "I've got a brownie and a cherry danish," said Elizabeth, "would you like one of them? They're both my of own creation."

[nixnight]

Nix smiled as the bar maid came back and she tilted her head to one side and then smiled softly ,"chocolate, chocolate heals all pains" she said with a chuckle before dipping her hand down in to her coin purse again and taking out another galleon and placing it on the table again for the maid when she came back again.

She did feel better now, the drink had made her feel warm and knowing that Eliza would have slapped her round the ear for being so depressive which made her laugh. She shook her head as a real and honest smile fell over her face and then she lifted it up, it hurt to lift her head up when she had it drooped all day but it was a good pain and she felt better for it

[holmes]

"Right you are," said Elizabeth with a smile, setting down the generously cut brownie before the redheaded girl. She herself was prone to eating comfort food when she felt that she needed a little happiness in her life. Coupled with her love of pastries in general... Elizabeth always had to watch herself with them so she didn't become overweight, she made strides to keep a healthy lifestyle- though sometimes her balance of that did get skewed a little bit. "I'll fetch your change," said Elizabeth, picking up the coin and walking back to the kitchen to first put away the rejected danish. If nobody else wanted it by th end of the night she would probably end up eating it herself. Elizabeth then went and got seven sickles from the register before clicking her heeled shoes back to the girl, smiling as she placed the coins on the table near her plate.

[nixnight]

Nix smiled as she took a fork to the side of the brownie before rolling her eyes at herself ,"always chocolate when your upset and ice cream when your that bit too happy" she scolded herself before taking a bite from the fork and grinning. It was a very good brownie. She looked down at her essay and rolled her eyes before pushing it back across the table and bringing the brownie and it's plate closer to her. She heard be barmaid come back to her and then lifted her head and tilted it to one side a little ,"could I ask a favour of you? Would you answer a small question for me?" she asked in a polite voice that sounded stronger that it had been before when she had been asking for her butterbeer.

[holmes]

Elizabeth smiled a bit when Nix scolded herself, a bit aware that she was kind of hovering. It was hard to help, especially when all was quiet in the pub. The group of wizards in the corner never demanded too much attention, though every so often one of them would motion for another round of ale. Elizabeth often wondered where they got their money from, with how often they were in her pub they couldn't possibly have jobs. To give herself something to do other than stand around, Elizabeth pulled out her wand and muttered a charm of her own invention which caused a great plume of feathers to sprout from the end, turning it into a duster. She began dusting one of the pictures on the wall, though gladly looked away when the redhead asked her a question. "I'll answer the best I can," said Elizabeth, she had been near the top of her class, but it had been a long while since she was in school.