InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "better in than out!"

hopalongcharlie (hopalongcharlie) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2015-09-10 13:41:00

Entry tags:

character: charlie weasley, character: genie de la lune, status: complete

RP: Catching Up
Who: Genie and Charlie
What: Work Chat
Where: Wingbeat, Charlie's office
When: Thursday 10th September
Rating: Probably language - Charlie

Charlie had been surprised when Genie had jumped on his owl and asked to take up the spot the next day. It was good though. She was one of the people he was particularly looking to speak to.

He came early to the club, an hour earlier than normal, which was always ten minutes before the rest of the staff was due to show up. Well, anyone except Genie.

He settled himself up in his office and stuck the teapot by the fire. He was sure nobody was going to Floo in at this time since generally there was nobody here. It just had water in it and he could make tea or coffee as necessary. Hopefully Genie would just head on up as she arrived. While he waited he rifled through his files and pulled hers out and set it on his desk. Otherwise there was nothing to do for now, so he pulled out his book and settled in to read. His chair was the only really comfortable one in the office, but the others weren't bad.

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wolfinboots
2015-09-12 11:21 pm UTC (link)

"Bit of sugar's fine," she said with a sweet tooth that had only increased since she was bitten. Genie put a bit of sugar in her cup but didn't add any milk.

"Sounds nice and relaxing," she said, leaving her cup be until he'd finished pouring, and then stirred to help the sugar dissolve. The smell was divine, even this far into the month. She smiled warmly under his praise, pleased that he thought she was doing well. "I'm very glad they did so well. I had a lot of fun coming up with them," she told him. "I've always liked that sort of thing. It's kind of like potions sometimes." And potions had always been her favorite subject. "This has been the best job I've had in a long while," she added honestly.

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hopalongcharlie
2015-09-13 10:48 am UTC (link)

Charlie nodded, inhaling the smell of coffee in the air. It was always a welcome smell in his world.

"I'd like it if you could do the same for events in the future, if you're willing of course," he said. "I was only ever competent at potions. You know. I can brew just fine, but nothing too fancy," he said.

He picked up his mug and took a tentative sip finding just about cool enough to drink. He wouldn't risk burning his tongue completely when he'd need to talk all evening, so he put the mug back down again.

"Is there anything you'd like to bring up with me about where you're scheduled, or your working patterns? Any comments, suggestions or anything like that?" he asked. He was always willing to try out suggestions from his staff. He'd started his business without any particular experience of the topic after all, and especially at the start had tried to hire experienced bar staff in particular.

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wolfinboots
2015-09-14 05:11 am UTC (link)

"I'd love it. Potions was always my favorite and best subject," she said. "I'm pretty good at it." She wasn't over confident, but she wasn't wrongly humble either. She stills ometimes wished she could get more proper training, but she made do with what she had. "I can start thinking of things for Samhain soon, if you'd like."

She sipped slowly at her coffee and gave it a moment's thought. "No, not really. I get along with everyone well enough, or else they just haven't bothered to tell me they don't like me," she said honestly. "And you give me off the times I ask for, so unless that changes, I don't see needing anything more than that. I could work more if you wanted, even, so long as it didn't conflict with my family trips," she said.

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hopalongcharlie
2015-09-14 02:08 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, that'd be great. I'm thinking we'll do a mix of Samhain and muggle Halloween like last year, so anything on those lines will be good," he said, grabbing his quill and making a note on the scratch sheet he kept out at all times. "I'm sure we can round some people up to do some in-house testing again."

He flicked open Genie's staff folder and double checked what his memory told him. "Well I certainly don't have any complaints from the other staff, and the customer complaints are all ones where I'm relatively certain there was little you did wrong. Drunk people aren't always the best judges of what they should and shouldn't do let alone what to complain about. And you were working within our policies when you signalled some of them should be removed for harassment," he noted.

"However," he said, pausing, wondering if there was any way to approach this at all delicately. "I have noticed a, er, certain pattern to your family trips," he said. He was firmly of the opinion that the greater majority of werewolves would be of no more danger to society than the average bloke with a temper provided they took appropriate precautions, but not everybody felt that way. Shit his opinion hadn't really changed when Bill had been bitten. And as far as he could tell Genie was being safe and appeared to have people to take care of her.

He was sure she'd catch his meaning immediately, and he didn't want to alarm her. "I'm not threatening your job. Just... wanting to tell you I know, I guess." He did have a couple of questions he'd like to ask, but reassurances first.

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wolfinboots
2015-09-15 04:50 am UTC (link)

"That'll be cool. Muggles have a lot of fun with their Halloween dress up parties," she said, mind already whirring a little. "If you have any general ideas you want me to work with, or a particular alcohol if you come on a deal, let me know, and I'll have a go." She always had a lot of ideas, and she'd weed out the worst before she took any of them directly to him.

"Yeah, I'm usually even tempered enough even when drunks are especially idiotic," she said, lifting one shoulder. The only time she got snappish and testy was around the full moon, and she tried to always have a tight leash on herself during that time, though every female tended to be moody from time to time. She let the staff draw their own conclusions on that, and encouraged them thinking it was 'that time' of the month even if it wasn't.

The qualifier had her instantly wary, though, and then she froze utterly at his next words. Her muscles tensed immediately, but other than that faint motion and the way her eyes cut up to him and narrowed, she didn't move at all. Her caution and wariness rolled off her in a wave, and even this far from the moon the gold flecks in her dark eyes seemed more prominent for a moment. "I've not done anything wrong," she said flatly, a sort of instant reaction. She heard a faint sound and realized she was gripping her mug too hard. She set it down abruptly, not wanting to inadvertantly shatter it, which she knew from experience would be the next step if she kept holding it.

He wsn't firing her, she told herself. He wouldn't have said all those good things if he was. She couldn't afford to lose this job right now. The others were having trouble keeping jobs, with their schedules; she was the only one with steady income right now. And they really needed to find Violet a healer who wouldn't turn them away. She could not afford to botch this up. She tried to relax, and managed only a fascimile of it as she continued to watch him avidly. "I've not done anything wrong," she repeated, "I'm not legally obligated to inform you, the Wizengamot hasn't gone that far, yet. At least not last time I checked."

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hopalongcharlie
2015-09-15 11:07 am UTC (link)

Charlie thought for a second. "No actual blood in the cocktails, but one that looks like it could be might be good. Otherwise I'm not sure. You know me, not my sort of thing really." He drank the cocktails around the bar sometimes but by choice he tended towards Scotch or Firewhiskey.

"You do very well, even with the particularly moronic ones," he said. Truth be told he sometimes had trouble keeping his own temper in check around certain customers. Particularly the ones who were persistently pursuing people who weren't interested. That tended to get to him on a personal level. There were a few who had been handled rather more roughly than necessary because of that. Nothing illegal or really beyond reasonable, but just a bit sharply. Usually at the end of Charlie's wand.

Charlie sighed. He'd really hoped there would be a way for him to say it and her to not be shit scared. But then, given the way Wizarding society treated werewolves he couldn't exactly be surprised. He put down the mug that he'd picked up and gave her a faint smile.

"Genie, you're not fired," he repeated firmly. "And no, you didn't have to tell me and I completely understand why you wouldn't," he said, palms open and trying to demonstrate lack of threat by instinct. "I... I just wanted you to know that I know. That... shit that you're not still waiting for the other fucking shoe to drop."

He picked up his mug again and took a soothing sip, relaxing back slightly as he watched her. He wasn't sure what to reveal. He'd met Lupin briefly during the war and knew he was a good man, and he knew Bill had certain side effects from being bitten but he didn't know if either would mean anything to her, or indeed if he should reveal Bill's secret. "You've not done anything to tell me I shouldn't trust you. You're not obligated to tell me anything more," he reassured. "Oh. And I'm not telling anyone else," he added as an after thought. He hoped that would have been obvious, but it probably wasn't given how society generally treated werewolves.

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wolfinboots
2015-09-15 08:02 pm UTC (link)

"I'll put that at the top of the list," she told him. There were a lot of interesting things she could play with there, past the normal Bloody Marys.

"Thanks." It was good praise, and it warmed her because she did try so hard to keep her temper in check.

Her eyes flitted over him, judging what he was saying and how much he meant it. She relaxed a little more genuinely this time, though her eyes stayed steadily on him, wondering exactly what this meant for her and her mates. She nodded. "Yeah. I've been waiting for a while," she murmured. Waiting for this good stint to end. But this wasn't the more superstitious country, where wizards and witches hid themselves, but the city where there was a substantial number of them.

"Thank you. I don't really want that many people to know. The more who know, the better chance I get run out of town," she said. "And I'll not let things threaten your business, if it does come out." She hated saying it, because she really, really loved this job. She loved the busienss, and she was getting even better than she was at bartending. And she needed the job too. More than she was going to admit to him, lest she guess what her mates were as well.

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hopalongcharlie
2015-09-15 08:54 pm UTC (link)

He smiled and nodded, satisfied she'd come up with something creative. "Anything generally that looks a bit fucked up but tastes good. Things you can give weird names to... I think I remember something about a Squashed Frog drink. Not actual frogs, just because it looked like one or something."

He nodded his understanding. He could empathise with waiting for the other shoe to drop. People usually walked away from him for far less serious reasons. And he knew people still weren't sympathetic to werewolves. Those on the side of Voldemort sadly hadn't helped the cause in the slightest. "You'e not the first werewolf I've met," he said after a few seconds of silent contemplation between them. "And you're under no obligation to answer any questions, so I'll just say that you're clearly not in the business of hurting people so I'm going to assume you're taking appropriate precautions and keep my nose out of your personal business unless it directly affects your work.

"As for the business. I already employ at least one person who has been on the wrong side of the law before. You're not doing anything wrong." He shrugged. He was more concerned for her than anyone else. "I'm a occasionally grumpy asexual former dragon handler with one leg and a foul mouth. Honestly how many fucks I give about what other people think are pretty limited at this point. And depending on who you ask my family goes against me too. I'm not saying I can protect you if some dickhead with an agenda finds out... more I'm hopefully not the dickhead and I've survived worse than my business going under." Charlie had been occasionally accused of being too laid back, but it was more a case of him having learned to roll with the hexes since he was little.

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wolfinboots
2015-09-15 09:51 pm UTC (link)

She dipped her head in acknowledgement. She assumed it was probably Lupin, though knowing the war as she did, it could have been almost anyone, even one of the pack who had turned her.

"I do. I brew the Wolfsbane, if I can get the ingredients every month," she said quietly. It was hard to acquire the more restricted ingredients sometimes. "Or I buy it. And I go out where there's very little chance of coming across anyone." She supposed he deserved to know, like Alicia had as well. It wasn't the easiest thing for her to do after so long in secrecy, but he had promised to not tell on her.

Her fingers fidgeted with themselves; she didn't feel safe enough to pick up the faintly cracked mug. She could still break it. "Well, I wouldn't let it happen. We've pulled up roots and moved before," she said. She didn't want to do it again, she was finally getting settled in, but she'd do it if she had to. "But I appreciate it. Like I told you, I really like this job, and it's the first time I've managed to keep a decent paying one in a while. Not many bosses are good with taking a monthly vacation."

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hopalongcharlie
2015-09-15 10:43 pm UTC (link)

He sipped his coffee and hummed an acknowledgement. "You sound like you've got it covered and you're sensible. And you've got support," he said. "That counts for a shitload in my book," he said. He'd noted the use of the plural and he wasn't sure if it she'd intended to use it or not. Clearly she had someone looking out for her. Whether those people were fellow werewolves or not wasn't relevant to her job in the slightest.

"Benefits of taking on several people with changing schedules is that I can work around that," he said and shrugged. It also meant that nobody else was likely to pick up on the pattern to Genie's days off. "Plus you give good notice of when you're going to be away. Which is very useful for me doing staff rotas," he said. Not all of his staff were quite so organised. Then again they probably didn't have to be. And there were some in apprenticeships or training courses where trips could happen at short notice.

"You're doing well, like I said, and when you reach the twelve month mark I'm hoping you might be willing to take on a little more responsibility." He knew there was at least one person likely to finish up training and move on if they found a job, and of course it was someone he'd trained up for opening and closing the club. Mostly he still did it himself, but he needed people in case he was ill, or the time he'd taken a week after his tattoo.

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wolfinboots
2015-09-16 12:25 pm UTC (link)

She nodded. She wasn't going to expand any more than she had to, at least not yet. And he wasn't prying, which she was grateful. Most people would, in her experience. He knew she lived with several mates, though, and that there were children around, and he could very easily try to find things out. "It does mean a lot," she agreed.

"Well, now that you know why I take off, just consider any time the day before, of, and after the full moon to be taken off for the foreseen future," she said with dry humor, lips twitching up into a faint smile. "Anything else that comes up would literally be an emergency."

She smiled a little more as he continued. "I'll take on more responsibility any time you want, honestly. I can always use more hours," more money, but she wasn't going to be so crass as to say that, "and I don't tire as easily as most people, except right after the moon."

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hopalongcharlie
2015-09-16 09:07 pm UTC (link)

"I'd appreciate you still writing them down for me, since it's so much easier to have the sheets from everyone to work from, but yeah, I'll make sure to check," he said.

He smiled at her, pleased she'd be happy to take on more responsibility. He made a quick note on his list. "That's great. I've got at least one more person I'm expecting to move on at the end of the year as they finish up their training for something else, so assuming they find a proper job they won't need this any longer. I assume I'd train you in December time. I'll keep you updated," he said.

"I think that's about it from me," he said, checking down his list. "I've got you down as primarily on the bar and that's going to stay. And," he ran his finger down his notes and nodded. "Yep, all done. You're welcome to stay and finish your coffee, leave it, or take it with you if you want to start prepping. You're getting paid for now anyway. Please don't feel the need to do more than your fair share if you start working though. I just don't want you to be obligated to sit here with the boss while you wait for everyone else to turn up."

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wolfinboots
2015-09-19 03:29 am UTC (link)

"I can do that. I'll write something out through the end of the year and turn it in for your reference." Though she'd continue to scatter her mentions of such things to her other coworkers, so the timing was never quite exact. It had worked decently so far.

"Thanks. Yeah, just let me know. I'd like to help." She'd pursue something that could lead to more and better things, especially since she really did enjoy this place.

She carefully picked up her mug to drink a large gulp of her coffee. "Thanks, Charlie. I mean it." Thanks, for the job, for not rejecting her when he figured out her secret, for keeping it to himself; for everything. She toyed with the mug for a moment. "For everything. And... I know you still know people in the magical creature world. If you ever stumble across a healer willing to deal with us, it'd be great," she said quietly, eyes more on her cup than him.

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hopalongcharlie
2015-09-20 11:00 pm UTC (link)

He nodded. When she let him have the list he'd stick it with the lists he kept from all the staff about what days off they wanted or needed. "Great, thanks," he said.

"You're welcome," he said quietly, sipping at his own coffee. "I..." he trailed off. He was going to say he would look into it, but it was a sensitive topic and frankly not one he was sure he had a handle on, or could be of help with. "I'll keep an ear out," he said after a few seconds. He had a couple of people he might be able to sound out if he was careful. He could ask Bill who he saw, but since his brother hadn't been turned that likely wasn't helpful at all. He offered her what he hoped was a faintly comforting smile. If she caught it.

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