Who: Florinda McGonagall and Shona McGonagall What: Cousin time on a work break When: Monday, September 18, 1999, before the Magpies’ first match Where: Montrose training pitch Warnings: None!
Florrie still couldn't believe she'd actually left St Mungo's after all these years. Walking out from her clinic office to the pitch was something of a revelation. So was leaving her own lunch in her own desk and not worrying that some hardworking colleague was going to eat it. Not that she'd had to worry about it since she'd become Deputy Head, but the fear ran deep and hard after having had lunch 'borrowed' from the staff room cubby too many times over the year.
Not to mention that she could get out and get fresh air straight from the door instead of climbing up to the roof and getting a snootful of London's grimiest. Montrose's pitch smelled like home. And now that she was working with her brother and her cousin, it felt like home, too. Almost like they were ickles again with Florrie sneaking out to bring Shona a treat.
Cheese bread was a treat.
She waved across the pitch to Shona and held up the basket with the cheese bread balls in it so Shona would join her and spare her the temptation of eating them all. They were so tasty.
Shona had been showing out her last pre-lunch meeting when she caught sight of her cousin waving from the other side of the pitch. And was that cheese bread? As soon as she was in the clear, Shona’s shoes went from her feet to her hands, and she started moving as quickly towards Florrie as she could in her pencil skirt. (Not really the best outfit for athletic activity, but such was life when you had to look nice in front of people you wanted to ask for money.)
“Where did you get those?” She asked with wide eyes, finally reaching Florrie. Her hand practically moved of its own accord when it went in for a piece.
"Gabi sent them home with me. She's going to have me round as a quaffle if I'm not careful. I thought I'd share with someone who loves them as much as I do." She grinned at Shona, who shared her deep and abiding affection for the Brazilian treats.
The older McGonagall made a pleased moan at the back of her throat after popping the cheese bread into her mouth. “It’s not fair how good these things are,” Shona lamented, and looped around arm around Florrie’s before reaching for another. “You called the right person, though, that’s for sure. Please make sure you eat some, too, and it’s not just me helping myself to the entire basket.”
"Well, when you put it like that, I can't help but have a few." Florrie took one herself and took a bite of about half of one of the little balls, making the same happy food noise that Shona had only a moment before. "I can't eat them all by myself and I shouldn't put them out for the whole team. Or maybe I should so you and I don't eat them all." She elbowed Shona lightly with the arm looped into Shona's. "I don't think an eleventh, or a thirteenth, of what's in here would be that bad, do you?"
“I heard a rumor that as long as you stop before your twenty-fifth, you’re in the clear,” Shona said sagely, and reached for another because that first one had lasted her about two steps as they made their way to her office on the other side of the pitch. Where they would decidedly not be sharing with the rest of the team, a fact Shona made quite clear given her facial expression at the very suggestion of doing so.
Florrie giggled in spite of herself at the look on Shona's face and let herself be pulled along. Wisely, she kept the contents of the basket concealed. "All right, all right, they're all ours. None for any of them." Someone was, in fact, circling overhead, which spurred Florrie on to get out of line of sight before whoever it was landed and asked for a share. It reminded her of nothing so much as when they were girls. Florrie had followed as fast as she could in Shona's wake while Shona, her elder, ran ahead.
The two McGonagall women made it to Shona’s office only slightly out of breath, and the elder didn’t hesitate to shut the door to give them privacy while devouring their treat and protecting them from potential intruders. The next thing Shona did was unceremoniously drop her shoes by the door, and then go over to fix them a drink. “What can I get you, darling?” Shona asked, throwing a grin over her shoulder as she poured herself some seltzer water. “I’ve a lovely red that would complement the cheese balls well, though I don’t think Merc would thank us for drinking this early in the day.”
Florrie found herself laughing again in spite of herself. "I don't think I'll ever get used to the idea that there are days I can have wine on duty. It's not like we had to abstain on off days, but it's a little different when you might get called out on a broom rescue at any moment. And, I mean, in theory that could happen during a team practice, but as a practical matter it's not like the players will fly into each other or foul their brooms on a regular basis.
"So if it's really good, maybe a swallow if it's already open, but if not we'll share it on a non-practice day, I think." While she was talking and Shona was fixing the drinks, Florrie had put the basket of cheese balls on Shona's desk and settled into her chair and had one ... or two ... or maybe three …
“There’s a reason the Quidditch world’s the best one to work in.” Shona pointed at Florrie with a dramatic flourish, before coming back over to hand her cousin her drink. “Why are these so good? It’s actually offensive how delicious they are,” decided Shona as she bit into another one. “Anyway. What’s new?” She smiled, reaching over for - what as it? Her fourth? - cheese ball.
"Apart from everything about my job? Gabi's asking me if I fancy the chaser who pulled me into the pool. I can't say he's not easy on the eye but also he's officially under my care, which makes it a little iffy ethically if I do. Which--I love Gabi--" and Florrie took another one of those glorious cheese balls, which she also loved "--but sometimes I just want to do a thing and not analyse it to death, you know? Especially where blokes are concerned. How about you?"
Shona made a sympathetic noise at the back of her throat. “Of course you love Gabi. So do I. But I get it - it can be a lot, and sometimes you just want to enjoy that moment.” She’d been of the same mind before her own husband came into the picture, and that was perfectly all right. “All’s quiet on my end, which I’m thankful for,” shrugged Shona. “The wee ones started nursery school - that magical one in Montrose - and I’m here, and Adam’s doing his thing. I don’t know. I’m very boring.” She sighed, grateful there was nothing to worry about, but at the same time, wishing for something to do. “I should be grateful the team practically runs itself, though I could use something to focus on.”
"This year there's going to be a lot to focus on. Don't kid yourself. People coming back from stints in Azkaban, the competition for the chaser job, the Neep, and half of management being new. Plus me--though we hope there won't be anything that needs my services in more than passing." Florrie knocked on the corner of Shona's desk to emphasise that point. "Not to mention that every other team in the league is in the same boat, plus whatever shenanigans are going on in the BIL office and Magical Games and Sport. Management at Mungo's has been in upheaval so I know it's got to be the same there."
“Oh, is that all?” Shona replied, sarcastic but not biting. Florrie was right, after all. Not that Shona had forgotten about any of those things - how could she, when it was her literal job? - but at the Montrose home base, it was easy to forget about everyone else. “I think I’m just too used to functioning within the chaos that now that it’s calmed down a bit, it’s a culture shock.” They were McGonagalls, though, which explained a lot. McGonagalls thrived on chaos. And from being in charge. They were also very good at that, collectively.
"It's going to be hard for me to tell. I don't know what normal looks like from the inside of a quidditch team," Florrie reminded Shona. "I assume it's like any other workplace with all the usual squabbling and lunch-thieving and gossip and so on, but I've been at Mungo's for so long that I have no idea what other jobs are like."
The elder cousin let out a short laugh, and nodded, reaching for two cheese balls this time. “Yes, well. It’s a bit like being a mum, except all your kids are grown and eat five times as much but the energy is there. And they squabble. And you still have to make sure they don’t die by doing anything stupid when you take your eyes off them for a second.”
"Good thing you'll have me to help keep them from doing anything spectacularly stupid, then." Technically you couldn't toast with a cheese ball, but Florrie managed to all the same. "Not that I imagine they can't manage to get behind both of us if they're really trying, but still. Four eyes are better than two when it comes to energetic ickles. And energetic patients."
“It’s always nice to have another sane person around. Gets tiring being the only one.” Shona clinked her cheese ball with Florrie’s and grinned, having left out Merc’s name on purpose. Being a former Quidditcher himself, after all, well. He was prone to tapping into that side again on occasion. Granted, that was his job.
Florrie nodded. "Between the two of us, I think we can keep my brother in line, and with his help, we ought to be able to do something about the rest of them." She tossed another cheese ball in Shona's direction. "And if not, we enlist Gabi and reward them with cheese balls if they do the right thing."
Shona considered this plan, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, I think that could definitely work.”