the war is finally over for florinda mcgonagall (lionhearts) wrote in neeps, @ 2018-04-04 20:54:00
Who: Florinda McGonagall & Alex Winters What: Unwinding at the End of a Very Long Day (with a little assistance) When: 28 March 2000, Early Evening Where: Montrose Club Offices > the Flow Country in Sutherland and Caithness Warnings: Magic Brownie Usage
A flood of owls (and a few howlers) had kept Alex not only very busy, but virtually locked in his office all day with sound muting wards being reinforced continuously. Part of that was for the howlers, but the other was the litany of frustrated curse words that rose in volume as the day progressed. Now, if anyone happened to stop by, an early detection spell ensured that he was the very picture of calm by the time they'd gotten within a few feet of his door.
He really hadn't been kidding when he'd told Florrie that he was really looking forward to the end of the day.
It was pushing six by the time he showed up at the medic’s door, a box in hand, and a tired, but genuine smile on his face as he knocked. “What a day, right?” he said by way of greeting. “Did yours get any better?”
"It would have been hard for it to get worse than having to send Georgi off to Mungo's for a specialist consult. If we weren't firmly off the clock I'd ask you what you thought we should do about his case. But--" and she held up a hand to forestall any thoughts Alex might have about that, even if they were let's not talk about it yet "--that will wait until tomorrow. As will Circe's annual 'get a rise out of the Scots' spread on the Neep." Florrie rolled her eyes.
"Instead let's think about this." And she tapped a handsome picnic basket which was sitting on a side table. "Cold meats, bread, cheese, fruit, wine, and the makings of hot tea when we need that. And the last of the tower of cheese bread, which I've been saving for a special occasion. This qualifies."
He was unspeakably glad when she put a moratorium on work talk, even if he hadn't yet been brought up to speed yet on Georgi, only that something had happened to him when he was in Bulgaria. Merc had scheduled a meeting with him for first thing, ostensibly to discuss Georgi and the Neep. Of course, his concern spiked when Florrie mentioned the magic hospital in London, but he made a conscious effort to table it for now. Instead, his smile deepened. “I wasn't kidding earlier when we were talking canonization. I'm pretty sure the only thing keeping you from sainthood is the Catholic stance on magic.”
Walking into her office, Alex lifted the basket easily, setting his own package atop it. “Do you mind fielding the side-along? I'm still familiarizing myself with the Scottish countryside. Turns out there's quite a bit of it.”
"Aye, since I'm the one who knows where we're going, I meant to offer anyhow. There's a Muggle nature reserve in the Flow Country and it's a good place for night flying. We'll have a couple of hours to eat before the sun sets. And let me get--" She reached out and a blanket and the two brooms--hers and the one she'd picked out for Alex--flew into her hand from the other room "--this for sitting on, and I believe we're good to go." She offered Alex her hand, and on his mark, Apparated the pair of them to her destination.
After the never comfortable, but expected squeeze of instant travel had passed, Alex found that he suddenly lacked the words necessary to continue his compliments of Florrie’s forethought. He'd been struck dumb and a little breathless by the sight of Flow Country. It took him a few seconds to come back to himself, and when he did all he could manage was a low, impressed whistle. “Did you grow up around here? It's stunning.”
"Aye, a few miles--" Florrie hesitated, took her bearing from the view and the sun and gestured off to their left and sort of behind them "--that way. Not close enough that we'll be dropping on my mum, mind. The view's a bit different now than before the Muggle oil people came in. They've started to let things go back to how it was before, but they kept trying to grow trees here. The land's not meant for it, not the kind they wanted to put in, anyhow. Now they've got a Ministry on the Muggle side that's letting it go back as it was meant to be."
She released Alex's hand and started to look round for a good place to set down the blanket and basket. A gust of wind blew through, reminding them that it was not yet the first of May. "Ach, warming charms for sure," Florrie laughed. Even leaving the Montrose clubhouse was enough to improve her mood.
For a moment, Alex tried to picture growing up here- beyond just the hazy green memories of his pre-formative years. If this is what it looked like after the apparent near eco-disaster, from the sound of things, Flow Country must have been the jewel of Scotland. He drew his own wand and directed a warming charm at himself before putting it out to her. “May I?”
"Oh, please, thank you!" Florrie turned a full-wattage smile on Alex and waited for him to cast the spell. When it was done, she sighed happily. "Apparently I needed to get out of there more than I thought. Do you see anything you like for a good spot, or shall we just climb up a bit--" she indicated a high spot "--and enjoy the view?"
“I'm not really sure you could improve on it,” Alex said, though he wasn't looking at the landscape at all, “but, sure, we can move up a bit.” He followed her up the incline, until they found a spot, and helped her set everything up- which took no time at all with a few well-placed spells. “If I didn't say it before, thanks for coming out with me. I've been looking forward to it.”
"Thanks for asking me. I don't get out enough lately." She finished smoothing down the blanket to her satisfaction and settled down on it. "Should we have the brownies before we eat? Today I'm all in favour of 'life is short; eat the sweet first'."
He sat a respectable distance from her, getting comfortable with his legs outstretched in front of him. “That seems like a criminal oversight, but I can't help but feel like I'm getting the benefit.” He grinned at her, and opened the container, offering her one. “You're a witch after my own heart.”
"Normally I'm an 'eat your greens first' kind of witch, but in this case, the sweet is the greens." Florrie took the brownie and raised it as if in toast to Alex before taking a first bite. "Mmm, delicious," she told him through the mouthful of brownie, but waited until she'd swallowed for a thorough assessment. "Passes the moisture test for good baking, and very rich. Full marks."
Snagging one for himself, Alex took a bite. He knew it would take a bit for the effects to kick in, but there was definitely worse company he could keep until then. He smiled slowly at her, having swallowed, and inclined his head toward her. “Appreciate it. It's not my best showing, but I'm glad it's passing muster.”
Leaning back on his hand, he looked out at the countryside. “So, what was it like growing up around here? I know Hogwarts doesn't start until you're eleven, but what did you do before then? We had a small collection in our neighborhood that did homeschool- fundamentals, y'know? Reading, writing, basic math, that kind of stuff.”
"There are a lot of wee wizard and wee witch schools now, but some children are still home schooled or tutored, and there's wireless during the day that helps with some of the lessons, for both the parents and the children. Also for those that work at the Ministry or Mungo's, there's a creche that does the teaching and you can visit with your wee ones at lunch.
"Apart from creche time, I spent some of my time on the preserve with the MacFusty cousins when I was that age, especially after my Da was killed. But that was only the last couple of years, and I did all sorts of things. I learnt so much about dragons that I slept through a lot of Care of Magical Creatures my third year and got a right talking-to from my Ma when she saw my marks!" Florrie giggled, but that seemed to be more natural euphoria than the effect of the brownie, which she was still eating and hadn't had time to kick in.
For half a second, Alex was completely sidetracked from her little history bomb about her father by the sight and sound of Florrie’s laughter. The name cycled through his head, and he recalled a bit about what he and Merc had gone over nearly a month before. The dragon reserve had been uncovered after he’d done his own research. He felt his own smile flicker as he looked at her. “I’m… sorry about your dad,” he said slowly, but began to smile again, something teasing in it. “And your marks. From the way it sounds, I ran a real risk of working with a ghost medic.”
"I was very careful with the dragons. More careful than I was in Kettleburn's class, and wasn't that the problem? I was only taking it up to OWLs, though, and I learnt my lesson third year, so I was ready when I was working toward exams." Her expression turned a little more serious as she answered his other point. "And thanks. It was a long time ago. We didn't know much about why when it happened. It was before we even knew what Death Eaters were. But it's been a long war for us and I'm glad it's over. I'd never have tried these brownies a few years ago. Wouldn't have dared to let myself get over the eight, either."
A thoughtful look creased the area between his brows; the Wars would be the bane of his social existence. He felt like he was constantly misstepping, even though he’d done some more reading up on it recently. But there was a pretty huge difference between facts and figures and experience. And he wasn’t about to go and say something as idiotic as he wished he’d been there, had lived through it, because what kind of asshole said that?
All the same, he reached out slowly, giving her ample opportunity to pull her hand away, if the simple touch to the back of it was unwelcome, as he said, “I’m glad it’s over too. For everyone’s sake. But especially so you could try these. There’s really not a single spell or potion that’s quite like it.”
Florrie was still smiling because, really, brownies were hardly a good reason to have ended the war, but being ridiculous about it was something that was possible now that it was really all over. "We'll see when it kicks in. Do you want to have something a bit more filling, and then go flying for a bit?"
She had not moved her hand in the slightest.
He brushed his fingers against her hand, and felt the tiny electric thrill that he’d been hoping would be there. Of course, he had no idea if it was the same for her, but it would be nice if it was. Some part of him wondered- that stupid Maggie part of him- if this was the wisest course of action, that maybe he should pump the brakes.
Screw that.
His fingers moved until his hand was covering hers. “Yeah, that sounds great. I don’t get to do much flying anymore these days.”
"We're going to fix that tonight," Florrie reassured Alex.
It took her a few minutes, with help from Alex, to prepare their little feast: sandwiches, a little wine, and a little charcuterie board. Almost a sort of ploughman's dinner, with apple slices and some grapes that Florrie started to throw at Alex to catch by the end of the meal.
The first grape had caught him a little off-guard, and he simply caught it with a quick flick of his hand. By the second one, however, he was laughing as he managed to snatch a few out of the air with his mouth. When she looked ready to lob a fourth one at him, he had to stick his hand out to attempt to forestall the continued to attack, laughing so hard that his stomach was hurting with it. Reaching out, he plucked the grape from her fingers and then stood quickly. “It’s a lovely night, I’m with a gorgeous witch-” he offered her his hand- “seems like the perfect time for a flight.”
"Well, thank you for that," Florrie said, taking his hand and coming to her feet, though she hardly needed the help. "Let's go, then." The brooms had been planted upright and she took her own, leaving the other for Alex. When he got his, he could see that it was in good repair and had been recently trimmed, so everything was in good flying order. Florrie brushed the tip of her broom clean and mounted up, waiting for Alex to do the same so they could take off together.
Behind them, the remnants of dinner were marching into the picnic basket.
Alex climbed onto the borrowed broom, already trying to get a feel for it as he kicked off just to hover a bit. It seemed to be pulling a little to the left from what he was used to, so he’d have to mind that. He grinned over at her, adjusted his grip a little, and then took off with her in the gathering dark.
It took a couple experimental, and rather inelegant loops in the air for him to get his seat properly, but he evened out well enough for recreational purposes. There was a gentle wind pulling at them up here, but it seemed to be humming around him. Definitely worst places or times for the magic brownies to be kicking in. He called out to her: “What’s the craziest thing you’ve done on a broom, Florrie McGonagall?”
Florrie laughed; her voice was only a bit dimmed by the wind. "Depends on what you call wild, I reckon. Does rescuing a potioneer from angry wildlife in a dragon preserve count? Or not count because Merc and I were flying together when I did it?"
Alex stared at her. “You saved someone from a dragon on a broom?”
"No a dragon, I'd've said so!" Florrie was indignant. "It was a cat kind of thing that pops around on its own, kind of a natural apparator. Native to the islands up there--" she gestured vaguely in the direction of Portree, or perhaps a little northward "--and you don't normally run into them unless you wander out into the preserve and get lost. The bloke was looking for ingredients for experimental potions. Maybe you've heard of him? Damocles Belby. Brilliant potioneer, but not so bright on the day to day things like comin' in out o' the rain."
The name rang a bell, but he was too caught up on some of the other details. “So what happened with Belby? Did he get Apparated by the cat-thing, or whatever? Or did he just look like dinner?”
"He looked like dinner, I reckon. He was clawed up pretty badly by the time we found him. We managed to patch him up and get him back to the house before he bled out or anything ridiculous like that. Spent the whole time complaining about the quality of the blood replenishing potion." It was too far for Alex to actually see her rolling her eyes but he could imagine the effect. "This was before I'd started my training but after I'd taken my NEWTs. I'd been studying ahead so I knew what to do for him."
His sympathetic wince was swallowed up by the night. “Note to self: don't explore the MacFusty reserve alone at night.” He let the statement hang between them for a moment; the darkness was still buzzing across his skin, making him feel a little giddy. “Speaking of, sorry that crap got into Circe. I know we called a stop to shop talk tonight, but I just wanted to put that out there. Sucks.”
He flew a little closer to her, so she'd be able to see his devilish smile. “The offer to rain Fiendfyre down on their collective heads still stands. Consider it a standing invitation.”
"Ach, no, I should have expected it. It's not my first round with this sort of thing. I was a hanger-on when Merc was playing after I left school, so I've been the 'girlfriend' of half the players. They all thought of me as their own baby sister, though, so nothing more came of it than me eating ice cream at Fortescue's with Mav and your poor predecessor tearing his hair out."
Florrie laughed at that particular memory, though more at the part about the photographers peeping in the window of the ice cream shop to get pictures of them chatting than anything else. "And the rest, well, if nothing else it's made me decide it's time to move on from all that. I enjoyed going out with Cav, and I'd like to be friends, but I think I'd best keep my distance from Portree for a while, except Lorna who's like a sister to me, and Meaghan and Scrimmy who're living with me, and--" she trailed off, laughing again, because wasn't that the problem? "No going out with their blokes, anyroad."
“Should I be worried about the ladies instead?” Alex did a lazy overhead loop around her, giving her a goofy grin. “Or any of the Magpies? I'll bet you have to beat them away.”
Florrie was still laughing as Alex asked his questions. "I don't know that most of them go out with ladies! Circe's take on Scrimmy notwithstanding. As for Montrose, I don't usually go out with players--and didn't even before I was on staff and couldn't--and the only women on staff are married anyroad--and Shona's my cousin, not that that stops some on Montrose--but she's like my big sister. Same for the blokes, not to mention I think he might be have his bluff in on most of Montrose. And anyhow I was so busy before I came on staff, and during the war years, that I hardly had time to see anyone.
"Anyhow, enough questions about me. You've got to have a reason to have asked about crazy things I've done on a broom. So out with it: what ridiculous story have you got to share?"
“No players, got it.” He flew in close, doing another loop around her. “Does that extend to staff as well?” Might as well put that out there, because why the hell not. If that was her policy, then more was the pity, but at least he got an enchanting evening under the stars with her.
“Oh, mine pales in comparison, I’m afraid,” Alex admitted. “I nearly lost a limb trying to protect my broom from an exploding Quod at school. Damn thing got caught in my bristles, and I was trying to dislodge it when it went off. That was a fun couple of days spent in the infirmary. But, hey, I still have the broom! And my arm. So, I mean, all’s well. Not even remotely as exciting as saving someone’s life.”
"Our quidditch matches weren't as exciting as your quodpot, from the sound of things." Florrie grinned at Alex. "Glad you came through it one piece, though." She didn't want to talk about her war work, so she let the other thing slide; most of the actual lifesaving work she'd done had been secret at the time and still wasn't properly divulged, and if Alex wanted to know, it wasn't like her Dumbledore honours were secret.
"My policy about players," she continued, "is for ethical reasons; you shouldn't be romantically involved with anyone who's your patent. Caring for them is my job, y'see, and altogether too often patients are half in love with their healers and medics and so on, for takin' care of them when they're down. So it's to keep things proper that I don't go out with any of them. If they quit the team, or get traded, then they're no more my responsibility, and if they ask me out then, I might say yes."
“As a naturalized American, I can fully attest that we, as a people, really like it when things randomly go boom. I mean, look at our fascination-bordering-on-obsession with fireworks.” He pulled out his wand a shot a shower of glowing green and purple sparks in the air that formed slowly spiralling stars. “Not quite the same as the ones that go ‘boom’, but still nice to look at it.”
Alex nodded thoughtfully at her explanation. It absolutely made sense, sure, and- again- he noted no caveat that involved staff. Nothing for it, then. “Sounds to me like I might as well take my shot while I can, before one of those aforementioned players retires and sweeps you off your feet. Care to go to dinner with me sometime?”
Florrie was so used to keeping everything platonic for all sorts of reasons that being asked out directly was still charming and novel, even if she was no longer a fresh young lass. "I'd like that very much, thank you," she said, her smile brighter even than the remnants of the spell-created fireworks in the sky.