Of Coffee and Conversation Who: Wormtail & Padfoot What: A debt is paid and information exchanged. When: 2 October 1980 Where: Karl's Flowers, Oxford Status: In-Progress
Oxford proved an alien planet apart from nearby London.
While only ninety minutes in traffic northwest of the country's capitol, the medieval-cum-modern village of Oxford felt oddly foreign. Perhaps it was haughty air exhaled by the country's elitist academics. Or maybe, it was the strictly enforced building codes to which all contemporary construction was forced to comply. Whatever the cause, the atmosphere distinctly shifted off the M-40 as Sirius slung-shot the roundabout, leaving behind the industrial mechanisms of London and welcoming a an old country vibe in the format of a bustling city.
Here, early Friday mornings on the high street teamed with foot traffic. In that shoulder-bumping, bike bell-ringing chaotic respect, Oxford resembled the southern London boroughs Sirius had come to call home. Even on Stella, he found the streets a challenging labyrinthine network as he wove idly round autos, delivery bikes, and the occasional local double decker. But there was a contrasting slowness to the day's beginnings which Sirius found refreshing. Busy as it may have been, people took their time here. Patrons held friendly conversations as they purchased morning papers from the stands outside corner shops; horses drew beer rolls down the lanes amidst their transmission-driven successors. It was an idyllic version of London; a Currier and Ives rubber stamp Sirius was all too happy to visit. Especially after a long night with Remus under the full moon, but that was a story for another time.
Up the high street, past Alice's and The Story Museum, Sirius rode. Karl's Flowers, where Peter worked, was only just off the bend at Queen's Street, across from Carfax Tower with it's unbeatable vistas, and the Cornish Bakehouse at its base. The city's belfray may have just gone half eight, but Sirius was rearing for that promised bittersweet biscuit.
Veering to the left and past a couple of bollards, Sirius pulled Stella into the car park at St. Aldates Tavern, grabbed the paper sack from Stella's saddle bag, and cut up New Inn Yard to the delivery entrance of Karl's shop. With seat of weathered jeans resting comfortably on the shop's sill, he awaited Peter's arrival: coffee from the paper sack in one hand, and a half-smoked fag dangling from his lips.