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Lily Evans ([info]just_lily) wrote in [info]silverage,
@ 2011-07-22 06:17:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:!log, lee scoresby, lily evans

This Wasn't Right
Who: Lily, Lee
What: Arriving
When: Friday morning
Where: outside somewhere
Rating: Low, likely
Status: Complete




Caution was the watchword she lived her life by in these times. It wasn't unheard of for Death Eaters to engage wayward witches and wizards who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, so she'd taken to carefully apparating from point A to point B when she needed to get somewhere that wasn't in the Floo network. It was also fairly well impossible to tell at a glance who was a Death Eater and who wasn't, though some were more suspect than others.

It was the ones that weren't obvious that one had to look out for. She thought there was a fair irony in that sentiment, and Lily abhorred the 'trust no one' mentality she had to live by. She was a generally trusting sort, and being wary of strangers didn't suit her. It was keeping her alive though, so she couldn't argue the logic of it, much as she may want to.

That said, Lily was more than a little surprise when she had every intention of apparating into her flat only to find herself ... well, somewhere that very definitely was not her flat. What was more surprising was the fact that several Muggles had seen it happen, and apparently thought little of it. It took her a moment -- and she blamed the sudden disorientation for it -- to realize that they looked a bit ... out of date.

Clutching her wand by her side, Lily turned a slow circle as she tried to add up the pieces into something resembling a complete picture. No picture she could make made sense though. How often did apparation accidents like this happen? She knew splinching could happen, but to wind up somewhere completely off from where you intended? This place didn't look like anywhere she was familiar with, and the clothes were definitely out of date, by at least a decade.

She gave some thought to attempting to apparate back, but she was scared what might happen if she tried alone, so obviously the answer was to summon James' aid. Retreating to a secluded spot, she tried to dredge up some happy thoughts -- more difficult given her extreme confusion and the panic she wasn't allowing to surface -- to create her patronus. She wasn't great at the message ones yet, but she reasoned that her doe saying help would be enough to at least catch James' attention. And then what, though? He wouldn't know where to go, and she didn't know where she was to tell him where to go.

Scraping that plan with a noise of frustration, Lily stalked to see if she could find some sort of location identification. There were street signs with names that meant nothing to her, and she was starting to think that she wasn't anywhere in England anymore, which was disturbing on any number of levels.

Out of ideas and with not enough solid information to make a decent plan, Lily scowled. Well, if she started walking, she was bound to end up somewhere, right? Maybe she could find some sort of city authority or town hall or something that could give her a clue. Barring that, maybe she'd find a kindly stranger who could take one look at her and realize she was lost and upset and help her out. Either way, it was better than standing around ... and so her adventure began.


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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-22 04:24 pm UTC (link)
Lee was out in the city himself, on his way back to an errand for a small contractual work he'd picked up for himself (Hester did say he was his own problem and the one reason they couldn't find a more permanent work. He was so flee-y if that was even a word!) which he'd finished fast enough with time for a bit of a leisure walk which was all good in his dictionary. He couldn't fault Hester, though, she was right. So far, he just couldn't find a good enough job that would convince him that staying in was much better and more productive than staying out.

At the corner that broke out into a busier sidewalk, Lee picked up Hester from his feet and slipped her into his pocket just as a lovely red-haired female passed his view and he followed her briefly with his eyes, smiling a little.

"Oh Lee, quit yer lookin'!"

"Now that right there's a fine young lady if I should say so myself, Hester," he said with a small smirk. Oh who cares if anyone heard him and no one could see Hester, the place was filled with people! "Young, beautiful and radiant, she's the type offices would want ta hire and keep."

"Think she doesn't need those offices anymore, though," Hester commented openly as they started towards the direction of the lady, the hare herself checking out the sights to make sure they didn't wind up lost in the route back to their work. "Just look at those clothes, Lee! Never seen them anywhere."

"Doesn't mean they're expensive."

"Bet they're more expensive than your hat."

Lee wasn't going to doubt that -- but he still kept it on his head. He had already distracted himself with an argument between a traffic enforcer and a taxi driver just across the road when he'd stepped on something bulky and he looked down to see a small...bag, pouch of some sort, something he'd keep himself except his was safely tucked in his pocket. It wasn't his color, either.

Hell, it wasn't even a man's color!

This much was clear to both he and his hare as he picked up the poor lost thing and looked around the moving crowd and sought for a possible owner. The lovely red-haired female fell into view again, of course, they were walking in one row after all and, well, on further inspection, it seemed like everyone else who was out on the street was male!

"Think it's hers?"

"Y'know what they say, Hester," Lee said as he started more urgently (although still politely) towards the receding red-haired lady, "'salways nice to make new friends. Excuse me, Miss!" he began to call out, "Miss with the lovely red hair, I mean!"

Hester shook her head at Lee. Count on him to draw more attention than was necessary!

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-22 04:48 pm UTC (link)
While she was hyper-aware of her surroundings despite (or perhaps because of) the panic threatening to erupt, she didn't immediately realize the one calling out was attempting to catch her attention. Even after the red hair comment, she'd taken a few more steps before she paused and glanced back.

It was easy enough to spot the person heading her way, and for half a hopeful second -- likely because of all the white hair even if the hat was wrong -- she thought it was Dumbledore come to find her. The idea was dismissed nearly as soon as it had formed, a combination of wishful thinking and a desire to return home was all it had been.

Unsure what to think of him, not knowing if he meant her harm or not, Lily tightened her grip on her wand as she moved out of the flow of people, closer to a wall of a building to wait and see what he wanted. She did keep her wand down, hidden by her leg, but she was in no rush to release it or put it away. Not until she had some answers.

"Yes?" She prompted once he was close enough, fear in her emerald eyes making a lie of the defiant way she spoke and held herself.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 01:37 am UTC (link)
Now that's not right, that isn't right at all. Lee understood why strangers might fear him but to his recollection, it only ever happened when they'd wronged someone or done something similarly wicked. The young lady with a lovely red hair had just dropped something and Lee only meant to ask if it was hers. If not, he would leave her and be on his way to the police station.

He didn't go about announcing what he'd read in her eyes, though. Women had pride, too, and it would just be wrong to downplay it. So smiling a hopefully friendly one as he kept a comfortable distance between the two of them, he removed his hat and placed it by his chest, making sure he held it in such a way where Hester still had room to be observant. What with an influx of newcomers coming around, after all, it didn't hurt to have extra pairs of eyes and ears along! Like this time, for the red-haired beauty, Hester was already sniffing her air.

"Beg your pardon, Miss," Lee began before he held out the pouch-thing he had found under his shoe, "But do you reckon dropping this somewhere along the way?"

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 02:02 am UTC (link)
"No," Lily said. "I ..." Except, it did look familiar. Generally she kept things like that in her robes, but every once in a while if she didn't plan on wearing robes, she'd shove things in her pockets or hook them on a belt loop.

She patted herself with her free hand, drawing the part of the broken cord that had held it on her belt loop. She gazed at the cord as if it were somehow strange to her, and she wondered just how tenuous her hold on her emotions was just then. She felt like she was about to crack, and she knew she couldn't. Not until she'd figured things out, gotten some answers, and gotten to a safe place.

If there even were safe places around here. Her lips parted as she finally managed to draw her eyes away from the remnants of the cord, and she offered him a shaky smile. "I ... suppose I did," she murmured. She studied him for a moment, and she wondered if he was just as out of place as she was, or if he simply had a different sense of style than the majority.

She also wondered how she was coming off, because she didn't feel remotely stable. "Sorry," she apologized. "I'm not ..." Not what? Not usually so rude? Not from around here? Not myself right now? She shrugged one shoulder in a helpless gesture before she extended her hand for the pouch.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 02:13 am UTC (link)
"Watch it, Lee, she looks like she's about to cry," Hester warned him.

Even if the hare was his more intuitive "side", though, Lee needed no telling on that department. The red-haired lady could've clearly been better and he just wasn't the type to ignore that need even after he had carefully transported the small bag onto her slender hand.

"Beggin' your pardon again, Ma'am, and hope you don't mind my noticing but you're not looking too well, if it's all right to say that." Lee moved his hat back to his head and pushed it down gently but firmly. "Is this your first time here in New York City?"

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 02:23 am UTC (link)
A shaky laugh crossed her lips. "Is that where I am?" She'd known she wasn't anywhere familiar, and had suspected she wasn't in England, but to have made it all the way to the States? That was impossible, wasn't it? At least by apparating. She could have used a portkey, but she would have known about that.

Still, as unusual as he might look, she was extremely leery of getting into the subject of how she'd wound up here. Even if he possibly probably had seen her wand by now. Sure, it was down by her side, but she hadn't moved her arm much which may have drawn as much attention to it as flailing it around.

"It's ... safe to say that yes, this would be my first time here," Lily admitted softly. "I'm Lily. Lily Evans." She wondered if she admitted that she didn't know how she'd gotten here (which she may as well have by admitting she didn't know where she was) would make him think she was mental.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 02:47 am UTC (link)
Is that where she was? Well now, not a lot of people wind up in New York not knowing what or where New York is! Then again, that's not a question that's new to him anymore. The Texan was already having suspicions on this English lady he had just met but he kept his concerns out of his face.

"Scoresby's the name. Lee Scoresby," he said to introduce himself. "Don't be so bothered by the circumstances now, Ms. Lily. We all get our first times here." And here he smiled a little wider.

Just then, someone had bumped into him from the back and he turned in time to hear the apology of a man who might be late for an appointment the way he rushed and didn't wait for Lee's response anymore. The crowd may have transformed during the course of their conversation and Lee understood how much help it did to the nerves of a lost person.

"Would you care for some coffee, Ms. Lily? I know one...just around the corner," he had to pause while Hester reminded him where that coffee shop was, "Gives you a good view of the main road, too, if you sit by the window."

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 02:57 am UTC (link)
She managed a smile at his introduction, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. She wondered if the rest of it meant she'd been right and he wasn't from around here, either, or if it was some metaphor she wasn't quite in the frame of mind to grasp right now.

Emerald eyes narrowed slightly at the man who bumped into Lee, but it wasn't as though there weren't rude people everywhere -- especially in Diagon Alley in late August.

I'd rather know how to get back, she thought, but she supposed if this was a common occurrence, he might have addressed that already. "That ... would be fine," she agreed after a brief pause. "I ..." She hesitated again, glancing around uneasily before she settled her gaze back on him. "What ... year is it? Things seem a bit ... out dated," she hedged.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 03:14 am UTC (link)
Oh dear. Lee's suspicions were right.

At this point, he knew that there was no sense of being gentle any longer, as well as on keeping things secret (although he never meant to in the first place). But to say it right here, with little breathing room, was not a very thoughtful gesture to him. "It's probably because you've come from a future time, Ms. Lily," Lee said to her simply before he gestured for her to follow him. "Right this way, I'll tell you all about it over a cup of coffee."

Actually, Lee wasn't really allowed much coffee these days with thanks to his age. Once a day was already fine, twice might be pushing it. These were the things he thought about as he extricated them from the crowd and led them towards that shop he had been talking about perhaps about seven to eight blocks away from where they'd met. It wasn't a very nice place to begin with. It was plain, a little small, and it was easy to tell that if the sun began to set, it would look dark and unappealing. But it was not without its own good things: polished tables, painted chairs, picture frames on spotless walls and more importantly, it was scented with the warm aroma of cappuccino.

Lee made sure Lily had made herself comfortable before he sat himself before her. One more good thing about the shop was that they were alone as people often preferred the more expensive and the more glamorous shops in town. When the waiter served them their menus, Hester used his reaching arm as camouflage as she hopped out of Lee's pocket and descended down to his lap.

He browsed his choices for a good minute as he stitched and rearranged words in his mind. To tell Lily that she was about two decades back bluntly was probably not going to do it well and yet she didn't look like she appreciated being spun around in a loop of an answer, either. Lee had to admit, he was not very good with this. Still, he had a responsibility to her as a local, and that was why he put down his menu when he had made his decision. He won't doubt it if it wasn't the best one, though.

"Ms. Lily, there are good and bad things I can tell ya right now," he began. "But I'll tell you the bad thing first," not that it was bad for him. "Ms. Lily, the year today is 1964."

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 03:32 am UTC (link)
From a future time. She supposed part of her must have known that, even as most of her wildly protested she hadn't touched a time-turner and this was utterly impossible. It was, however, hard to keep insisting impossibility when she was clearly present in said impossibility. So she followed silently, biting back all the questions his statement had raised. Mostly she was concerned with how, and how to reverse it. Then she was concerned with why, more specifically, why her, and she wondered if the answer to all of these was just going to be 'I don't know' or 'no one knows' or worse yet, 'what are you talking about?'

The interior of the coffee shop earned barely a glance from her, but she was more interested in information just then. The questions were piling up inside her brain, and she was trying to sort through them in order of relevance. Shelter, and food, were going to be her priorities, followed by a way to maintain said amenities -- assuming the next words out of his mouth weren't 'it's really easy to get back home'.

"I was four," she said quietly, almost calmly, "in 1964." She wondered very suddenly if there was a four year old version of her, right now, in her house. She was, however, very clearly not four right now, which meant something was wrong with the picture.

She rested her wand on the table, though it took her a few seconds to actually uncurl her fingers; her grip had been that tight for that long that the muscles had nearly locked. She flexed the fingers of her wand hand before she began to massage her hand with her other hand. "This is impossible," she said. Clearly it was not, no matter how much she might want to believe that, but it seemed like as good a point to jump as any.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 03:42 am UTC (link)
Oh look, a stick. A fancy looking one, too. If Lee had less restraint, he might have picked it up because that is one fancy looking stick right there.

"That's what we all say," Lee chuckled a little as he rested his back against the support of his chair. "Only the TV lets you time travel, after all. But tell you what, Ms. Lily, it ain't so bad. You're not the first one to get lost here." Although she might be the first one with a fancy stick, Lee couldn't really say.

"It's been happening for about a month and a couple of weeks now, I hear. People from different places and time getting transported here, I mean. I met one from an America about fifty years forward and another man who lives in outer space! Quite the fiction if you ask me, but it's all happening in reality. And people are starting to get used to it."

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 03:59 am UTC (link)
Lily knew that once upon a time she'd had expressions other than blank stare, but she was having trouble summoning up any of them just now. She was angry, because angry was better to be than terrified, but it also wasn't fair to be angry with him because she was pretty sure this wasn't his fault. From the sound of it, it wasn't anyone's fault, or if it was someone's fault, no one knew who.

So she tried to dissect the facts and go from there. Emerald eyes fixed on her wand on the table, and she made a valiant attempt to corral her thoughts. If she was four ... then James was four, and that thought almost brought hysterical laughter to the surface. She managed to stifle it and direct her thoughts away from that idea.

She wasn't the first one. That was good, because that meant maybe people here were already focusing on ways to reverse this. She'd want to help with that, though she wasn't sure she'd be able. Or invited, though she had ways of bullying herself into situations if need be.

"Are they ... is someone working on a way to get us back then?" she inquired. "I've ... people will worry. They'll think ..." Well, she knew exactly what James would think if he couldn't find her. That the Death Eaters had done away with another Mudblood, and then he'd get himself killed going after them. Him and Sirius both, like as not, if Remus couldn't talk sense into them.

Still ... "Outer space, really?" Granted, she had bigger concerns right now, but still, that was a little distracting.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 04:45 am UTC (link)
"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure about that effort, Ms. Lily," Lee admitted as he placed his hat belatedly on the table, and only when Hester batted at his tummy with her paw, too! "There might be some people. In fact, I hear some seeking a certain doctor as if he can help, but I haven't been too keen on being attentive. Pretty sure you can ask them, though."

He stopped when the waiter soon returned to them with a handsome smile and an eager pen on his tickler pad. "Hey there. We ready to order?"

"I'll have some of your hot chocolate," Lee said out of the blue before he gestured to Lily with his hand for her order.

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 04:55 am UTC (link)
"Ask ... ask them. Who is them?" She exhaled softly before she glanced to the waiter as he arrived. "Same," she echoed. It seemed easier than trying to get a proper tea here, and she was afraid she'd snap at the poor bloke if he had any questions for her.

She ran her fingers through her hair before she shook her head. This was a nightmare, and James had to be going mad. If he'd noticed. She hadn't mentioned when she planned to be home, but he was also fairly good about checking in on her, and if he hadn't noticed by now, he would soon. She just hoped he didn't do anything rash.

"So what are we supposed to do?" She pressed, dark eyes shifting back to him after the waiter had departed. "I ... if we can't get home, then we're stuck here. I don't have any idea where to go, where to live, and how to pay for it all. What money I have is ..." She hesitated. "British," she settled on, which was true. She did have a few Muggle bills for when she went shopping on that side of things, but she mostly had sickles and knuts with a few galleons because James insisted.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 05:18 am UTC (link)
"Now hold yer horses, Ms. Lily, panicking won't do you much," Lee said, placing his hands on the table now cleared of the tall menus. "It's not so bad anymore as when the first lost people came here, I heard. Right now there's this place called the Welcome Center, managed by a lovely lady named Millie. It's got a lot of things newcomers need, I hear, like lodging and food and classified ads. I don't know if anyone's made her answer metaphysics, though, and I don't know how long y'can stay there but I'm pretty sure she'll give you enough time to pull yourself together.

"Now as for ehh...them," Lee cleared his throat. He'd forgotten everything she'd asked him now, he can only remember so much, after all. "There's something else you gotta know about New York -- and that is that New York's got mighty fancy bulletin boards scattered all around her. Not sure how it happens, but you post a note on one bulletin board, it pops out in all other bulletin boards. Lots of lost people are using that for communication."

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 05:32 am UTC (link)
Lily didn't think this was panicking, but she supposed to someone who hadn't seen her in an all-out temper, it might seem that way. Or maybe she didn't want to think it was, because if she was outwardly panicking, cracking wasn't far behind. She just wanted James to know she was safe, to not worry, and to not do anything ridiculous.

But even if she could manage to shoot off a patronus ... she couldn't make it cross time. She had to accept then that she couldn't do anything about home right now, so it was best to try to put it from her mind.

Easier said than done, of course, but she'd try, at least. The bulletin board sounded like something out of her world. Or like something James and Sirius would invent. Or likely had. Not here, of course, but she had no doubt they had something like it in her own time. Her own reality.

She was extremely reluctant to lean on strangers for aid, but she'd always had a wildly independent streak. Still again, reality was what it was. She was poor and homeless and until she turned that around, she had to accept help. Her lips pursed as her expression twisted slightly to one of extreme displeasure, but whatever had to be done, she'd do. What choice did she have, after all?

"Suppose I'll look into that then," she said stiffly, her tone and expression making it clear enough that wasn't going to be her preferred method of handling this. She did try to soften her expression so he wouldn't think she was upset with him. It was -- again -- hardly his fault she was somehow in this mess.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 05:49 am UTC (link)
Their cups of hot chocolate arrived in time to save the day and Lee could feel that Hester liked the smell of it so he picked it up and took a good sip, after which there was soon an appreciative smile on his face.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, Ms. Lily. Or rather, pardon me for saying so, but I don't think it would be as bad." Not that he could really know. He supposed being shifted all out of place and time was the worst luck anyone could dream of and when he tried to imagine what would happen to him if that happened, he couldn't really grasp a good image of it. If he was transported without Hester, sure, that would be more terrible than torture and abuse put together. But you can't really separate one from the other, and Lee had no family waiting for him...so he couldn't imagine the shock and the fright someone like Lily might know.

"I'm sorry I can't help you go back or find a way to talk to your folks back home," Lee said. "I imagine it's the same for everyone here who's lost; you're all going through the same thing. You could, though, consider the possibility that some of your friends are here." Clearly, he was trying to be optimistic here. "Seen some reunions happening."

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 06:00 am UTC (link)
She didn't think for a moment she could explain just how bad it truly was, so she thought she wouldn't even try. It would involve getting into ... everything back home. The war, what she was, why she was so despised, and what her friends were probably doing in her absence. She barely wanted to think about it, let alone explain it.

"I'm sure once I've had a chance to acclimate to it all, I'll be fine," she murmured as she lifted up the cup of hot chocolate. Except ... she didn't want to acclimate, adjust, and accept. She just wanted to go home. To go home, and get married, and win the war ... but she guessed the war would just have to roll on without her.

It was a shame she hadn't been dumped in the future; maybe then someone around could tell her how it had turned out.

"It's not your fault," she assured him, managing a half-smile for him. "Are you ... from here or were you like ... me? Us? The others who are ... lost here?"

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 06:08 am UTC (link)
"Suppose you can call me a local," Lee said. "But not in the strictest sense. I was born in 1904 and raised in Texas until I moved out to find my luck. To the best of my knowledge, I hadn't been transported through time and space just yet."

"Hate to break it up to you, Lee," Hester said soon, "But we might be running late for work."

Lee ignored her.

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 06:16 am UTC (link)
She nodded slightly, and she supposed that explained the attire. Lapsing into a thoughtful silence, she sipped almost absently at her drink and let her eyes wander over the inside of the coffee shop. Setting the mug down, she ran her fingers through her hair again before she shook her head.

Of all the things she'd planned to do that day ... getting lost in past-times New York wasn't one of them. "Where ... where is this welcome center?" She asked. She supposed she'd get more definitive answers there. Not that she didn't appreciate him taking time out of his day to help her, because she did appreciate that, but she supposed she should find somewhere quiet to sit and think and try this bulletin board thing. "I suppose I should ... be on my way there and get out of your hair." She did manage a little smile at the last bit of her statement, though it was fleeting.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 06:32 am UTC (link)
"No trouble at all," Lee said with a smile. "Always a pleasure to help someone in need of assistance." And, she was pretty.

He summoned the waiter and asked for a pen and a piece of paper. "I wish I could take you all the way to the Welcome Center, but it's not in a very convenient distance from here, see. It's not very far, though."

And if there was one more thing Lee was good at, no matter how much Hester thought otherwise, it was maps. He didn't receive much of a paper, but he took his time to draw the road from where they currently were and remembered to note down a few landmarks that could help her along the way. Before he finished his fine drawing, he let Hester finalize everything before he turned the page over and scrawled down his name, his number, and his place of residence.

"In case you need help," Lee said as he handed her the map he had made, "my details are at the back. But if you put out a note for me in the bulletin boards, I'll be sure to check it out quickly." He winked at Lily.

"Try not to do that on lost ladies, Lee," Hester said to him.

"It might be better for you to catch a cab," Lee suggested and he drew out his old wallet that was coming apart on the seams and slipped out a couple of notes for Lily. Thank God for work! He was reserving that for a few repairs on his balloon instruments, true, but that can wait. "It's not much but take this, anyway, it could help. I can drop by after work and see what else I can do for you."

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 06:41 am UTC (link)
"I wouldn't ask you to," she assured him when he said he wouldn't be able to walk her there. She was sure he had other things to do and couldn't be catering to poor lost her all day. She sipped her hot chocolate as she watched him draw the map, though her gaze drifted occasionally out the window. 1964. If she thought back hard enough, she thought she could recall clothing a little like this in her mum's closet. When she and Tuney would play dress up ...

Lily bit down hard on her lower lip to still it when it started quivering. Of all the things to be the straw to break the emotional camel's back, it was a thought of her estranged sister? And why not? If she never saw Petunia again ... there'd never be a resolution to their issues. She fixed her gaze out the window until she was sure she mostly had her expression under control.

She turned back in time to see Lee pulling out his wallet, and she shook her head slightly. "I have perfectly sound legs," she assured him. "And I'm sure I can exchange what money I have on me somewhere." She reasoned too that she could sell her wizarding money if this seemed like it was going to be a long-term stay. Despite everything she'd heard and seen so far, she was still rebelling against the idea that this may well be her life for an extended, indefinite period of time.

It was hard enough on her to take James' money, and she was engaged to marry him. She couldn't bring herself to take money from a near-stranger who'd already been so helpful.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 06:59 am UTC (link)
Lee wasn't going to take that for an answer. Surely she could use her legs for something else more important than walking. He was about to insist for her to take the money until Hester stood with a straight back and placed a paw on his arm.

"Leave it, she ain't gonna take it." Hester recognized it in Lily's tone.

And Lee knew better than to ignore the hare and her advices on these matters. So he retrieved his hand and placed his money back in his wallet, grateful for it all the same. "But if there's absolutely anything you need, Ms. Lily, don't hesitate to ask. There's a lot of us here who'd be more than happy to help you get comfortable until we sort this one out." He was probably letting on more than he could do, but what was a tiny bit of encouragement, right?

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 07:05 am UTC (link)
She was a little surprised by the lack of insistence, but glad all the same that she wouldn't have to continue her protests. She had a fierce stubborn streak, but she preferred not to exercise it if she didn't have to. She exercised it often enough with James and Sirius. "Thank you, though, for the offer," she added simply because she didn't want to come off as some ungrateful spoiled brat. "I do appreciate the assistance and I'm sure I'll be in touch again." Even if only because he was the first person she'd met here and therefore the sole familiar face in this strange world.

So far, at any rate. Perhaps James and some of their friends had arrived as well. Or would arrive. Maybe she was simply the first, and the others would follow. The thoughts were soothing even if part of her knew she was just lying to herself.

Realizing then that this was likely her cue to leave, she finished her hot chocolate before setting the cup down on the table. "Thank you, again," she said softly before she turned her eyes toward the door. "I should ..." she gestured toward said door before she started to ease out of her seat.

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[info]leescoresby
2011-07-23 07:24 am UTC (link)
Lee pushed his seat back and stood up with her, hand falling instinctively on his hat as he smiled and nodded towards her. Hester had hopped down to the floor on time to miss tumbling down his legs.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Lily," he said kindly. "The city ain't that bad either. You'll be fine, you'll see. Good morning to you."

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[info]just_lily
2011-07-23 04:25 pm UTC (link)
"It was lovely to meet you as well," she replied. "Thank you, again, and I'm sure I'll be seeing you." She managed a more genuine smile for him before she turned away to start for the door. She thought before she ventured to the welcome center, she'd find a quiet place to unleash some of her emotional confusion before she accidentally let it loose on someone who didn't deserve it.

She paused at the door, drew a steadying breath, and let herself out into the new world she was -- at least for the time being -- a part of.

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