Order Only Private message to Hermione

[alt_draco]

Sorry I kept nodding off last night - I was utterly knackered from working those two shifts back to back. Funny, seeing as I've worked much harder and longer without sleep in the past and didn't feel so exhausted afterward. Maybe it's because I had so many details to keep track of in my head, because the work itself isn't overly difficult. Though it is different than what I'm used to. My hands are actually aching from washing so many glasses by hand.

So far Russell's descriptions of his co-workers has held true - mostly. The Chef is rather tyrannical but some of the insults he lobs are so creative that I have to fight the urge to laugh. The only other bartender I've worked with is Corbet Pugh, who's an alright bloke despite his Welsh accent that sounds so unnervingly like Teddy's. Oh and the gossipy waitresses, Tamsin and Felicia? Turns out they're Tamsin Applebee and Felicia Green, who were ahead of me at Hogwarts by a few years. Based on their work uniforms and minimal duties, I suspect that they were hired mostly for ornamentation. They deliver drinks out to the reading room or other parts of the club, and the suggestive comments that some of the male clientele make...
well, I'd say that I find it shocking, but it's not so different from what I remember hearing in that circle back when I was part of it.

Anyway, I didn't really get asked about much other than what I thought of the Little Venice festival, to which I gave them Faust's take on the event: "It was highly enjoyable, particularly the sight of so many New Londoners come together in loyalty and harmony." That got some nods of approval, though you could tell they didn't really care what Faust thought of the festival, they just wanted someone to parrot back their own perceptions. I'm prepared to endure a lot of exchanges like that.

You'd think the club would be quiet earlier in the week but it's actually been busy. Everyone wants to get a run on the course in after the weekend. Starting tomorrow, more people will be coming round just to socialise. My shift doesn't start until 6 today so I have the afternoon free to do Russell's shopping and reading.

Speaking of, I have Thursday and Sunday off, so I was thinking of sleeping at school tomorrow night. I already miss the smell of the castle, and the view of the lake, and especially you.

Comments

[alt_hermione]

It's only been two days, you nit. But I miss you, too. It's odd to sleep alone again, when I've got used to you pressing your forehead into my shoulder. Although, Crookshanks has already laid a claim to your side of the bed. He curled up behind my knees last night and I could only get him to move by putting some catnip on your pillow. I'll try to remember to have the case changed.

He would say that the essence of disguise is being what they expect you to be, so it sounds like you're doing all right on that score. So far. Don't lose your temper, though. Just ignore any of the stupid things they say. I mean, not ignore altogether, you'll have to at least pretend to appreciate the jokes, but--well, you know what I mean.

We should really get ready to move back to Grimmauld. I know Professor Vector's already talking about hiring new staff for September and the Order are on notice that we can't stay here indefinitely. If we can get the Floos back online it won't be so hard on Sirius, anyway. It seems like it's a long way off, but it'll be here before any of us know it.

Oh, I'm going to Cheadle tomorrow with 200 doses of potion. So I might not be back for supper. But I'll try to leave early, as you're coming home.

[alt_draco]

I don't think catnip on my pillow will harm me in any way.

Right. Yes, I've been keeping what he would say in mind. And tempers, well, I've never been good at holding my tongue, but I had lots of practice at it when I was younger.

Do you want to live at Grimmauld? We could do, at first, but we don't have to stay on there. A fresh start has some appeal.

Don't hurry back tomorrow if it inconveniences you. I can always wait to eat til you've returned.

[alt_hermione]

Catnip won't, no, but I don't think you'd fancy him stretching himself out over your face! Or having one of those crazy dreams of his. Plus his breath isn't all that pleasant.

If we didn't go back to Grimmauld, then where? I'm not living at the Manor. You can do whatever you like to it, keep it or sell it or make it a museum. Maybe somewhere coastal?

[alt_draco]

It would be a whole new level to our relationship, yes. All thanks to the power of catnip.

Not the Manor. I still don't know what to do with the place but there's no hurry to decide.

Westcliffe-on-Sea? Or maybe somewhere in Devon, like Ilfracombe or Salcombe. Could be fun to look around at the options, anyway.

[alt_hermione]

I suppose we really ought to wait, though, until either the South is more secure or at least until most of the Muggles have been awakened and are able to go back to their homes. I wouldn't want to accidentally go and live somewhere only to have the actual tenants or owners come round expecting to move back in. That's one thing about Grimmauld, we know we're welcome there as long as we like.

Though. I guess it's also somewhat comforting to not pass a chair or a doorway and think 'That's where he preferred to read' or 'If Harry had come to live here, Sirius would have wanted him to have this room' or anything like that. (I think I might reserve a space for Harry, though, no matter where we live. Mentally, I mean.)

So, do you have to eat things Russell would eat and not have things he doesn't like? When you go shopping, do you have to buy things he normally buys? He doesn't have any nasty habits or anything, has he? Or rashes or allergies? I can just picture you at an apothecary picking up some sort of embarrassing salve or ointment. Do you have to get hair tonic for his balding spot?

[alt_draco]

There's probably a legitimate way to determine which homes are actually vacant, but security - who knows how long that will take. Do you know where Ron and Justin and Hydra and Sally Anne are planning to live? Maybe we could all be neighbours, or something.

And that's precisely the problem with 12G. Just when I start to think of how comfortable it sounds, I realise all the ways that it will be different. Who'll do the late night baking? And who - it just won't feel like it did, before. That's all.

Funny you ask that about Russell, as I've just got back from doing his shopping. First off, his flat is a small bedsit but has quite comfortable furnishings because they came from his parents (who are both dead, as you recall). His mother must've made quilts because he has a trunk full of them, all ornate and well made (he packed up two of them to take to Austria, when he leaves). He's also got a small but decent library of all the wizarding classics, which he says he reads so that he can converse properly with the club members. He takes all the papers for the same reason. For food he mostly eats tinned things on toast, so I bought a load of tinned things at the shop. Beans, tomatoes, and these sausages that are probably mostly made out of some kind of transfigured starch - turnips or parsnips, maybe. And a loaf of wholemeal bread, some eggs, a wedge of fairly tasteless cheddar, and tea. When Russell works a full shift he gets one meal from the kitchens, but nothing too fancy, just sandwiches, soups, and pies, but at least it's made from fresh ingredients.

He's not fat, but he's got no exercise regimen whatsoever, which makes it peculiar to transform back to my own body at night. It always feels very light and strong by comparison, like that of an all-star Quidditcher. I think on his Sunday off I'll be sure to get some training in, because it's a little concerning to think of what's happening to my own body when I'm not using it.

So you're telling me that when your boyfriend is absent, you think about him having a rash or picking up an embarrassing salve? Have you yet thought about the fact that when I go to the toilet I am, quite literally, wiping another man's arse? This really is a terribly exotic assignment, isn't it? Oh, but I'm ignoring the bald spot, though, since Russell seemed rather insistent that he didn't have one.