Not a customer ((Arthur))

Mariana was getting back from St.Mungo's after talking to Khaat about her old job, party and who knows what else. She was in a metro somewhere in the heart of London. The idea came to her mind that Arthur said something about working in diagon alley so she decided to pay him a visit. It was very not likely that he would show up on her party and she didn't want her best friend to be the last in finding out that she was right here in London.

Hit on the second brick to the left was perhaps too much hard then necessary though she didn't pay too much attention to it. The street was long so she looked here, there and everywhere not stopping to check out the new places. After a few minutes she finally recognized the name Arthur mentioned her only once. Without hesitation, she entered the apothecary. No one was visible there though she did notice someone behind the counter. It looked very much like her friend so she sneaked up on him stabing him with her wand on the back. Her hands were on the table between them though she stayed silent.

''Accio wand'', Arthur said when he felt the tip of his opponents wand on his spine. The pressure ceased and he had held a wand in his left hand, grabbing his own and turning around swiftly, his robes creating a small wind. He pointed his wand at the person behind him, thinking it being a robber. This had happened once before and he was ready now as he was back then. Wilson's private tutoring did benefit his skills.

But, when he noticed who it was behind him, his wand fell down on the counter, his eyes widened and the other wand also fell down on the counter. He had not seen her since Majere's infamous graduation ceremony. He did not know what had happened to her - no one did. She just disappeared and it made him wonder for several months that had happened to his friend... Mariana Diggory. Then, a smile appeared on his face and he picked up his wand, returning hers. ''I am... overjoyed... and sorry... but overjoyed'', he said and went around the counter. He stood in front of her, not knowing what to do. Should they shake hands, hug? He had no idea since he wasn't good at this, so he just stood. The incident with Amelia was still fresh and he wanted to keep things easy. ''Ummm... you are alive?'', he asked, amazed by the mere fact. He did not know what to say.

Mariana saw this coming. Wouldn't be the first time one of her friends pointed his wand at her before they would drop it. "I wish everybody would stop pointing their wands at me." she said with a joking tone. It was a good thing Arthur didn't shoot before looking at who he was aiming at. At first it was amusing when people glared at her like they never seen her before, but it was starting to get annoying. As he ran around the counter she turned around while grabbing her wand to put it in her pocket.

He just stood there looking at her like she was an apparation. It was obvious he wasn't going to move. "Hi Arty!" she said hugging him after a second. When the hug broke, she stood there looking at him. "Well you look alright. Perhaps you need to eat a little more. And it's fine. You're not the first one to point a wand at me though first time i thought he was going to kill me." she said sounding like his mother a bit though he probably got used to it. "So what's news with you? Who did you say your boss was again?" she finally asked though hoping he was going to stop staring soon.