Principal Lupin on Playground Duty

With raw hands, Nemo gripped the support that he'd been offered and climbed with an all too audible breath. "I owe a lot of people," He admitted whilst he stumbled forward in his attempt to correct himself. With a grimace, he slapped his hands upon his knees and slid them along his denims, as though rubbing the sharp sting from his flesh. It was then that it occurred to Nemo, as he shook out his abused wrists, that his emptied bottle had flown from his grip when he'd fallen. Thus, with a frustrated and defeated gesture towards the shattered glass that lay a foot away, Nemo completed his earlier statement, "Including the bar I stole that from." He kicked his boots out, allowing his feet to slip into a more comfortable position within the familiar footwear, "All I wanted was a sip..." Nemo muttered bitterly as an afterthought.

The regretful expression which had spread like an ugly smudge of grey across his usually amused and enthusiastic face was quickly replaced by a grin, however, when his eyes met the sight of a genuine smile from Jack. "There!" He shouted and threw an arm towards her to point at the rare thing. "That's the one! The one that I was trying to find back at the Leaky!" He elaborated, unaware in his stupor that his words would likely be interpreted as nonsense by anyone who did not share his thoughts. "You know," He added with a shrug of his shoulders and a simple gesture of his arms that suggested he believed the act of reading his mind to be as understandable as a ‘Wingardium Leviosa’. "The reason I started the bar fight," He further explained as he stepped into place at Jack's side, matching the smile that he’d referred to.

There was a moment's silence and a couple of steps taken forward before Nemo spoke up again, "So, do you think the Minister was just yanking our leashes?" He inquired, despite the obvious answer.

Jack helped the unsteady Seer to his feet, thinking how different the two of them were in that respect. He admitted to being a collector of favors- Jack was usually the one dispensing them at random, it seemed. He pointed out the fallen bottle, may it rest in peace, and she shrugged. "Not like you were going to return it anyway, right? Don't worry. I'm sure we can find somewhere to replace it."

He suddenly exclaimed and she took an involuntary step away from the noise, her eyes widening and eyebrows cringing as her hungover head took in the noise- whoever said you could avoid a hangover by refusing to go to bed was a liar, an idiot, or a mixture of the two. Jack's temple throbbed. He elaborated and she rolled her eyes, smirking. "Yeah, well..." She didn't know how to respond. People didn't take notice of those kind of things with her. "Take a picture."

He fell into step with her and they took off- where, Jack had no idea. Just, off. He asked the question they both must have been asking in vain, knowing all too well the answer. "I can hope so," she said, unconvinced hope in her voice.

Nemo rocked unintentionally against Jack's side as they moved without direction, almost skipping as a foreign contentment overwhelmed him, prompted by the alcohol that remained. While Jack had already begun to sober from their prior escapades, it would be several hours before any such process stirred within his being. A length of time during which Nemo would likely have obtained another drink and begun once more in the process of intoxication. Such was a day in the life of Nemo Omara.

Said alcoholic allowed his head to slump towards the ceiling casually as he walked. And with his joyful blues he addressed the white paint above, "We're working the night shift. That sorta makes us like spies. Or Death Eaters," He pondered aloud as they awaited the lift's arrival.

They walked in a silence, one that had no awkward characteristics, just contentment and contemplation. Jack was trying to figure out how she would manage all of her duties now- and with the werewolf fundraiser coming up so soon! Her days had been occupied and now her nights... When was she supposed to sleep? She was fairly sure the Ministry of Magic was doing an experiment with her to see if they could program a human to eliminate the need for sleep.

They stopped at the lifts and Poe spoke. She turned her head and then, after a moment of disbelief, she burst into laughter. The lift's arrived and she stepped in, her laughter abating. "You, my friend, are going to get your ass kicked one of these days."