Closed Doors

Neville couldn’t believe he was doing this. He had no choice; he couldn’t take this on his own. The Order could be trusted. He didn’t know if anyone would even show up. He was hoping someone besides Ernie and Susan would help him. Ernie is struggling enough with the farm without being distracted and Susan has a lot on her plate.

Hannah guided a drunken man outside and waited until the Knight Bus picked him up. It was too cold to just kick a drunken man outside. She shivered as she came back inside and flipped the sign over to ‘bar closed’ and flipped another sign saying ‘no vacancies’. She sighed. It was so bloody cold.

“Damn, Neville. I’m so sick of this cold. I can’t imagine what Ernie is going through up in the Highlands,” said Hannah. “Susan went up with him. She didn’t want to let him go up there alone right now and she wanted to figure out this lamb and demiguise thing going on up there,” said Neville. “She still cares about him you know. I’ll go far enough to say she still loves him,” said Hannah. “I know. We both still love each other. It’s only a matter of time,” said Ernie.

Hannah opened up a bottle putting money from her pocket into the cash register. She got a few glasses ready for several people to show up. Neville had told Hannah right away as he decided to do this; they didn’t keep their marriage on lies. It had also led to the decision for both of them to join the Order officially. It was worth the risk.

“Are the heating charms all up in the rooms?” asked Neville taking a glass after Hannah poured it. Neville knew the taste right away; it was a combination of muggle wine and firewhisky, Hannah’s specialty.

Despite the fact that his friends owned the place, The Leaky Cauldron was not Kingsley's favorite place. Sure, he never drank much, and usually avoided these places altogether, but even amongst bars, the Leaky was not his usual first destination. The place was usually crowded, and more often than not, a few ministry nuts who knew him would be present. Discussing politics was not Kingsley's idea of relaxation after all.

However, owing to a odd sequence of events, Kingsley had found himself staying at a room in the Leaky Cauldron. He woke up early in the morning (or whatever time it is) to go downstairs for a quick drink. Thankfully, there were only two people in the pub right now, and he recognized them both. "Neville! Hannah! How are you two?" he asked, though he didn't take the seat, as he thought he might be interfering.

Neville smiled as he saw Kingsley. It had been a long time since he had last seen him. It seemed like it had been a lifetime. The past couple of years had been rather long. Life isn’t always kind.

“We’re good. This old place takes up a lot of time. I wanted a project but I nearly got myself way over my head,” laughed Neville. “Have a seat. Unlike my husband I understand hospitality that is required to run a pub,” said Hannah. Neville rolled his eyes.

“Oh sweet Merlin, I forgot to restock the pantry,” said Hannah running off into the kitchen. Neville shock his head. Sometimes he didn’t understand Hannah at all.

Curiosity was what prompted the loud popping as Melinda apparated right inside the Leaky Cauldron. She'd received a rather mysterious owl from the Longbottoms earlier in the day and in her estimation this couple were not naturally so coy.

Melinda would not have called herself nosy, mainly because she had worked as headmistress in a reform school for most of her life where knowing everybody's business was part of the job. Her knack for overhearing and remembering tidbits of other people's lives was more in the way of a professional skill, rather than rooted in some desire to gossip or be in the know.

"Good evening, everyone," she greeted them cheerfully, although she wasn't entirely happy to see Kingsley in the room.

That man had been her superior at Hogwarts, and was part of the reason she'd left. His total inability to maintain order in that school was what was pulling it down, in Melinda's not so humble opinion.

“Good evening, may I offer you anything to drink?” asked Hannah. Neville rolled his eyes; it was partially annoying how good she was with customers just because he was so bad at it. He didn’t feel bad since Hannah couldn’t do any of the actually management parts of the business. It was up to Neville to get after workers.

“Welcome, I’m very glad you can make it. I really want to get started since there are so many things to cover,” said Neville. Well, this wasn’t the turnout he had hoped for but it would have to work. There weren’t many of them out there willing to do personal missions anymore.

((I'm not sure what happened to Kingsley so I don't know how this going to work))

"No, dear, sit down," Melinda told the girl, taking this whole business in hand. "You too, young man."

She waved Neville into a chair.

"Now, get started," she ordered him. "If we wait around for everyone, why, we'll be waiting forever. It's on their heads if they can't be on time. This is the exact same problem you lot have with that Order of yours, isn't it? I came along once but never again. My Lord, what a mess."

“I was doing a lot for them for a while but I don’t really like being a puppet. I just know that my parents would be furious at what the Order has become. It isn’t the Order it’s just a puppet show for the Ministry. That’s part of the reason we are here and the other reason is more geared towards my family,” said Neville.

Hannah walked away somewhere else. She didn’t want to talk about or even listen to it. She didn’t want to believe it. She felt like she had failed. She just didn’t know how to handle it anymore. She knew it wasn’t hers and Neville’s fault but it felt like it.