'Seein' the future eh? Some things are never meant to be changed." He muttered under his breath as the door swung shut behind him. At the mention of foretelling the future Mordecai's demeanor darkened somewhat. It was a subject that he knew a lot about but disliked discussing. Why? Well, he had his reasons.
"Aye, that's what I've been told. I'll get Sparky to set up a connection with the Hogshead pub. I heard the bartender there knows how to serve a drink." He ushered Christabella over to the bar and out of the line of traffic that was coming and going between the front door and the back. "Right I'll be right back. Try not to turn too many heads while I'm gone."
He gave the bar top a hefty slap with his large hand and a moment later the bartender arrived with a Butterbeer. Mordecai withdrew a Sickle and flicked it to the man who caught it in mid-air with a wink.
"Drinks are on me." Mordecai chuckled as the bartender slid the Butterbeer over to Christabella. Mordecai didn't hang around to share idle gossip with a few dowdy looking witches that were sitting nearby with their heads together. Instead he wove his way easily through the tables and sprang up the staircase taking the stairs three at a time.
" 'At man knows how to 'old his drink. Am gonna miss 'is patronage." The bartender sighed as he picked up a wet pint and began to dry it with a white rag that was slung over his shoulder.
It didn't take Mordecai too long to shove all of his personal belongings into a large canvas sailors bag. Most of it had already been packed and stayed that way. Yet the man moved like lightning as he grabbed a few loose shirts, pants, a pair of hiking boots and a hand-knitted scarf with the Macaw colours that a mum of a good mate of his back in New Zealand made for him. "To keep away that damn English chill." She had said. Good woman. She always knew what she was talking about.
He darted into the tiny bathroom that was attached to the room and scooped up his razor and the rest of his toiletries before he dumped them all into a leather carrying case and chucked it into the canvas bag. A heavy hoot sounded out and Mordecai looked over his shoulder to see the large form of Barnholt, his newly acquired Eagle Owl, staring down at him from the shower curtain rod.
"Be seein' you at Hogwarts mate. Don't get lost." He chuckled as the owl blinked and swooped off his perch, cuffing Mordecai around the head before he flapped out of the bathroom and then out of the open bedroom window. Ahhhh that owl. It had taken him a while to get used to the blokes feathered ways. Back home Mordecai had a Kookaburra named Cody to deliver his mail. Hilarious little feather duster he was. However upon making the decision to move north Mordecai had to leave the little fella behind. The bird wouldn't last five seconds in a fall rain never mind a snowstorm. At least now he was going to be well taken care of, having been given to the Macaws as a second mascot along with Big Sparky, the phoenix. But Mordecai sure missed that little barrel of laughs.
"Right. Anything else?" He asked himself as he quickly tied his wayward hair into a ponytail and glanced around. The bed wasn't made and there were a number of Daily Profits scattered about but he tipped the cleaning lady well so that was all good. Mordecai quickly checked his pockets to make sure he had everything, such as his wallet and sack of galleons, his wand, his Navigator and the small round lump that was tucked away in the breast pocket of his shirt. His lucky Snitch was safe and sound right where he left it.
"Okay then, here goes nothing." He huffed as he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He turned around and glanced in the mirror and only then did he realize what was missing. His robes.
"Agh, hell." He growled as he tossed the bag back onto the bed and tore off his jacket and shirt all in one move. He wasn't one to go around in the full-robed scholarly look, he enjoyed wearing pants far too much. However he was going to have to show up at the school looking somewhat professional instead of looking like an Urban Muggle. He yanked out his travelling cloak and shoved on one of his old Quidditch jerseys before he took out the necessities from his jacket and shoved them into his pockets. There, that was going to have to do for now. He was a Quidditch player and now a coach not a bloody bureaucrat. He just hoped that no-one at Hogwarts expected him to look like Merlin or something to that effect.
"Right then, ready to go?" Mordecai seemed to materialize behind Christabelle as if out of thin air with his heavy bag in his hand and his cloak slung over a shoulder.