fix up, look sharp. [tag; joanna]

Oh. She was lost.

Stood in the middle of a busy street, Poesy squinted at a lopsided street sign. London was not her friend and it never would be. She couldn't even really blame it on her small village upbringing because she'd ditched it as soon as she was able to. She was basically a tourist because she hadn't been home in a decade.

It looked as though it was threatening to snow. The sky was almost black, looking like a rather bad bruise in tones of purplish-grey with heavily laden clouds that contrasted with the worn brick buildings. It was cold, too. The English capital was deep in the grip of a cold winter. It was a damp cold also, the type that settled right into her very bones and froze her from the inside out.

Turning on her heel, Poesy headed left. Dressed warmly with a camel coloured coat belted at her waist, she vaguely remembered where she was going. Poesy had never needed to set foot in the British Ministry before but she recalled her parents drumming into the address into her and her sister at a very young age. Why? In case she was ever caught up in what her mother - in a very middle class way called - "a tizzy". Neither she nor Constance ever asked for the term to be explained but they caught Violet Darling's drift.

Poesy felt very alone in the city and she decided she at least needed to see a familiar face. She hadn't clapped eyes on Joanna since they'd graduated but she knew she worked at the Ministry, she just wasn't sure in what capacity. Selfishly, Poesy felt a bit lost. Things hadn't panned out the way they were supposed to and she just needed someone to tell her to take a breath and calm down and Joanna was the very person. If she was going to be completely honest with herself, all she needed was a hug.

After nipping into a nearby coffee shop and walking further on, Poesy managed to juggle two take away coffee cups and grappled with the dodgy lock on the telephone box. After stating the nature of her visit, she almost dropped them again as she attempted to pin the shiny silver badge to her coat front.

The lift pinged after its descent, leaving Poesy stepping out of it cautiously and both impressed and terrified. Her heels click-clacked on the shiny floor as she ventured forward, looking for direction before spotting what looked like a reception desk. "Hi," Poesy offered, pink cheeked and slightly out of breath. "I'm looking for Joanna --" here, she paused. Joanna could be married by now. What if she'd taken her husband's surname? "Hennings?" Poesy ventured.

The bored looking middle-aged witch blinked at her as she chewed her gum, causing the blonde witch to frown in confusion. The title of "welcome witch" seemed to be misplaced. "Please," Poesy tried again with a hopeful smile. With a sigh, the woman behind the counter began to shuffle papers aimlessly before speaking. "Department of Magical Law Enforcement, level two," the woman stated, eyeing Poesy's formfitting trousers with a mixture of jealousy and disgust.

"Right-o. Tip-top, thanks a bunch," Poesy blurted out as she turned and winced. She didn't consider herself to be English any more but since returning to the motherland, she couldn't outrun her ancestry. Or 1950s themed conversations.

Positively dying of shame, Poesy stepped into the sparkling elevator and let out a groan as the doors shut, whooshing her upwards. She recalled the department name and she wondered what her former classmate could be doing here. The door pinged and she stepped out, looking around as she ventured down a long corridor. It wasn't long before she came across a door with her name etched into a plate. "Wow," Poesy found herself whispering. "Way to go, Jo."

It looked like a bit of a jumbled office, all thrown in together and she saw the familiar head of dark hair and she drew nearer. Poesy cleared her throat to announce her presence and grinned as she held up her coffee cups with a faint blush. "Got time for a catch up?" She offered cheerily, hoping that she didn't mind being interrupted by someone she hadn't spoken to in too many years. She hoped it wouldn't be awkward. Or rude. And that Joanna remembered who she was. Poesy did have a forgetful sort of face.



@Joanna Hennings

With Oktoberfest over the Ministry had returned to it’s usual staffing levels, and Joanna once again had a full office of Ministry employees to deal with. She almost wished for the blissful peace that was the previous week. Instead she got excited chatter recounting the drunken antics of co-workers and a smushed German chocolate bar from the person who she had allowed to go last minute. At least the chocolate bar was decent. Maybe she should have suggested that all those that she had authorised holidays for should have returned bearing gifts. But that probably would be an abuse of power… what a shame…

So she accepted the solitary chocolate bar and tried to convince the returning members of the hit squad that there were more important things to do than gossiping about the witch who ended legs over arse in a beer barrel. Like the perpetrator that was hexing parcels and sending them out as apparent mail orders. Or the scam artist that was targeting elderly witches and wizards to convince them to part with their Gringotts savings as goblins were mistrustful. But as those that were left in the office were on paperwork, which many believed was boring, the gossiping prevailed.

Honestly, who had the energy or the time to dwell on the shenanigans that had occurred? And honestly, who cared that Julie from Witch Watchers had hooked up with Brian from Magical Maintenance even though she had previously said she didn’t want anything to do with him. They were meant to be adults Merlin damn it! Not hormonal teenagers who thrived on drama-filled relationships. Joanna had many, many doubts about some of the people she worked with, but these things just confirmed them. People could sleep with whoever they wanted. Save the gossiping and gasps of shock and horror for those that broke the law… like the several drunken officials who had done a fair bit of vandalism across the event…

So keeping her door open to ensure that at least some work was being carried out across the office, and everyone wasn’t just standing in groups ensuring the grapevine remained thriving, Joanna tried to focus on the task in front of her. The end of month squad report. October was always a busy month with the madness starting to build before Halloween. The true damage done was always on Halloween itself, but that would be included in November’s workload. Joanna never looked forward to Halloween. Dressing up was childish and the night was always guaranteed to bring out the worst sort of people. But that was a worry for another day. Today’s worry was adequately explaining her absence levels given that she had authorised nearly half the squad to be off at the same time…

A clearing of a throat alerted Joanna to the presence of someone in her office. She looked up, expecting it to be an employee wanting a break or something. The answer would be no. They had just had a week long break, if they weren’t going to do any work they’d be working through lunch too. It wasn’t a member of Magical Law Enforcement though. As Joanna’s brain rapidly spun through names and faces, trying to guess who stood at her door, she stared at the woman holding the coffee cups. She looked familiar, but not in a way Joanna could immediately place. Definitely not a Ministry employee or a concerned member of the public, too casual for that.

And catch up, that implied they were acquainted, but possibly not recently. She rose with a smile as she approached the blonde woman. Not a Ministry acquaintance, so that left Hogwarts because Joanna really had not socialised outwith her work. An old schoolfriend. Wait… “Poesy!” she exclaimed, smiling wider. While she was pleased, and curious, to see her old friend, the smile was more in happiness over her recognition. “It’s been a long time!”

She had many things she wanted to ask. Why was she at the Ministry? Why was she approaching Joanna of all people? What was she up to these days? What had she been up to for the past 8 years? But the one she settled with was a lot tamer, “I thought you were abroad?” Joanna shook the confusion off easily though, finally replying to her original question. “Yes, of course I’ve got time for you! Take a seat!”

With a flick of her wand, all the confidential files and case reports were shut and flew to the cabinet at the side of the room. Joanna retook her own seat and gazed across at Poesy. “So, what brings you to London?”

There were a tense few minutes as Joanna didn't immediately greet her. Fear gripped Poesy's heart briefly. Of course she wouldn't recognise her, it had been such a long time since they'd last spoken but as her name was exclaimed, the petite blonde let out a sigh of relief and a gentle chuckle. Joanna was right; it had been a long time. There was an unfamiliar tinge of sadness that washed over her as she remembered the friends and the life she'd so easily given up.

Poesy blushed again faintly, still hovering awkwardly by Joanna's door. "I've not long been back," she admitted. Her visit was purely selfish. Now, guilt crept in around the ages. Joanna couldn't afford to drop everything for a coffee with a weirdo. She clearly ran a tight ship.

"Oh thank you." With that, she stepped closer and held out the coffee for Joanna to take. She'd ordered one white coffee and one white tea - the coffee was offered to the taller woman. Poesy didn't know what she drank now so she'd gone slap bang in the middle and she wouldn't mind swapping cups at all. She was briefly distracted by the files zipping across the room which rang a couple of alarm bells but she dismissed them.

"Can I be honest?" Posey asked Joanna with wide eyes, still sitting uncomfortably on the chair she'd been offered as though her feelings weren't allowed. "I don't know anyone in London." The admission came out in a rush and in a soft voice, the tips of her ears turning pink quickly. Without realising it, Poesy folded her lips together into a thin line, the classic sign that she didn't really want to say what she was about to. "I'm just trying to get my head around the place. It's massive," she frowned as she anxiously wrung her fingers together, her coffee cup long forgotten.

Finally, she met Joanna's gaze. "And I needed to see a familiar face," Poesy confessed. "And I'm really sorry for just dropping by. I didn't realise you had so much work on." Typical Poesy. She'd always been away with the fairies. Joanna had always been a lovely girl with a good head on her shoulders but Poesy wouldn't be offended if she turfed her out. If she was going to be truly honest with herself - and Joanna - Poesy needed someone to tell her she wasn't making a huge mistake.

What was she doing in London? "Oh right," Poesy tapped her forehead, indicating that she lacked a brain. "Bit of a change, if I'm honest. My grandfather hasn't been well." And her mother didn't tell her. She'd been living in Paris, not the middle of a rainforest. An owl could have been sent. "He's retired now - sort of." Deep down, she knew he'd never fully stop. "So I've taken his shop over in Diagon Alley. It's a coffee shop now."

It wasn't what she thought she'd be doing since leaving school. Poesy had wanted to save the world. She wanted to cure all sorts of diseases, to make waves, to have people remember her name. It wasn't until a few months ago that she realised that having a "normal" life wasn't anything to be ashamed of.

"You should come," she told Joanna brightly. "I open in a few days and it'd be really nice. I've invited some people from school." But she wasn't daft enough to assume any of them would turn up. "But look at you!" She gushed, her blue eyes bright. Poesy just naturally assumed Joanna was in charge of whatever she was doing in the Ministry. It was the most obvious choice. "This looks great. I've never been inside here before." Mainly because she'd never had any issues and her father had usually managed to deal with most things. "What are you up to lately?"

Why would she be anything apart from honest? Joanna wondered but didn’t comment out loud. Instead she just nodded encouragingly, taking a small sip of the coffee Poesy had offered her. It was nice. It could possibly do with more sugar, but honestly, Joanna thought everything could do with more sugar. Poesy looked so uncomfortable sitting there. It looked like she was trying to fold herself into a small ball on the chair. Was it Joanna that was making her feel this way? No. Joanna knew how to make people uncomfortable, but Poesy had sought her out. And Joanna’s own body language was very relaxed, not domineering at all.

She was going to interject, to reassure Poesy that she probably knew lots of people in London, after all, it was where most of the British wizarding community either lived or worked, but something stopped her. A desire to let Poesy keep talking, and get to her point without interruption maybe? But she just looked so small that Joanna couldn’t let her keep going without some sort of reassurance. “Even I don’t know all of London,” she commented warmly, hoping Poesy would take that as a comfort rather than something overwhelming. “Just the important parts!” The Ministry, Diagon Alley, the good bars and restaurants.

There it was again. That self doubt. That anxiety. Joanna could relate, obviously. She spent most of her life doubting herself and her every decision. Most of the time she had an internal voice criticising and over analysing everything she did. It just wasn’t so public, like Poesy’s seemed to be. Had she always been like this or was this an adulthood development? Joanna could honestly say that she couldn’t actually remember that much about the younger woman apart from their shared fondness of sweets. Oh sweets. Merlin Joanna, you could have thought of that much earlier!

Withdrawing a large box of chocolates from her desk drawer she set them on the table in-between the two women. Chocolates fixed everything. Maybe they could help put Poesy at ease too. “No, no, it’s fine,” Joanna hastened to reassure her. “I always have work, I haven’t seen you for ten years. You’re so much more important than a monthly case report!” She gestured at the chocolates, while taking one for herself, “help yourself. They’re from Honeydukes. I can afford the big boxes now!” The last part was said with a laugh. As a student she had to make her sickles last, and extravagant indulgences were not something she could afford every day. Now? Well, now she was an adult. She could buy as many sweets as she wanted.

The laugh slid from her face as she listened to Poesy’s family problems. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Joanna replied sincerely, not asking for further details. If Poesy wanted to share them Joanna was sure she would. It was important not to pry and start interrogating her friends. “I’m sure he’ll be glad that the business is continuing.” Had she ever pictured Poesy as running a coffee shop? Joanna wasn’t sure. She wasn’t even sure if she had ever even pictured herself sitting in an office like this. At Hogwarts, Hit Witch sounded completely different to what she actually ended up doing. But times changed and people changed with it.

“I’d love to come,” she said sincerely, “what’s it called?” Joanna may not be a fan of social engagements but she did like coffee. And cake. And she suspected there would be an abundance of it at the cafe. A quill quickly scratched out the given name and address on a parchment in front of her before falling down motionless. “I’ll try my best to be there,” she promised. Joanna couldn’t fully commit just incase something came up, but she would try.

Oh, the conversation was now fixed on herself. Her least favourite topic. Great. “Well, you’d only really be familiar with this place if you were in some kind of trouble, so it’s good you’re not.” Joanna told her friend matter of factly. And it’s falling apart slowly but surely she added in her head.

How late was lately?

Like, the last week, the last year, the last ten? She took another sip to delay answering before eventually replying. “I suppose just trying to get back to normal after Oktoberfest.” She paused, a small smile on her face, “I swear half the Ministry left for the week.” And those that hadn’t celebrated in Germany seemed to pile into all the pubs in London for their own revelries. She shrugged helplessly in lieu of anything else to say. Ten years was a long time for a catch up. “Did you celebrate at all?”

Poesy returned Joanna's smile. Just the important parts she'd said, delicately, as though not to alarm her. Under pressure, Poesy was prone to flapping. She could easily tell why her former friend was held in such high regard; she was cool, calm and collected. Intelligent, graceful and gentle. Am all round good egg. "Great," she gushed. "Where's the nearest pub?" She joked…sort of.

It really wasn't Poesy's fault. Growing up in the shadow of her much bolder sister, she'd learned to fold herself up small. She'd been fine in Italy while she was studying because she had a clear goal but now? She was in a place she didn't know in a city that was too big with a woman who must think she was absolutely bonkers. Or maybe she didn't, considering she was offering her chocolates.

"Ooh," Poesy replied with wide eyes as Honeydukes was mentioned. "I've missed those," she told Joanna as she hovered her hand over the tray before selecting a fat chocolate covered toffee. As much as she loved France, she'd missed certain things about her homeland; a decent cup of tea, sweeter chocolate, even the rain. Mid-chew, she faltered slightly as she remembered the new owners of the chocolate shop. Her ex-boyfriend and his sister. "These are really good," she carried on before she finally managed to laugh at the bigger box comment. "Congratulations," Poesy told Joanna without a hint of jealousy. "You've done so well." An office job wouldn't have suited her but she did feel a bit guilty at not having her life together in the same way that Joanna did.

"Thank you," she offered quietly with a genuine smile. The circumstances under which she had returned weren't the best but Joanna had no idea just how nice it was to see her.

What had she called her coffee shop? "Ah." With a laugh, the tip of her nose turned pink in embarrassment. "Deja Brew," she grinned. "Honestly, it sounded a lot wittier in my head," she scolded herself with a roll of her eyes. She had other choices - Livin' La Vida Mocha, Espresso Yourself and others but the one she settled on suited her better. God, she was so nice. Genuinely. If the roles had been reversed and Joanna had barged into her place of work, Poesy wasn't sure she'd be so graceful. Sipping her tea, she nodded. She wasn't stupid. Joanna was a busy young lady and she knew not to take it to heart. It was a gentle rebuff, a careful one. It was a shame not everyone was so sensitive.

Joanna's comment about not being in trouble had earned her a wry smile. She was glad the other witch hadn't heard about the time she and some friends had levitated some cows in a field when they were younger. She'd found it hilarious but the farmer was spooked. It was lucky his wife thought he was being ridiculous and sent him to bed early and the matter was never discussed.

Her bright blue eyes widened in surprise as she wriggled in her chair, folding her legs up as she began to feel more comfortable. "No. Did you have fun?" It didn't sound like it and it made her smile. "I can't say I'm really a fan of tubas or sausages," she admitted with a smile. "I've not long qualified for my Silver Cauldron in Paris so the entire thing passed me by." She paused, looking a little distracted. "It sounds like that was a good thing."

It became apparent to her suddenly that her old friends must think she'd been living a double life. She'd graduated and then disappeared for a decade. "I've been living there for a couple of years," she offered as she sipped at her still-warm tea. It wasn't everything she thought it would be. The streets were dirty and the people were rude and she was completely shaken by the fact that the city's residents didn't seem to care about the wealth of history on their doorstep. The first time she'd seen graffiti on a leg of the Eiffel Tower had almost made her cry.

The need to confess was bubbling up inside of her and it was so strong, Joanna might have well been dressed as a priest, it was so compelling. "I left, er, something behind there." She sipped her tea and took too big of a gulp and she coughed. "Someone, actually."

Joanna laughed alongside Poesy but still jumped in with an answer. “Do you remember Delaney Mullen?” She asked, not waiting for a response before elaborating. “Short, blonde, was in Slytherin in my year? We moved in together after graduation?” Joanna wasn’t sure if Poesy and Del had ever interacted, but it wasn’t a huge school so they probably knew of each other. It was just whether, after ten years, anyone remembered. “Well, she’s got her own pub now. The Burning Beard. It’s just outside the visitor’s entrance. I swear everyone in the Ministry descends there after work.”

She was proud of what Delaney had accomplished. Owning your own successful business was hard. “She does her own brews too and the place is generally clean!” Why had she just mentioned cleanliness? Joanna was sure that made her sound like a complete obsessive. “We should grab a drink there sometime.” She offered to try and move past her own verbal diarrhoea.

Her own smile froze on her face. “Thank you,” Joanna said, “although I think it was less skill and more circumstance. After the war there just wasn’t many people left…” Joanna knew she was good at her job. She may have doubts about most things in her life. Crushing, crippling doubts. But work was generally something she was confident about. She followed protocol and procedure, had done well in training and kept up with her personal and professional development. These days she deserved her position. Back then though… lets just say despite her talents there had been other people more deserving of the job. She was just the only one still breathing.

“I love it!” She said with a wide grin, mirroring Poesy’s. “It’s very witty,” she reassured. “And we could do with a decent coffee shop! Are you catering mainly for sit in or takeaway orders?” She couldn’t help herself apparently. Joanna needed to know things. Even if she didn’t attend the launch day she would likely snoop visit when she had a spare minute in the next week or so.

“Oh, no no no!” Joanna corrected. “Me?” She said incredulously, “could you imagine me at Ocktoberfest?” She laughed in amusement at the idea. Oh Merlin. That sounded awful. The crowds of drunk people. The loud music. The stupid things that those people would be doing. No thanks. Count her out. “I stayed here and held down the fort while everyone else disappeared.” With a small shrug she elaborated, “I honestly got holiday requests from about 45% of my staff, and I couldn’t choose who to allow to have time off so everyone went. Those that were left all agreed to pull doubles etc.” It had been lucky it had been a quiet week, but Joanna was confident it had been the right decision. It had certainly done wonders for staff moral.

“The Burning Beard held a mini Oktoberfest though,” she explained, “Del even came up with some new brews which was nice.” Not that Joanna could really remember much of her Friday night Oktoberfest celebrations.

The Silver Cauldron sounded important. Even if Joanna wasn’t entirely sure the level of the potion award. “Oh wow! Well done!” She praised, before latching onto the other thing Poesy had said. “Paris? Wow!” Joanna was now officially jealous. Paris. Living in Paris. Getting to see all the sights and galleries. “You must tell me about it! I’d love to go some day!” Oh, an actual fresh croissant. Pure bliss. “What was the food like?” The question came out quickly, without thought and caused Joanna to laugh. Food? Of course the first thing out her mouth was about food. Typical.

Poesy’s next sentence silenced Joanna’s ravings about food. Thank Merlin. “Mmmmm?” She hummed noncommittally, hoping Poesy would take it as a sign to continue. She certainly was not about to jump in with questions when her friend was clearly preparing herself to tell anyway. This may not have been an interview, but there were some skills that never fully left, and encouraging people to talk was definitely one of them.

A blank look crossed Poesy's face when Delaney Mullen was mentioned. Even Joanna's description didn't help her. If she was going to be honest, most of her school days just sort of passed her by. She squinted as she racked her brains. A few faces floated by, nondescript, like riding a train as they whizzed by.

"Sure!" Poesy finally decided to commit to a lie.  The Burning Beard? All Poesy could think was goodness, she was very young to be running a pub. It just occurred to her that being a pub landlord required everyone to be middle aged. "That sounds like fun," she told Joanna delicately. "I must have missed it." It wasn't out of character, Poesy often missed a lot of things right in front of her; puddles, closed doors, untied shoelaces, inevitable break ups. Despite herself, she grinned. "So it's the Ministry's local?" Poesy couldn't remember the last time she'd had a local bar. She laughed again, relaxing as she chomped on another chocolate, nodding excitedly. "Yes please," she was quick to accept Joanna's offer before it was rescinded. "I'd love to. I'll test out the hand soap in the loos."

Oh. The war.

Much like Joanna's smile, Poesy felt hers slip a little but it was still in place. "Sorry," she whispered and she meant it.  Her apology was heavier than just making her classmate feel better; she really was sorry. She could have - she should have - done more. She'd skipped out of Britain like it was a game of double-dutch. With her eyes downcast, she sipped her tea out of habit but it didn't make her feel any better. Joanna probably knew all the names of the classmates that had died. There had to be a register in here somewhere. But here Poesy was, as always, late to the party. Or in this instance, the wake.

Still, she laughed. "Thanks," she blushed lightly. "Witty" wasn't something she was used to being called. "If I'm honest, I'll take any business I can get," she admitted with wide eyes. The possibility of a broomstick drive-thru didn't seem that far fetched at this point in time. "But I love my little shop, so I hope people might want to stick around for a little while." Most of her hopes were pinned on the influx of Christmas shoppers that landed on Diagon Alley.

"I can, actually," Poesy replied with a cheeky grin, dissolving in a fit of the giggles. Joanna was a pretty girl and she'd look extra pretty in traditional dress. The more she spoke, the more Poesy realised that she'd hadn't changed and it felt comforting. "Oh, you're a great boss," she told Joanna gently, her eyes popping out of her head at the mention of half her work force wanting the day off. "At least tell me you had a pint at some point?" Oh, Mini Oktoberfest. "That's my girl," Poesy replied with a wink.

Her previous blush intensified as it turned the tips of her ears pink. She couldn't bring herself to admit to Joanna that Paris was a bit of a shit-tip. Beneath the beautiful facade was graffiti and a seedy underbelly. "Of course," she ploughed on. "I could talk about it all day," she smiled. "What would you like to know? The best museums? Bars? Restaurants?" Poesy laughed as the subject was breached. "Really good," she answered Joanna. "Pretty fancy but it's oddly light? I missed sausage and mash but there's just something infinitely more delicate about the food back home." Because "home" wasn't London yet. "But the bread/" Here, Poesy reenacted the traditional chef's kiss, kissing her fingers and flinging them into the air. "Absolutely gorgeous." Poesy put on several pounds and didn't care about it.

Thinking of France lead her to thinking of French boys. It wasn't a big deal. They hung out, they hooked up, he'd asked her to marry him, no big deal. "I panicked," Poesy blurted out, her big blue eyes wide. Her grandfather getting sick was used a sort of excuse, a get out of jail free card, a cop out. But it had arrived just at the right time and the escape plan landed neatly in her lap. "What are you supposed to do when someone asks you to marry them?" Say yes, probably.


[so sorry for the delay! <33]