[DTMD] We can handle this [Hadley]

The day was a lovely one, if a bit chilly. For once, the sun was out, dispelling the all-too-common London fog that usually permeated the air and blocked any view of the sky. A few clouds rolled lazily by, occasionally covering the sun briefly and providing a bit of shade for the wizards and witches out and about in Diagon Alley. Brian just so happened to be one of the wizards outside, enjoying the rare good weather and a day of freedom from work and other obligations. Not being one to idle away hours at home alone, he decided to Apparate to Diagon Alley, where he hoped to visit a few shops. In particular, he was interested in stopping in at Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, which he’d heard had just gotten in some new stock. Since its inception, Brian had been a fascinated supporter of the shop, wishing that the trinkets and gadgets for sale had been around when he was a trouble-making Hogwarts student - never mind that everything sold by the Weasleys was probably banned at the school.

He strolled leisurely along the familiar street, smiling at everyone and no one in particular. Something about the weather made the normally cheerful man feel even happier than usual, if it was possible. He was simply dressed in a red t-shirt and dark blue jeans, finding dressing in the Muggle style was much more comfortable than wizard’s robes. Robes, he found, restricted his movements in a most unpleasant way. His dark hair was only half-heartedly tamed, his curls sticking out every which way. He paused for a few minutes outside Quality Quidditch Supplies in order to admire the latest racing broom they had on display before continuing on his journey.

It only took a moment for chaos to descend upon the crowded little alley. Something shifted, imperceptible to the human senses, but it was readily apparent to anyone trying to perform magic in that moment. He was still outside, having arrived at the Weasley shop but not having had a chance to enter when the most peculiar thing happened. The window display, filled with bright, flashing and whizzing enchanted objects of all shapes and sizes, suddenly went dark and silent. There was a second’s pause, then a spectacular crash that even bystanders outside could hear through the glass, as all of the enchanted objects fell to the floor of the shop. He blinked, not quite sure what to make of what he was seeing.

All around him, he could see wizards and witches attempting to perform magic and being unable to do so. Brian pulled out his own wand and attempted to Accio a candy wrapper lying in the street nearby. When that didn’t work, he stuffed his wand back in his pocket with a shrug and a shake of his head. To his left, he noticed a couple attempting to Apparate home, but nothing happened. Their frustration was apparent, for they were not shy about hiding it. It seemed that their magic was… gone, somehow. It seemed to be affecting everyone, young and old alike.

Sidling up to a blonde young woman who looked confused, but not panicky, he grinned and joked, “I suppose they’ll have to take the Tube or the bus home.” He caught her eye and nodded toward the couple who were unable to Apparate in order to signify who he meant. He found it all extraordinarily amusing, even if it did mean that getting home to the Highlands of Scotland would be a right pain in the arse without magic. Hogsmeade wasn’t exactly next door to London, being a whole country and several hundred miles away.

Grocery shopping always ended up taking the entire afternoon, Hadley mused.  She would go out for one or two things, and end up coming home with enough food to feed a herd of centaurs.  Carrying three large bags through Diagon Alley, Hadley struggled up the street and stopped near a wall to catch her breath.  Of course, she could have levitated the bags or made them weightless, but spells had never really been her forte.  She preferred to eke it out by hand, feeling validated when the task was accomplished, in that she didn’t take the easy way out.

Because it was an off day from work, Hadley had her hair down and enjoyed the faint breeze as she lifted the heavy tresses from the nape of her neck with one hand, sweating slightly from her trek through the shops.  She was wearing a simple pair of black trainers, in addition to her trademark black slacks, and a bright orange t-shirt, which was the only spot of color in her outfit.  It was a matter of indignation that she wore muggle dress when she could; she had kept her blood heritage under wraps shortly following the second wizarding war.  Now, Hadley felt that the danger had finally passed enough for her to simply not care what her peers thought of muggleborns.

Digging through her bags, Hadley spotted a pack of chocolate frogs, which had been an impulse purchase.  Chocolate would certainly hit the spot while she was taking a bit of a breather.  Unwrapping the treat, she paused as an almost imperceptible shiver seemed to take hold of her.  Glancing around nervously, she saw others had stopped in their footsteps and seemed to be frightened.  She clenched her hands together without thinking about it, and opened them quickly.  The chocolate frog she had been about to eat was melted into a gooey mass in her hands.  What in the world? She pulled her wand out from behind her ear and attempted to Scourgify it away, but was unsuccessful.  Instead, she wiped her hand onto her pants leg; sure that she was leaving a large brown spot.

A large crash, followed by several smaller ones, shook the area.  Leaving her bags where they lay, Hadley walked towards the source of the commotion.  The noise had come from Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, which had been her next destination on the every-growing shopping expedition.  All of the magical gadgets and fixtures that had been featured so charmingly in the glass windows were now lying broken or still on the floor of the shop.  Even more unnaturally, the shop itself was dark, whereas whenever Hadley had seen it in the past, it had been full of flashes of light and bright decorations. 

Even more confused than before, she saw the crowd of people starting to panic.  Finally, what had happened clicked in her brain when she overheard a man yelling about testing a new broom, only to have it fall onto the pavement and unceremoniously dump him as well.  Magic’s not working, she realized, for some reason struggling to find the strength not to giggle.  The thought didn’t frighten Hadley, somehow.  After all, she had been raised without magic for years, so if this was some trick to cause panic, she wasn’t biting.

A voice at her side caused her to look up and see a dark-haired man approaching her.  His comment made her look in the direction of a couple turning around and around, apparently trying to Apparate and getting nowhere with their attempts.  She couldn’t help it this time, laughter burst from within her and she struggled to find her breath.  When she could see again after brushing the tears from her eyes, Hadley turned to face the stranger.  “I’m Hadley.  Glad to see someone else could find amusement in this,” she grinned as she spoke, “But I’m not entirely certain I should be speaking to absolute strangers who could be luring me somewhere with dark motives.” Hadley cheerfully winked to show she was kidding, still tickled at the whole situation.

Growing up as the child of a Muggleborn witch and a Muggleborn wizard, Brian had had an interesting exposure to both the Muggle and magical worlds. His grandparents and all of his cousins were Muggles, so of course magic was rarely mentioned and certainly never performed during family get-togethers. Having gone to Muggle primary school, all of his early childhood friends were also Muggles, and he was careful never to mention what his parents really were to any of his friends. His parents even owned boring Muggle objects like a regular automobile and a television, which Brian found to be an amazing invention and couldn’t understand why the wizarding world hadn’t followed suit with that one. There was something thrilling about watching a football or a Quidditch match live, true. He just wished he had the option of watching a Quidditch match on the telly from the comfort of his living room instead of having to brave the elements with thousands of other fans in order to see his teams in action.

“I’m Hadley.  Glad to see someone else could find amusement in this,”

Her laughter was infectious. Brian couldn’t help but chuckle at her obvious amusement and the general hilarity of the whole situation. He immediately noticed that she was quite pretty, which perhaps was part of the reason he had approached her, but it was more than that. All around them, there was mass confusion, frustration, and borderline hysteria. She, and a select other few, seemed to be keeping their cool. Having a personality that allowed him to go with the flow, Brian was taking it all in stride. The fact that their magic was gone was concerning on some level. This was neither the time nor the place to dwell on that, though, and at the moment, the whole thing was just funny.

“I’m Brian. Nice to meet you, Hadley,” he said, extending his right hand in a handshake gesture. “I promise I don’t have any nefarious intentions,” he paused, looking around them before adding with a wink and a grin, “Though even if I did, it would be much more difficult to execute my evil plans with no magic.” Releasing her hand, his gaze wandered back to the now-empty display window of Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. It was like they had stepped into an alternate universe where up was down and right was left. Yes, he had lived without magic, and knew how to get around without it, but after living more than half of his life immersed in the wizarding world, he had to admit that he’d gone a bit soft. He hoped the Muggle money he carried on his person at all times would be enough to buy him a train ticket home, but he wasn’t sure about anything beyond that.

Glancing back at her, he took in her appearance. He was bad with guessing ages, especially women’s ages, but she looked quite young, possibly just out of Hogwarts. She, like he, was dressed in Muggle clothing. That, and her ability to find the fun in the situation made her feel like a kindred spirit, even if he knew next to nothing about the girl. “Let me guess,” he said, touching his chin in feigned contemplation, “Muggle clothing, seemingly unconcerned about the mysterious disappearance of our magic…” he appeared to ponder for a moment before continuing, “Muggleborn?” He smiled, trying to keep his tone lighthearted, hoping she didn’t take offense to his questioning.

What seemed to be an innocent question made Hadley flush cold, then hot all over in the manner of a minute.  He-who-must-not…no, Voldemort, was dead.  But there was still Dark Wizards running around, Hadley was sure.  She had spent a year hiding away in France during the worst of the war, but she had friends that had gone through horrible things.  Hadley didn’t particularly have a death wish at the moment.  Brian didn’t seem to be a bad sort, though.  His face seemed genuinely kind, and the careful tone of his voice convinced her that there wasn’t any danger.

Hadley took the proffered hand and shook it firmly, letting go after an appropriate pause.  “Brian, hmm?  Yes, I’m muggleborn.  My father almost had a heart attack when he found out about magic.”  Speaking of that very thing, she scanned her surroundings.  She couldn’t decide if she was actually humored by the situation, or slightly hysterical, but either way… “And you?  I’m guessing a pureblood wouldn’t be wandering wizarding London dressed in-” she stopped and looked the taller man up and down, “A t-shirt and jeans.”  Hadley had to drag her eyes back to his face.  Brian was really quite attractive, with those eyes, and that hair, and stop it.  She turned her attention back to the street.  This wasn’t the time to be flirting.  Oh Merlin, was she flirting?  Did he think she was flirting?  Hadley could feel herself start to sweat slightly, and a sudden chill in the air gave her goosebumps, prickling their way up her arms.  I probably shouldn’t have winked, she mused.  Of course, it would be strange to all of a sudden grow cold towards the man.  Hadley wasn’t exactly good with members of the opposite gender.  She could chat with other women all day long, but men tended to make her clam up.

So, instead of thinking, Hadley did as she normally did and said the first thing that came to mind just then.  “I won’t be able to play Quidditch anymore.” Inwardly, she cursed.  That wasn’t really prevalent to the situation. “I mean…um, shouldn’t we be helping them?” She gestured back towards the couple they had both spotted a minute ago, only to stop.  Of course, the man and woman had given up twirling about and walked away.  “Never mind that then.  I wonder how everyone’s going to get home…” She looked back at Brian and tried to ignore her stomach flipping about like a rampaging hippogriff.

Brian noticed that Hadley was blushing in response to his question and he immediately felt guilty. He didn’t mean to cause her any discomfort. It was an innocent question, though the subject was a rather touchy one for some people. After all, Voldemort had only been defeated two years ago, and the memories were all too raw for many. His parents had escaped persecution by fleeing the country during the reign of terror, though many were not so fortunate.

When she confirmed that she was, indeed, Muggleborn, and mentioned her father’s reaction to magic, he grinned. “I’m not Muggleborn, but close. Both my mum and my dad are Muggleborn. My granny McShane also nearly had a heart attack when my dad got his Hogwarts letter, though,” he told her, hoping his confession eased her mind a bit. “My dad is one of five children. All my aunts, uncles, and cousins are Muggles, and I went to Muggle primary school, so I know a fair bit about them,” he continued, noticing that she was looking him up and down. He was doing the same as covertly as he could, taking in how nicely she filled out the jeans she was wearing. Far be it from him to turn away a beautiful woman. He wasn’t sure why he was telling his life story to a stranger he just met. His talkativeness could be pinned on him wanting to reassure her that he definitely did not have any ulterior motives.

“I won’t be able to play Quidditch anymore.”

At this, he laughed outright. He wasn’t laughing at her, but her innocent non-sequitur tickled him. “No, indeed not,” he chortled, his mind imagining how silly a game of Quidditch would be with no magic. Without brooms to fly and the enchanted Bludgers and Snitch, there would be no point to the game. “Luckily, there’s still football. That’s something.” The relative simplicity of football in comparison with Quidditch was mocked by some wizards, but there was no disputing that football as a sport had the clear upper hand when magic was taken out of the equation.

Brian glanced over at the couple who had given up on Apparating. “I’m not sure,” he responded to her musing. “I live in Hogsmeade, which is a bit of a problem,” he told her, leaving unspoken the tremendous distance between Hogsmeade and London. Even if he was still living with his parents, there would be the question of how to get from London to Derry in the most convenient way possible. Anyone who didn’t live in London or close by likely faced the arduous task of traveling to their homes. And what about his job? A good part of what he did on a daily basis heavily involved magic. There was only so much backlog of paperwork that they would be able to work through before running out of things to do. “Er - do you live nearby?” he asked, hazel eyes meeting her brown eyes. No, she wasn’t hard to look at at all.

After Brian explained his parentage, Hadley felt a little warmer towards the man.  “So, what you’re saying is, you got the best of both worlds?”  She smiled at him, feeling a tad less self-conscious.  She didn't really know many other witches or wizards who knew as much as she did about living the muggle lifestyle.  For her, it was simply an easier way, generally, to live her life- other than working and the occasional outing.  Perhaps it was the chaos consuming everyone else around them, but Hadley could feel a sense of stability while talking with Brian.  She usually stumbled over every other word while talking to members of the opposite gender, but somehow she already felt comfortable with him. 

“I’ve never been much for organized sports other than Quidditch.”  Hadley bit her lip and thought of endless amounts of time spent jogging around the lake while she was in school.  “I’ve always loved running, though.  There’s something about the freedom in it; I can literally feel my worries melting away when I run.”  His eyes were like magnets, Hadley reasoned, and shook her head minutely to clear her mind. “Hogsmeade is ridiculously far away!  Where do you work? I live a few minutes from here; I usually apparated-but I suppose I’ll have to take the bus now.”  Mentally, she ran through the things she'd had to change in her daily routine, and looked back at Brian's face to see him still observing her intently.

She looked away, slightly embarrassed about revealing so much about herself, and spotted her abandoned bags out of the corner of her eye.  “Oh damn!”  Hadley quickly walked over to them, peeking inside and winced away.  Picking them up by the corners, she quickly deposited them in the nearest bin.  Wiping her hands, she felt Brian was due an explanation, and obliged herself. “Er… I was shopping when this all started…” she grimaced, “And approximately half of my purchases were magically related, so it just turned into a huge mess.”  She frowned, considering her surroundings.  “Do you think we should help them out?  I mean, we’re both kinda used to all this.”  Hadley used her hands in a grand sweeping gesture, and stopped abruptly.  “If you’re okay with that, that is.”  A flock of owls flew past them, making a bid for freedom, causing a brief flurry of feathers and wind.  Hadley giggled, watching them for a moment. 

“With things like that-“ she jabbed her thumb in the direction of the escaping birds, “We probably would have a slight problem.  But…”  she looked around, spying a gaggle of obviously clueless elderly witches still pointing their wands and yelling spells hysterically.  “They could probably do with some assistance.  Even if it is just explaining what we think is going on.”  Feeling the bashfulness creeping back in, she lowered her eyes and peered up through her eyelashes to see Brian’s reaction.

Brian nodded in response to Hadley’s exclamation that Hogsmeade was far. The distance, normally no great obstacle, seemed very real to him now. “I work for Gringott’s as a Curse-breaker,” he replied in answer to her question, glancing up the street at the bank, which loomed large in the distance. Wizards would still need the bank, even if their magic was gone. Gringotts did a decent trade in exchanging Muggle money into wizarding currency and vice versa. The bank might well run out of their horde of Muggle currency, though, if they were bombarded with dozens of wizards suddenly needing to exchange some of their galleons and sickles to pounds. “Although now that magic is gone, does that mean there are no more curses to break?” he wondered aloud, chuckling softly at his revelation. It was an interesting thought, one he had no time to ponder with the confusion around him.

The blonde young woman moved away from him to retrieve the bags she had left lying, temporarily forgotten, against a building. He watched, slightly puzzled, as she peeked inside the bags before promptly tossing them in a nearby rubbish bin. The way she wrinkled her nose at what she saw or smelled - he wasn’t sure which had caused the look of disgust on her face - was cute. Brian couldn’t help laughing at the look on her face and her subsequent explanation. “I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you,” he gasped, trying to control his mirth.

“Do you think we should help them out?  I mean, we’re both kinda used to all this.”

“That’s a good idea,” he said, his laughter dying away. He also noted the elderly wizards and witches who seemed to have the hardest time understanding why their wands no longer worked. Brian broke away from her, walking toward a pair of witches who looked to be eighty years old at the youngest. Carefully and slowly, he began to explain what he and Hadley had discovered as best he could so they could understand him. Once he finished with the first pair, he moved onto another similarly situated group, and on again until he had exhausted all of his options in the immediate vicinity.

Looking up, he saw that she, too, had run out of people to approach. With a grin, Brian ambled over to where she was standing. “I think we’ve done our good deed for the day,” he said, gesturing around him. The crowd seemed somewhat calmer, now that the initial shock of the event had passed and people began to come to terms with the reality of the situation. “Want to get out of here and get something to drink, like tea or coffee?” he suggested. It was much too early for alcohol, and besides which Hadley seemed like too nice of a girl to bring to a pub. No, tea was a safe option, and a neutral space like a cafe would be a good place for continued conversation.


At her nod of assent, they turned and began to walk back in the opposite direction from which they came. They did not get very far before a shop caught his eye - Florean Fortescue’s. Of course! Without magic or electricity, there would be no way to keep the ice cream cold. It would have to be eaten soon, or else wasted. Brian touched Hadley’s arm, coming a stop. “Or what about ice cream?” he asked, smiling as he gestured toward the nearby shop. The doors were wide open, with eager customers coming and going, taking advantage of the reduced prices designed for a quick sale. “We should help him get rid of his stock before it all spoils,” he said, laughing, as he began to make his way toward the shop.

Hadley generally lumped curse-breakers in the same area in her head as Aurors; they were adventurous and exciting.  She smiled at his words about not having any more curses to break.  “You might be out of a job soon, then.  Of course, everyone always needs money.  Think you’d be up for a desk job?”  She accompanied her words with a smirk to show she was teasing him.  Someone’s livelihood wasn’t the best topic to joke about, but then again Hadley wasn’t entirely certain about her own employment at the moment.  If magic was down, did that mean potions no longer worked?  Furrowing her brow, she brushed the thought aside.  Herbs would still do their work, surely.  Even if a completed potion wouldn’t necessarily do the task it was meant for, other herbs and ingredients held innate potential for healing or poison.  She might just have to act as a glorified herbalist for a while, but she would still have employment.

“I probably would have laughed at you too, to be honest,” she giggled.  "I must have looked ridiculous."  Turning to calm a few groups of panicking witches, she began to work her way through the throng.  Most were simply in shock, and a few words of structure easily settled their nerves.  Many were complaining at the top of their lungs to anyone who would listen, and Hadley quickly directed them elsewhere.  The priority now wasn’t to vent their feelings, it was to return home and make sure their loved ones were ok- Hadley didn’t want to think about the many witches and wizards who would be stranded miles from their home, much like Brian.  She finished when she looked about and found no one else to talk to, and caught sight of Brian coming towards her with a smile on his face.  His attitude was contagious, and Hadley couldn’t help mirroring his grin.  She was smiling quite a lot more this afternoon than normal, and she laid the reasons at the feet of the man in front of her.

She nodded excitedly when he broached the idea of stopping at a shop to get something to drink.  Don’t seem so eager, she scolded herself.  Hadley had never really been in a relationship before, and she didn’t want to ruin the first chance she had in ages.  Of course, Brian might just be trying to appear friendly, but Hadley didn’t quite know how to judge the situation.  Flicking a sidewise glance at him, she saw him stop and put a hand on her arm.  It was warm and completely inconsistent with the tingling she felt when he touched her.  “Ice cream sounds perfect!” Hadley blurted, and quickly accompanied him into the shop.  Many of the more popular flavors were already gone, and the witch who was serving the customers seemed frazzled.  Hadley quickly decided on a scoop of pomegranate and a scoop of vanilla, and grabbed Brian’s hand to drag him out of the ever-increasing crowd in the shop once he received his order.  Finding an empty table outside, Hadley dropped his hand, realizing she still held it.  Trying to stem the red rising in her face, she took a small bite of her ice cream and closed her eyes, savoring it.  “This is heaven,” she said in a murmur, looking up at his face.  They were closer now, sitting next to each other, than they had been in the street.  “You have something-“ she broke off her words and reached for a small drip on Brian’s lower lip, then thought better of it and started to snatch her hand back.  “Sorry,” she mumbled, now unable to control her blushes. 

Brian was pleased when Hadley readily agreed to his suggestion of ice cream. Most people liked ice cream, Brian included, so it was no great difficulty for him to switch gears on a knut and settle for ice cream instead of tea. People were coming and going from the shop, and it seemed to be getting busier by the minute as everyone seemed to have the same idea as they did. Brian selected two scoops of his favorite flavor, vanilla. Who needed intricate, elaborate flavor a when plain vanilla was clearly the best? Lucky for them, their treat was half price, which made it all the sweeter. Brian was no cheapskate, but he would certainly not turn down an opportunity to easily save a sickle here and there.

He allowed himself to be pulled out of the shop by Hadley, chuckling in amusement all the while. Brian couldn't remember the last time he'd done something so spur-of-the-moment. His personality lent itself well to spontaneity, but it had been a good while since he had approached a woman out of the blue as he had with Hadley. It seemed like just a second ago, he was preparing to leave his small flat in Hogsmeade, ready to enjoy a day in London, and now he was walking and talking with a strange woman in the midst of a wizarding world gone mad. Ignoring the part wherein they no longer had any of their magic, the whole thing was actually quite exciting. Even though he did not consciously think it, everything just felt so right.

"This is heaven"

"Mmm," he wordlessly agreed as he took another lick of his ice cream, savoring its sugary goodness. They had settled down next to each other at a table, both enjoying their dessert while they watched the crowd ebb and flow around them. As she pointed out the mess he was making of himself, he laughed again, his tongue darting out to clean himself up. "Thank you for saving me from further embarrassment," he teased, patting at his face in order to be sure that he was clean and presentable. Her blushes were not lost on him. In fact, the pink in her cheeks made her look even more appealing than she already was. Though he barely knew this woman, she had an innocence and a sweetness about her that he knew was not faked or forced in any way. She was lovely and genuine, not quite like anyone he had ever met.

Brian shifted in his seat, turning toward her. Reaching out his right hand, he brushed a stray lock of curly blonde hair behind her left ear, his fingers grazing her cheek as his hazel eyes locked on her brown eyes. Everything seemed to slow around them, and in that moment he saw nothing and no one but the girl next to him. Cupping the side of her face, he hesitated for only the briefest of seconds before leaning in to kiss her. She was just as soft as she looked, and her mouth was sweet from the ice cream. The kids was slightly awkward and he wondered offhandedly if she'd ever been kissed by a bloke. His thumb gently stroked the smooth skin of her cheek as he pulled away. "Don't apologize," he murmured in a low voice as he looked up at her once more, wondering if he'd gone too far.

Hadley’s heart rate jumped through the roof as Brian stretched forward his hand to touch her hair.  Before she could prepare herself, his lips were on hers and she attempted to respond in kind.  She found herself not thinking of the kiss, but inane other details that popped up in her mind.  Did she leave the light on in her flat?  What about that couple over there… were they judging her for kissing someone so blatantly out in public?  When the kiss ended, she pulled back and smiled at Brian, a fresh blush spreading across her cheeks.  Outwardly, she hoped she appeared calm and confident, but on the inside, she was anything but that.

It was slightly disappointing.  All girls daydreamed about their first kiss, their first real romance.  Hadley often imagined that when she finally got close with a man, they would spend days getting to know each other before making a move towards anything physical.  And although Brian hadn’t been pushy or demanding, she was unsettled by the suddenness of his actions.  He seemed wonderful, but Hadley didn’t know more than a handful of details about the man.  How could she feasibly start a relationship with him?  Or even worse, what if Brian didn’t really want anything serious with her?  Furthermore, with magic not working, she had nothing to go on except his word that he was who he said he was.  Promptly, her mind dredged up a dozen different ways this date, if you could call it that, could end in disaster.

She had been looking down at her lap out of embarrassment, and now looked up into Brian’s face.  His honest, good, undeniably cute face.  Perhaps she was blowing everything out of proportion.  “I haven’t kissed anyone before,” she blurted, and promptly dropped her eyes again, furious with herself.  Sometimes she wanted to tape her mouth shut to prevent ridiculous comments like that from coming out.  Now, of course, he wouldn’t want anything to do with her.  Brian was obviously a few years her elder, and probably vastly more experienced.  He would want a worldly woman, she thought frantically, not some bumbling teenager with only a couple of years of adulthood under her belt. 

“Not to say it wasn’t great, it was!  I’m just sorry I don’t-“  she cut herself off again, forcibly clamping her jaws shut.  It wasn’t actually all that great, in her opinion, but who was she to judge?  With her experience that began all of five minutes ago.  Wryly, she mused about ways to repair the trainwreck of a conversation.  Taking a deep breath, she continued, ignoring her heart pounding away frantically as if it was trying to escape her chest.  “What I meant to say was…” Hadley bit her lip, “I’m a quick learner.”
Now it probably sounded like she was propositioning him.  Hadley promptly gave up on trying to say anything else and wished she could cover her face with her hands.

When Hadley told him that this was her first kiss, Brian was both taken aback and utterly unsurprised. On a scale of one to ten, with one being completely terrible and ten being out of this world amazing, he would rate their kiss somewhere around three. It wasn’t the worst he’d ever experienced, yet it certainly wasn’t the best, and her confession partly explained why it felt so odd. Still, she had potential, though her awkwardness wasn’t helping the situation. The question of whether or not he wanted to explore that potential remained to be seen.

The longer Brian thought about it, the more the reality of the situation began to sink in. He was her first kiss. The implication of this pronouncement gave him pause. Did he really want to get involved with someone who had no experience? True, she was quite pretty, and seemed very sweet. His mother would like her. That didn’t mean he wanted to be the one to have to teach an inexperienced virgin everything. He was twenty-seven years old, for goodness sake. Suddenly, he felt old, even though he knew he was anything but. He was fifteen and in Hogwarts when he first kissed a girl. It was a silly teenage relationship, ending before it really even started. It seemed like a lifetime ago, he reflected as he shot her a sideways glance, once again trying to guess Hadley’s age. She looked about eighteen. At least, he hoped she wasn’t any younger than that. She was definitely younger and far less worldly than his twenty-three-year-old sister, that much was clear.

“What I meant to say was… I’m a quick learner.”

Her voice brought him back to the conversation. His eyebrows inching ever-so-slightly upward as he looked at her was the only thing that betrayed his incredulity at her statement. Running a hand through his curly locks, he smiled at her. Brian wanted to keep things light, to smooth out any strangeness she may be feeling. He’d been around the block a few times and had a general feeling for how these things were supposed to work. By her own admission, all of this was new to her, so he was willing to make allowances. He leaned back in his seat, shifting away from her in case his proximity was making her uncomfortable.

“Would you like to go out sometime? Dinner, perhaps?” he asked. He wasn’t sure what caused him to ask her out on a date. Part of him didn't want to just kiss her and leave her hanging, and the other part of him was genuinely intrigued by her. It wouldn’t exactly be a hardship for him to spend a few hours in her company. “Or whatever you want, really. I’m flexible,” he told her with another smile.

His reaction was nothing short of miraculous in Hadley’s eyes.  Frankly, she had considered this conversation ending in only one way; Brian leaving abruptly after she said another thing to embarrass herself.  She shoved down most of her unease as possible and took a moment to consider the situation before looking back up at him.  She shouldn’t necessarily disregard her attraction to the man based on previous inexperience.  After all, how was she going to have a serious relationship if she was too afraid to make a move?  She toyed with the idea a few seconds longer until his next words shocked her.

Brian was asking her out?  After all the fumblings and awkwardness she had inserted into their meeting?  A flush yet again spread through her, although this time, one of pleasure.  She hadn’t put her foot in her mouth quite enough to drive him away, it seemed.  Hadley had never felt self-confident with a man before, and the creeping emotion she felt put the entire ordeal in a different light.  Obviously he was attracted to her- he had made the move to kiss her, even.  Perhaps Brian was drawn to her because she didn’t bandy words about and try to tie him up in knots.  She could list a few of her friends off the top of her head that enjoyed playing with a man emotionally before getting into a commitment.  Hadley, for one, had never really held much with that idea.  Why would you toy with someone’s heart when you could have the pleasure of seeing their reactions at face value?  She straightened up and looked Brian in the eye, suddenly decisive.

“Dinner would be fantastic,.”  She stopped and tapped a finger on her chin, finding a slight hitch in their plans.  “Of course… with magic not working…”  she trailed off.  She didn’t realize how much she had come to rely on magical practices.  It was so easy to apparate to a destination, and she would now have to rely purely on muggle means to get around.  She remembered the escaping owls from earlier, and smiled.  Perhaps there were a few still attached to their owners, but she would have paid galleons to see the mayhem that ensued at a local owl post when all the charms had failed. 

“Maybe we’ll have to rely on some other methods to meet?” Hadley said questioningly, and grabbed a stray napkin off the table.  Lacking any writing utensils, she dabbed her finger in what remained of her melting ice cream, and painstakingly wrote out her address.  “This is my flat here in London, “ she began, handing him the bit of paper.  “Just send me a place and time whenever you’re free, if you can wrangle an owl, that is.”  She realized how forward that might seem, dredging up her earlier emotions in a rush.  She had just handed an almost complete stranger access to her home.  Her nerves flared up, and this time, she couldn’t overcome them.

“I think I’d better be going now, though,” she said in a rush with little pausing between words.  “My locking charms are probably gone and I don’t want the neighbors stealing all my things.”  She stood and, with a quick motion, bent down and kissed Brian on the cheek.  “Write me.”  Turning, she almost fled from the scene, wondering at her audacity.  What had prompted that last bit?  She shook her head and headed for the Leaky Cauldron, hoping someone had found a way to clear the entrance.  I don’t know what’s come over me today…but I somehow like it.

Brian smiled as Hadley accepted his invitation for a date. Her agreement was a small, yet powerful thing. No one liked rejection, Brian included, though it seemed he would be saved from that. Eyebrows raised, he watched in amusement as she carefully wrote down her address on a napkin using melted ice cream, of all things. He had to admire her creativity, at least. “I will,” he promised in response to her urging to send her an owl. He had every intention of following through with his promise.

As she said her rushed goodbyes, Brian was left not really knowing what to think. Glancing down, he saw that the ice cream, albeit a bit smeared, had dried on the napkin. He folded it and carefully put it in his pocket. When he stepped out of his flat that morning, he did not know what the day had in store. It had turned out to be more strange and wonderful than he could ever have planned. With one last shake of his head, he stood and stretched. Now that he was stuck in London, it would be a good time for him to seek out any friends who lived here so he would have a place to stay come nightfall. There was no way he would be able to get back to Hogsmeade today. With that final thought, he began to make his way toward the Leaky Cauldron and from there, Muggle London.