{t e l l m e, what will I find?} harlan

The Auror office had been decidedly quiet tonight and Roslyn really should have made it an early night and gone home. She'd been in the middle of doing just that when she'd gotten the owl that a wizard matching the description she'd put out had been spotted causing a scene in wizarding London. Some sort of pub brawl and while she was honestly quite a bit above petty squabbles she was quite interested in questioning this particular wizard, if he was who she suspected he was. She was quick to grab her blue coat before heading out.

What she found, however, was both disappointing and not. Luckily there was a minimal amount of ministry personal thus far and those that were present took one look at the badge strapped to her hip and stepped aside. Her gaze swiveled on one person in particular, though, before she groaned. What was Harlan even doing...? The brunette wasted no time in making her way towards him, ignoring the other wizard for the moment, since it looked like he was already being questioned. What happened, even? She could already tell that this might not be her wizard and honestly she could probably question him at a later date if this went down how she thought it was going to.

She didn't really want to admit that she was worried about Harlan, even though she very much was. "What happened?" she snapped, brusque, as her blueish green eyes narrowed on the assembled wizards before her. She was glancing directly at Harlan, though, as she crossed her arms and waited.

@Harlan Bellamy

"Yeah, go on then," Harlan inclined his chin to the sweaty man with the neckbeard who had been harassing him and Rob for the majority of the evening from the safety of the opposite end of the bar. Eventually, and unsurprisingly given the last few weeks, it didn't all that long for him to decide that they had to do something about the situation. There was only so much he could hear about The Griffins going soft (thanks to their captain that had well passed his prime) he could take in without losing his patience. The icing on the cake was the blokes grabbing at the woman behind the bar.

That was all it took for Harlan to stand up.

Rob had followed without question to where Harlan led the way around the half-circle of the bar. It never took much convincing to get the man involved in the action. Harlan had a sneaking suspicion since making the shift to the coaching team post-injury that his friend was itching for a fight. He wondered if he would have that same kind of void to fill when he no longer played.

The pub was quiet enough for London, though he noticed that it had started to pick up inside as the snow started to fall more heavily from the early evening, dark sky. It seemed they weren't the only ones looking for a place to hide out from the cold. Harlan wasn't drunk. On the contrary, he'd been sticking to tonic water for most of January when out— a conscious decision to be just that, more conscious.

He hadn't expected the heavyset with the loudmouth to particularly agile. In fact, he assumed that once they approached that he would back down and shut his mouth. They usually did. What Harlan hadn't anticipated was the blind sucker-punch to his cheek from somewhere from his left. The rest was a blur of limbs until everything was broken up. Though, none of them were immediately shown the door which was—

Aurors? Harlan recognized a few familiar faces (and badges) though he couldn't place their names until he saw Roslyn pushing through the crowd. Just his luck, he thought smugly. "What's with the full militia?" He held up his hands innocently but paused to wipe the side of his cheek with his thumb. It was blood. Apparently, one of the knobheads had broken skin. Surprising. "Just having a word with our new friends here," He appointed himself as the official spokesperson, naturally, before glancing over at the other group of men who were looking worse for wear.

The sudden rage that simmered under the surface of her skin was both alarming and surprising. She ground her teeth, on edge, as she prayed to Merlin for patience. The blood on Harlan's face was not helping the amount of rage that was building and her fingers itched to grip her wand. Some things tended to set her off and somehow quite by accident seeing Harlan injured made her protective instinct scream in rage. "Don't be cute. That man is wanted for questioning." she grit out, that he was potentially dangerous sort of went without saying. It did not escape her that Harlan had conveniently not answered her direct inquiry.

Right now was probably not the best time to question the wizard that had bloodied Harlan up. She was liable to be rougher than what was her wont.

"What. Happened." she asked again, voice controlled, as she leashed in her temper. She wasn't the type of woman to be coddling and worried when someone got hurt. She was, of course, worried but that worry tended to manifest in vengeful rage rather than anything else. Harlan's blase attitude about the whole thing did make her question if she was overreacting for a second but then she'd look at the blood on his face and the fact that the man that caused it was likely to do a lot worse than a bloody cut and- she let out a slow breath, eyes cutting towards her surroundings, as she glanced at the wizards being apprehended.

She made eye contact with Jenkins, barely restraining a growl, before pinning Harlan with an expectant look.

Harlan figured with the presence of actual Aurors tasked with breaking up a bar brawl that there had to be more to the story— the multi-tiered magical law enforcement department that existed for that reason proved as much. The current situation was much more suited to the expertise of the wizards that worked within Simons remit. Harlan had learned that one too many times after landing himself in a bit of trouble himself. He didn't intend on calling a favor from his brother any time soon.

"By all means, question away," Miraculously he only half-smirked at the mention of being cute— he could, and would, give Ros a hard time for that later— before he nodded in the direction of the other man she mentioned. "And if you aren't holding us for anything..." Harlan glanced over at Rob who was looking entirely too pleased with himself to be considered normal before turning back to the line of Aurors expectantly.

They certainly weren't the ones being looked after for questioning, anyway.

Harlan half-turned back to the bar to the staff and other patrons who had started slowly to go back to business as usual as the Aurors wrangled the ones they were looking for.. "A bit of ice?" He asked politely as if none of the last fifteen minutes had even happened. Rob used it as an excuse to be healed by a woman who had spotted the cut on his lip almost immediately. Classic, Harlan thought to himself with a grin. Some things really didn't change.

She really needed to calm down before she started firing curses. Of course Harlan's general... demeanor was making it quite difficult for her to cool off.

There was also that tiny voice in her brain that was both relieved he was alright but also concerned about that cut on his cheek. She huffed, feeling wrong footed but still quite angry. "You're not in any trouble you idjet and we aren't holding you. I just want to know if he did anything strange. Anything odd you can think of from your interaction." she elaborated, stepping forward and snatching the ice from one of the barkeeps. "Honestly you should check an injury before you ice it." she said, frowning disapprovingly before stepping closer. She got into his space like someone who was comfortable there and shot Jenkins a glare as he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He better not fucking start. She could already tell he wanted to comment but Jenkins was a terrible busybody who's goal in life was to annoy her with inquiries about her personal life and general badgering about her lack of social engagements. Why he was so invested she truly did not understand. He'd been pestering her about Ashley for a month now, too, she wasn't keen on adding someone else on his radar.

She leaned forward, her fingertips hovering over his face, before she gently gripped his chin and tilted his face up so she could get a better look at his cut. She made a displeased little sound, her eyebrows furrowing in concern, before she relaxed. It didn't look too bad close up. It was a clean cut at least, the edges smooth. Nothing to indicate it was anything other than what it was. Her gaze flickered up towards his eyes - letting herself admire the color. "Doesn't look too bad." she said, softening, before she sighed and let go of his face. With a flick of her wrist her wand was in her fingers. "I'm just going to heal that." she said, raising her eyebrow mostly in challenge, before casting Episkey. She held her hand out, holding the bundle of ice and cloth out to him.

She could have offered to cast a numbing charm but she still felt the dregs of her anger simmering away. She wasn't even truly angry at Harlan but more that he'd gotten himself involved with someone who was potentially dangerous. That he was being so (cute...amusing... playful) obnoxious and annoying was bothering her even more. She finally glanced at his companion, cataloguing how he was doing before turning her attention back towards Harlan. She was about to dismiss him before Jenkin's made a motion with his chin. She followed his line of sight before groaning. "And the vultures have arrived." she murmured, groaning. Did the soulless animals from the prophet have a tracking on her or something? She definitely had a grudge after their last little juicy story got her saddled with a bloody "partner". "We should get Bellamy out of here before they make this into... a thing." she said once Jenkins had made it over to her. "Ideas?"

Harlan reached out to collect the ice just as Rosyln intercepted it, hissing something about his interaction with the bloke. Merlin, what could that possibly matter, he wondered? His eyes went wide as she took a step closer before his smile threatened to give him away. Attempting to wrack his brain, he sat back casually on the high-top stool with one foot propped up on the bottom rest so that he could face her square on.

"Aside from calling me a wanker and having a pass at the barkeep—" He cast a glance to the blonde behind the counter who had gone back to work as if nothing had happened before turning back to Ros. "—nothing too strange," Harlan used her choice of word with a non-committed shrug of his broad shoulder. As far as he was concerned, it was the typical behavior of a drunken idiot in London looking for trouble.

"It's seen much worse," Harlan began to explain but paused as Roslyn took his chin roughly in her hand. A patient healer she was not. From where he was sitting on the stool he was at eye level with her, and he studied her as she inspected his injury. Surely it was nothing compared to what damage the years on the pitch had done to him. "Yeah go on. Merlin— be gentle, He clicked his tongue as she finally released him and cast the spell.

Harlan ran a hand over the newly healed skin on his cheekbone before applying the ice. Not a half-bad job, he thought, not that he would admit it to her. He was figuring out it was much more fun to wind her up. He followed to where she and her partners' attention had been not-so-subtly drawn to. He could have guessed The Prophet would turn up. While it didn't bode well for him, he kept his composure.

"Better hurry up with that plan, they'll be in here soon..." He peeked around where Roslyn had turned her back to him with a grin, watching the crew of wizards gather through the old stained glass windows.

The brunette witch resisted the urge to ask if he'd come to the barkeeps rescue. For someone so gruff he certainly had a saving women thing. It was really endearing and so she didn't think it was something to tease him about especially since she'd benefited from that trait firsthand. Her gaze slid towards the wizard in question, frowning, before a sigh left her lips. Perhaps it really wasn't who she was looking for but she'd take the time to question him anyway. After he spent a night in detention that is. She could be pretty wrathful in certain instances. "Of course you have." she said, a bit of a smile peeking out of her mouth. "I've no doubt you're reigning king of bar scuffling." there was a touch of amusement to her tone at the thought.

"Don't be an infant. I thought you've seen much worse eh?" she teased, as she bit back a grin. "You think you'd be used to a little roughness." that she was implying he was being a pansy about it was an understatement. At that point she couldn't help but raise her eyebrow and smirk at his choice of words. "I'll make sure to be more gentle next time." she added, resisting the urge to lean forward before snapping out of it. It annoyed her a bit that she'd felt so angry one moment and after a few quips she felt more herself again. She refused to attribute that to Harlan, though, since her senses were slowly dropping off from danger mode and she felt herself relaxing marginally at assessing no current threats. Harlan had very minimal injuries and he must've felt fine if he was sassing her like he was.

Her annoyance was reignited a second later and she resisted the urge to cluck her tongue and poke Harlan into behaving. She glanced at Jenkins, sighing, before taking a resigned breath. "I'll take him. Make sure to send them off elsewhere." she murmured before turning around and getting into Harlan's space again. She tugged on him with one hand, biting her lip, before she spoke. "Stay still and hang on yea? I really need to focus." she murmured, closing her eyes. She'd done this quite a few times before but it never ceased to be important that her focus was completely on her visualization. She made sure she had as firm grip on Harlan before she cast the spell. There was that same familiar squeezing sensation before it stopped. She took a breath before grin broke over her face.

She wasn't even a little bit surprised she'd managed to aparate them right on their miniature pitch. Home was where she felt safest but dragging Harlan along had made her instinctively think of Quidditch. It would be a bit of a walk up the pathway that led to her home but she'd managed to bring them within the estates wards at least, if at the very edge of them.

"In no way was that—" Harlan found his footing on the damp ground and held his hands over his head briefly. "—fucking gentle," He let out something of a groan masked by a grin.

Roslyn had apparated them to a place unknown, though he could make out the familiar stems of goalposts in the darkness surrounding them. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust from the dim bar lights and the whole moving through space bit. A pitch. Naturally, he thought, with a smug smile. Harlan had done a half spin to take it in before following where she had started the trek to their next location which was equally a mystery as the first.

"Look," Harlan began, "I'm half-pissed and very much injured," He shot her a look as if he could place any of the blame on her, as if he were actually hurt. "I'm not giving you a quidditch lesson..." He teased, glancing to the estate ahead he could see from the flickering lights of windows. "Where are we?" Harlan asked more seriously as they made their way up a hill toward the signs of life.

"Do you live here?" If the half-pissed part wasn't true, he would have come to that conclusion sooner, he figured. Either way, he was surprised she had taken them there of all safe-havens.

“I’m only gentle when I-“ she stopped herself there, stumbling over her words for a second as a blush rose over her cheeks. She brushed her fingertips against her temples for a moment, exasperated with herself at this point. Best not... go there. What was wrong with her lately? Well, actually, she knew exactly what the problem was. She’d been spending an inordinate amount of time around stupidly good looking men that liked to flirt.

She needed to go for a long run. Maybe a few laps around the pitch would clear her rot-for-brain.

Her blue-green gaze slid back towards the object of her current frustration, her lips twitching in amusement as she sighed. “If I wanted a lesson I’d stalk Circenn.” She was kidding, of course, especially when doing so would also get her banned from ever seeing a Magpie’s game. Besides she quite liked Harlan and there was always that saying about never meeting your hero’s.

She tried to be in the business of not disappointing herself.

At least he was still following her. The impulsive part of her wanted to grab a broom and play but honestly that was asking for trouble. He did look a bit plastered and she didn’t want to actually break him. “Sort of. It’s the family home.” She said as she walked up the pathway, admiring the bluebells trapped inside the lantern glass.

“We have... a bit of land.” She admitted, feeling sheepish. She didn’t quite want to admit why that was. Still the house proper wasn’t anything too ostentatious... impressive of course but it had been passed down from generation to generation for quite a long time. Her parents had shown her how important it was to make a good living and invest appropriately. She figured it was worth it if one could come home to this. “Come in, I’ll show you inside.” She invited as she walked to the steps to the front of the house.

Harlan quirked an eyebrow and cast a glance halfway over his shoulder to Roslyn as they continued their trek. Her— fucking gentle—the idea was nearly laughable. "Can't quite say I would have imagined that from you,"  He said in an absentminded enough tone that he hoped would finesse the level of nonchalance he likened himself to have, but the color on her cheeks said otherwise.

He needed to reign it in.

"Looks nice," Harlan commented after a moment as the conversation thankfully turned to their destination. "Hang about!" He paused as they approached, a thought dawning on him belatedly— he could (and would) blame the rum Rob had been feeding him for that. "Before we go inside..." He had stopped in his tracks at the steps to the home and turning as serious as he could given the circumstances.

"One, are your parents in there— I'm not meeting them. And two, you'll need to confirm this isn't where you take me to murder me?" Harlan looked suspiciously up the front of the house overhead before his eyes flicked back to her with a hint of mischief.

She resisted the urge to stick out her tounge childishly and made a clicking sound of protest instead. She was a mature adult and mature adults did not devolve into... whatever dark trench that conversation was bound to head in. She let that topic rest instead of being argumentative like she wanted.

“Thanks.” she said, pleased before pausing and turning around as Harlan had a ... a moment apparently. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and she counted to ten in her head in an effort to get a grip on her irritation. There were so many things in need of addressing from his little speech she honestly had no idea where to start. Well, she did but it would be great if she didn’t hex him into a bloody smear on her parents property.

“You seem inebriated so I’m going to give you a pass at how utterly insulting you’re being.” she said, clenching her jaw as she walked back until she was close enough to smell him. Her eyes were dark and piercing and she was trying very hard not to yell at him. “Please allow me to address these concerns of yours shall I?” she said, drawing herself up to full height. Considering the heels she was wearing it was a pretty good height.

“Firstly I’d like to highlight how utterly rude what you just said is. You’re not some bloke I just picked up off the street to present to my parents like a fruit basket (the implication she meant as her ‘intended’ was there, too) - you are a guest in our home so whatever hang ups you have about meeting a woman’s parents better be laid to rest, you coward. If you pass that threshold you best be prepared to greet whoever is in there with a politeness I’d expect of a bloody gentleman. While I’m sure they’re asleep at this hour my guess is that my father most likely felt the wards activate when we apparated in. Considering only a few have access he might not be in an investigative mood. My brothers, however, like to roam around.” the was a challenge to her posture, mostly because she felt pretty offended.

She had no way of knowing what his aversion to parents stemmed from if it was a personal thing for him or if it was a specific thing for her but she was inclined to think he just simply thought himself better than to slum it at the Hayes’. It was her only conclusion, really, because last she checked they were not dating and so he had no reason to fear meeting what she personally thought as two very nice people.


“For second-“ here she stopped her tirade, flushing, when she realized he was teasing her. He had that little glint in his eye, the great pillock. “You are an insufferable man, has anyone told you that?” she said, aggravated and flushed. “Honestly you can stay out here and freeze for all I care but I’m going to go inside and warm up with a hard drink until Jenkins floo’s me for a bloody update.” she said, resisting the urge to poke him. She was serious before, though. If he really was going to be a jerk about whoever was awake she’d leave him out here to fend for himself until he was sober enough not to splinch himself apparating. She’d suggest he apparated outside the warded limits, though.

Harlan opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it. It could be fun. "Ah, go on," He addressed Roslyn's direct question prompting her to speak her mind. It was evident almost immediately that she had taken him at his word, not considering the fact that he was only giving her a hard time. Harlan folded his arms over his chest, half-leaning against the banister leading up to the door, and waited while she continued to berate him. He liked to think he was being patient, but then again—

A flicker of realization sparked over her features and Harlan smiled in return. "About time..." He breathed out into the cold air with a shake of his head. If she took it any further he was beginning to think that she might actually offend him.

Harlan picked up pace after Roslyn as she turned to the door. He for one had no intention of staying out there in the cold, and he was mildly curious about what she had gotten so defensive over at the mere mention of her family. Had anyone told him he was an insufferable man, he wondered? "More than enough..." He held open the door that she had swung up, his hand firmly over her head, and then entered after her.

Inside there was an enveloping warmth. A comfortable quiet. The sound of a flickering fire from somewhere was welcoming until he remembered that likely meant there was someone there to inhabit it. As much as he had been teasing before, he really had no real desire to have small talk with her parents and explain how they had turned up there. "Shoes?" He grinned, wiping the wet from the soles on the mat, wondering if he needed to take them off.

She really needed to get a better handle on her temper. She didn't even know why she was in such a draconic mood, other than stress, and an all around disappointing evening. From Harlan's description it didn't seem likely that the man that they had detained was the wizard she'd been looking for. What a bloody waste , really, on top of being back to square one. She should've just gone home early and dragged Fergie down to Scotland for a pint or two.

Her lips twitched beside herself a she glanced back at Harlan, noting the closeness of his body as he held the door open, before letting out a long drawn out sigh. "You can leave your shoes on the rack, they'll be clean and warm when you leave." as a general rule they didn't really use shoes in the house, even parties were held outdoors. The Hayes family tended to like quiet and comfort when inside, despite their boisterous ways. The extensive grounds were where they held events or played quidditch. The indoors for Roslyn always meant cozy comfort and the smell of books by the fire.

"C'mon." she instructed once she'd removed her shoes and cloak, placing the former on the shoe rack and the latter on the hanging rack. She turned right passing various doors in the illuminated hallways before coming to a stop and leading Harlan through the study. The room resembled more a small library than a study but it had one large desk by the large window with two buttery leather arms chairs with plush navy throw blankets wrapped across them. There was one additional chair behind the actual desk and the windowsill was filled with glass decanters like a makeshift bar, four cristal glasses at the end.

A large fireplace roared on the opposite side of the room, though she headed straight for the armchair on the right, grabbing a blanket and tucking herself in. She glanced back at Harlan, gesturing towards the chair and gathering her thoughts before she spoke. "I'm sorry for snapping at you." she said, her gaze flickering up to his, as she bit her lip. She wasn't particularly good at apologizing but she always tried her best when she felt the situation warranted it. "It's been a very ... long day I think." understatement of course and she was pretty protective of her family not appreciating what she had interpreted as a slight against them. She'd been up since the wee hours of the morning and hand't left her desk since she'd gotten the firecall. "Jenkins' will floo when he's got an update. Do you need anything?" it came to mind that he might be hungry, but her first thought had been to seek refuge in the library and maybe have a drink to settle in.

You can leave your shoes on the rack.

Harlan glanced down at his feet, then back up to Roslyn with an eyebrow quirked as if to say you've got to be joking. He had been, anyway. After a brief moment of pause that made it clear that she hadn't been, he flicked open the laces of his leather boots with his wand and stepped carefully out, placing them where indicated. The fear of mismatched socks, for Harlan and all of his obsessive compulsions, wasn't viable. Though, he was feeling more vulnerable than before, standing there like a teenager just in from the pitch.

As they made their way through the home, Harlan found himself verging curiosity and playing it safe. While a part of him wanted to get his bearings, get a good look around, the better part of him knew better than to look too hard. Thankfully, the library appeared clear and he wouldn't have to wade through small talk with strangers. How would they even explain why they were there? He couldn't, anyway.

Harlan watched as Ros sunk into an armchair, but paused to take a look around for himself instead of following suit. The socks were enough of a step, he wasn't prepared to wrap himself in a blanket just yet— he didn't know her all that well, not really. Studying a shelf of books, he ran his fingers gently over their spines as he tilted to read their titles. And impressive collection.

At her voice, he paused, then eventually glanced back over his shoulder to her. "That's alright," He decided. It had been surprising, to say the least, but he hadn't held onto her moment of temperament for long. Harlan was the last person to throw stones when it came to such things. "Taking your work frustration out on me, I see..." He clicked his tongue with something of a smile, hoping by then she'd caught on to his sense of humor.

"Do you mind?" He gestured to the decanter before grabbing a couple of glasses in one hand. Ros looked like she could use one and he was sobering up.

She almost smiled at the look she was getting. For her it was a normal thing, really, though she knew it wasn't usually done. She wriggled her toes a bit, pleased the periwinkle varnish was still perfectly intact, before her thoughts drifted again. She always felt younger than her age when she was home. She remembered her childhood vividly and it did not seem so long ago to her, though it had been. Sometimes she really missed Hogwarts.

As she settled in further her eyes flickered over towards Harlan. Out of everyone she knew he was probably one of the few who'd appreciate the books lining the shelves. Quite a few of them were rather old and priceless. While her mother ran the bookshop it was her father that had the taste for rare and old books. Something he'd passed down to his children though Ollie and Alex tended to get their hands on more than she did, out of sheer opportunity. The subject matter varied but books on curses, warding, and defensive magic were prominent as well as old and new Ancient Runes texts. Oliver had added Egyptian texts and Alex had added Old Norse. There were a few Celtic texts she'd managed to add as herself as well as some Irish creature books and historical accounts. Aiden, she knew, was looking for something to add to the Hayes library as well.

"You don't have to suffer through Jenkins constantly." she teased back, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. At least Reed kept her from hexing anyone and Ash, for as much trouble as he was, had turned out to be not as big of a punishment as she'd considered him to be initially. Still she probably needed some time off. "Not at all. I think a drink will do us both some good." she admitted, once she'd glanced back up at Harlan as he gestured towards the decanter.