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Bronwyn Moony · July 11, 2020 – 2:47 AM

but then I saw your face, now you got me trying to
catch your eye, catch your name, catch a spark and start a flame
the way you smile and I can't help myself
girl you got me trying to catch my breath
you got me trying to catch my breath, yeah

Another baby delivered, another happy mother, a nice little bonus that allowed Winnie to stop at the Broomsticks after cleaning up for a hot meal she didn't have to prepare. She'd very clearly missed dinner at the boarding house and would have to fend for herself, which was not really her style. Independent as she was, Winnie was no cook and she hated having to do it. Most of the money would get tucked away, but there was nothing wrong with getting her favorite meal and a butterbeer at the pub after a job well done.

It hadn't been an easy one, she'd had to flip the babe at the last minute manually and it had been painful for the poor mum, but worth it in the end. Everything went smoother when the baby was pointed int he right direction. Not to mention it went much quicker. After the flip things had gone at a speedy rate and thought it was still later than normal for dinner after starting in the wee hours of the morning, Winnie was both exhausted and famished.

Parking herself at the bar, she set her carpet bag down beside her on the floor and got off her feet. Sighing in relief, she ordered a butterbeer and a meal from the barkeep and leaned her elbows on the bar top, head in her hands as she stretched her neck from side to side. "I am so ready for bed," She mumbled under her breath as she managed to sit back up when her drink was delivered. "Cheers, darling." She raised the glass to the barkeeper who was already moving on before taking an appreciative sip. "Ah, it's been so long." Winnie hummed out a little noise of contentment.

Marlena Scamander · July 22, 2020 – 5:58 PM

Taking a little time for herself after having dinner at her parent’s house had become a tradition of Lena’s since she had made the move to London. Largely, it had to be said, because her mother’s opinion about said move got a thorough airing each time she set foot in the Scamander family home and Lena needed a little bit of quiet time with a stiff gin to remind herself that her mother was wrong and her flat was not a dingy, unfeminine sty.

It really wasn’t, she thought as she took a sip, and it certainly wasn’t compared to the pub which was primarily why she usually chose this spot to make herself feel better about her flat. Any place was better when it wasn’t giving off the faint smell of ale and smoke and her flat had the great advantage of being entirely hers, allowing her to revel in her solitude.

The other reason she was in the pub, Marlena didn’t let herself think about, was that the solitude, only sometimes, got a little bit too much.

“You should have it more often if it makes you that happy,” Lena commented, having watched the young woman sit, slump and drink and been amused by each stage. “Are you celebrating something?”

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Bronwyn Moony · July 31, 2020 – 5:44 PM

A voice next to her caught her attention, causing Winnie to momentarily forget the mustache of foam she was likely sporting after taking a long sip of butterbeer. With the glass still in hand, she reached for her napkin and gently dabbed it away- and just in time, she turned to find the source of the voice and found an incredibly pretty face attached to it.

"Ach, if only it were that easy," Winnie chuckled. Taking a portion of her little bonus to get a hot meal was not always in the budget, not when one was trying to keep a hefty savings for a rainy day. "Oh just the end of a long, hard day's work." To most it wouldn't be terribly exciting, but it had been a tough day for her and those involved. "Delivered a healthy baby boy to an extremely happy couple after a hard labor." Everything looked good however, so Win had faith the wee bairn would be just fine.

Sighing slightly, she took another sip of her butterbeer and gave the lass a quick once over. Very pretty indeed. "So I decided to give myself a rare treat on a midwife's pay." She hummed out another little noise of contentment and smiled over the rim of her glass.

Marlena Scamander · October 6, 2020 – 4:12 PM

A midwife? Merlin, it was no wonder she had never seen the other woman before – she certainly had no cause for one of them and assuming her mother didn’t get her way Lena thought she likely never would. The mere notion of childbirth filled her with the kind of dread she associated with balls and men whose eyes lingered a little too long.

The glances from this girl, however, filled her with something entirely different. Encouraged Lena turned a little on her barstool towards the girl and returned the smile.

“They ought to pay you a fortune for that sort of work. Where would any of us be without a helpful midwife after all?” Lena asked with a small teasing smile. “Certainly my brother would not have been able to work out how to enter the world without assistance.”

Bronwyn Moony @"Elsie Beauregard"

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Bronwyn Moony · October 17, 2020 – 8:25 PM

Winnie returned the smile in earnest as she too cocked her body toward the other woman. "I generally find men don't know much about anything without a woman's help." It was a broad generalization certainly and Winnie had her fair share of encounters with men, but only a couple had been able to figure out which way was up without needing specific directions. Tonight however, the company of a gentleman was far from her mind, not with the pretty strawberry blonde sitting next to her.

Knowing she was a rare creature, the way she was attracted to men and women equally, Winnie knew her chances of flirting with a man were much more acceptable, but she did like to push the boundaries with the ladies when she could. "I'm Winnie, by the way." She said before taking another sip of her drink.

Marlena Scamander · October 23, 2020 – 3:37 AM

Lena certainly shared the sentiment when it came to men and it had not escaped her notice that the other woman had shifted in her pose – even if it was slightly – and she responded in kind, hesitant but hopeful as ever she was. The midwife was exceptionally pretty and after a long day at the Ministry, surrounded by the blustering of men, she was precisely the sort of company that Lena was after.

“Marlena,” she supplied with a smile, leaning slightly over the counter as she called for another drink and motioned for the server to bring one for her new friend too. “It’s the very least I can do.” Lena said, hoping that she would make that little sound of contentment again. “Perhaps we ought to find a table? The corner booths are very relaxing after a long day.”

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Bronwyn Moony · October 24, 2020 – 12:29 AM

Marlena, a pretty name to go with a pretty face, Winnie mused.

She was delighted when a second butterbeer made its way to her as her first was nearly gone and now she was innately curious about the lass who'd purchased it&mash; even more so after the invitation to somewhere a little more private. Nodding with a sly smile, Winnie asked the barkeep to have her dinner delivered and pointed to the very corner booth as she slid from her stool, new butterbeer in hand.

Leading the way, Winnie cast a look over her shoulder before settling into one side of the booth, setting her drink down and her carpet bag beside her on the bench. "Much quieter over here, cozy." She hummed out, setting the scene nicely. "And what is it you do, Marlena?" Winnie had already spilled about her occupation and its woes. She leaned her elbows on the table toward her company, and cradled her butterbeer between them. What a delightful turn this evening had taken.

Marlena Scamander · December 5, 2020 – 11:09 PM

Following behind the shorter woman Lena allowed herself a moment of looking her new friend over. She was very pretty – Marlena was nothing if not a fool for a pretty face – but she was also in possession of a slender frame with delicate fingers and moved with the sort of confidence Lena adored seeing in women. It made her feel as though her own strengths would not be dismissed as being unladylike and she strode after Winnie to the booth with something akin to springs beneath her feet.

“Unspeakable things,” Lena replied mysteriously as she took her seat on the opposite side of the booth, sipping her gin delicately. Any attempt to flirt was mostly accidental but Marlena had decided, following the incident earlier in the year, that she ought to try being a little more open about herself. Having a fumble with a Quidditch player and a woman she was still reasonably sure was a prostitute would open one’s eyes somewhat to the notion that other women were in fact just like her – of course it was a harder task to find one but Marlena had never been one to turn from a task!

“I work for the Department of Mysteries,” she explained, a wry smile coming to her lips. “I promise we’re not all oddballs.”

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Bronwyn Moony · December 28, 2020 – 1:35 AM

Winnie quirked an interested eyebrow at her company. The following smirk was a knowing one. Unspeakable things indeed; something she was not altogether unfamiliar with, though probably not in the manner of which Marlena spoke of them.

"I should think not, though my brother is an auror, now he's an oddball." Kit was... a conundrum. Once a talented and passionate member of the ministry, ever since his disappearance things were different. Understandably so, but his shine had been dulled. "The ministry then, what is it that appeals to you in the depths of the building?" They had to be fairly close in age, but Winnie didn't really recognize her, so that spoke to her being in a different house than Winnie's own Ravenclaw. That struck her as mismatched@mdash; what other house would find the puzzles of the Department of Mysteries alluring... except a Gryffindor. That might explain it.

Taking a pensive sip of her butterbeer, Winnie debated on whether or not she was barking up the wrong tree here, but it never hurt to try. Flirting with a man was one thing, it was easy. Flirting with women was far more covert, and frankly more thrilling. Plus Winnie loved a challenge.

Marlena Scamander · February 12, 2021 – 1:05 AM

Whenever she told a new person about her career choice Marlena felt a slight tension in her frame but it unravelled as quickly as it had come when Winnie did not immediately pull a face, but instead mentioned her brother. She didn’t know all the aurors of course, but one stood out as the most likely to have a sister who worked as a midwife and seemed to be quite at ease in a public house.

“Secrets,” Lena replied in a solomn tone, though her lips seemed unable to drop the smile they had formed. “And the mysteries of the universe but if I tell you any more than that I may be thrown into Azkaban,” she added, taking a sip of her drink, eyes never leaving the other woman as she was far too curious to see what she would make of the flim-flammery they employed in the department to avoid actually telling anybody what they did.

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Bronwyn Moony · February 17, 2021 – 12:16 AM

The coy smile that curled the corners of Winnie's lips couldn't be helped "Secrets indeed." She hummed out pensively. Leaning back for a moment, she stretched out her sore limbs before resting her elbows on the table once more. She cradled her drink before her, running one finger up and down the side in thought.

"See and here I've always gotten, "If I told you, then I'd have to kill you." I always wondered why that was." She joked. Had Kit said that to her? Maybe not in so many words, but she'd long ago learned not to ask him about what happened in his department of the ministry. "It does add to the curiosity. The Ravenclaw in me is inherently piqued with interest." It was unlikely she'd ever find out, but when she thought about it, she was insanely curious to know what they were fooling around with down in the depths of the ministry itself.

"I trust you find the work satisfactory though?" If she couldn't get specifics, generalizations were fine.

Marlena Scamander · March 17, 2021 – 1:30 AM

A Ravenclaw? Of course she was, Marlena thought with a small smile. Though a Gryffindor herself – and for the life of her she still wasn’t sure why, even though it had led her to Febby and Begonia and lifelong friendship and awkwardness respectively – she still definitely had a weakness for anybody who had a passion for knowledge.

“It continues to amaze each and every day,” Lena said vaguely as she sipped her drink. “But enough about work, mine at least, I can’t believe I’ve never seen you in here before. Do you come here often? Or is it just on particularly hard days?”

And, she added silently, when would be the best time find Winnie here?

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Bronwyn Moony · March 20, 2021 – 9:36 PM

Winnie smiled slowly. She didn't often come in here and the last time she'd managed to meet the charming Mr. Grimstone, with whom she shared an interaction not entirely unlike the one she was having with Marlena now, though Win could more openly flirt with Mr. Grimstone.

"Not as often as I would like. It's not often in the budget. Today was long and I missed dinner at the boarding house, so I thought I'd indulge a little." She shrugged lightly. Winnie was unabashedly honest about her life. Muggleborn, working class, lived by herself, it all was who she was, there was no sense in hiding it.

"I can be easily persuaded in however." She chuckled, again harking back to Mr. Grimstone. The Three Broomsticks had been kind to her lately, she could start making in a regular thing if she was going to find company like she had been the last two times. "A butterbeer here and there won't break the bank. What about yourself?"

Marlena Scamander · April 28, 2021 – 11:27 PM

“Well, I live in London so I usually go to the ABC. It’s full of hot-heads but they’re good company,” she said with a fond smile. Marlena wasn’t yet a proper regular at the bar but after what had happened at the Leaky Cauldron she had promised herself she wouldn’t stay in there if she could help it.

Of course, her mother would point out that it was entirely unseemly for her to want to have a drinking establishment she felt comfortable in, but what else was she to do for friends in London? Interesting people didn’t just come crashing through the door every day!

“You should come by, if you’re ever in town. The price of their drinks caters to every budget,” she added with a chuckle. “As long as you don’t mind dust too much.”

MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022

Bronwyn Moony · April 29, 2021 – 12:44 AM

"Oh fancy that, I also live in London," This was getting better and better— and if she wasn't mistaken that was an invitation if she ever heard one. "I'm intimately familiar with the Augurey." She too had some off-color friends that frequented the establishment. Of course Winnie could easily be considered one of those jaded friends. It was a wonder that Win hadn't see Marlena there before. Of course she was often caught up in shenanigans while partaking in her rare drinks, so that was likely why.

"I'll have to pay better attention next time I go in." Win mused with a sly smile in Marlena's direction. Knowing the caliber of potential company was going to go way up at the bar, Winnie could bother to stop in a little more frequently.

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