August 29th, 1894 - Outside the Smoke & Scale

It had only been a little over a week since he and Enid had settled into their new situation, but Nigel had been diligently working on the observatory in any spare time he could muster that wouldn't look too suspicious. He didn't want to draw any attention to it, so was only working on the inside, and only at times when nobody else was really around. He hated that it all had to be secret, but they were still figuring out the details and he didn't want anyone else to influence their fledgling relationship.

The good news was that he'd been able to at least clean it all up in the last few days, got all of the junk out and had taken a look at the telescope. It needed some new pieces, but he'd been able to track them down in Diagon Alley and had stopped to pick them up after work today. He figured he could fit them quickly on his way home. After flooing to the pub, he stepped out of the hearth and into the glow of the Scale. He was tired, but figured he had to sneak this in before he headed home. Nigel could always blame work for being late and it wasn't like his parents kept strict track of his comings and goings.

He didn't make it far from the pub when he spotted someone else coming down the lane. "Berkwood?" He questioned, thoroughly surprised to see his school friend in the Glen. "Strange place to find you?" Nobody really came to the Glen unless connected to a Yarwood or Glynn, so he was surprised to say the least.

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Henry Berkwood

  

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Harry's life had certainly taken some unexpected turns. He was spending quite a lot of time at the Glen--as much time as he could manage away from his own work, and as much as Avery would let him. He would do right where his brother refused to, and anyway, Harry enjoyed his time at the Glen. He'd always enjoyed doting on his sisters' children, and little Marigold was no different. If nothing else, whenever Harry had to marry and have children of his own, at least enjoy fatherhood.

He was making his way to the Smoke & Scale after a dinner with his niece and her mother, with the intention of taking the Floo to London to work in his lab for a while before heading home. He'd made this journey enough times now to not give much thought to seeing anyone who knew him. He'd been fairly lucky in that respect so far, which is probably why, when he came across Yarwood, he didn't have a ready excuse. "Yarwood," he greeted, fumbling. "I, ah, I've been making potions for the creature healer. I've just come from dropping them off." It was not a lie, but it was a sliver of the truth.

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Set by Bee <3

Well, that would explain it, he supposed. Nobody could get into the Glen without somebody familiar with the place cluing them in, so it would make sense Berkwood had some other connection. Nigel didn't know the new creature healer very well, wasn't even sure he'd know her if he saw her, but it would make sense she would need potions. It was all out of his realm of focus, so he supposed it didn't matter, exactly.

"Good of you to bring them over," he acknowledged, though was curious to know if they couldn't be sent by owl or what. He wasn't about to ask though. He shifted the bag of parts in his hands, unsure as to what else to day. "Did you want to grab a drink before you go?" It had been a while since he'd seen his friend and Nigel was starting to have something regarding a social life, best he keep it up. The telescope could wait until tomorrow, he didn't have plans to see Enid until then anyway.

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"It's quite a new endeavor, I like to check on things," Harry said, which was also a true statement. Though this "new" endeavor was now several months old, and by this point, Harry knew what he was doing well enough to be confident in it. But it was still a thing he would do. "Yes, let's get a drink." He smiled. "The only thing waiting for me is a night of more work, I can probably stand to put it off a little longer." Under most circumstances, Harry was interested in socializing with his friends, though he would be the first to admit he was easily distracted from that endeavor by his other interests.

Harry started walking again, heading toward the Smoke & Scale. "What's that you've got there?"

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Set by Bee <3

Nigel nodded along as he turned back toward the pub. Harry was good at what he did, so it wasn't really a surprise that he would find himself involved with anything that could benefit from his expertise. "Oh," Nigel looked down at the part for the telescope in his hands. He wasn't sure if it was the piece he'd needed, the damn thing was in such disrepair, but he was hoping to get it fixed up soon.

"We have an old observatory on the property," he figured the partial truth was fine. "Been trying to fix up the telescope and get it running again." You know, for educational purposes. "Been a bit of a mess though, lots of rust, trying to figure out what parts can be salvaged and what needs to be replaced." He'd figure it out. There had to be a book on it somewhere.

Upon re-entry to the pub, Nigel nodded at Morgan behind the bar quickly and settled at a table closer to the windows. He was still feeling a little odd around Enid's sisters, even though they had no idea what was going on. He had to wonder if that would ever fade. "How did you find the Glen then?" Having grown up here it wasn't quite as majestic as other people claimed for it to be, so he was curious.

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"Ah," Harry said, nodding along to Yarwood's explanation. "You know, I think I haven't given the stars much thought since the Astronomy OWL." He chuckled. "It's a scientific blind spot, I guess." Hardly a surprise. Not every subject could be chemistry or potions. He'd never sleep if he had another interest of that level. Harry already suffered from insomnia enough as it was.

"It's quite the place," he said. "I might have said I wished I could see more of the dragons before last year, but I know better now." Harry had thankfully made it out of the dragon debacle unscathed, but he'd spent the night lending what help he could. Not an experience he was in a hurry to repeat.

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Set by Bee <3

Having grown up here, Nigel had always had a healthy respect for the dragons in the Glen, but he still found them fascinating. He did much prefer the research side to the keeping side, however. "Completely fair." Most people probably had gotten a real dose of dragon-reality last year.

"It's been a while for me too, but I needed something to tinker with and I enjoy fixing things." It wasn't something he consciously made a habit of, but the more time he spent fixing up the telescope and the observatory, the more he found himself enjoying having a project of sorts. That it was his rendezvous place with Enid was a beautiful excuse, but he found himself enjoy every aspect of the meetings.

Morgan stopped by to ask what they wanted and Nigel just ordered a tankard of ale for himself; a much safer option than the whiskey he had opted for the last time he'd had a drink here. Though the outcome was better than he hoped for, Nigel still harbored a little bit of residual embarrassment from that night he'd gotten a little sloppy around Enid.

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Harry gave his order to match Yarwood's, figuring ale was a safe enough choice if he was going to be working after this. He turned back to his friend and said, "I've been doing my job long enough now that I can't imagine doing anything that isn't hands-on all day." Harry chuckled. Though he supposed potions wasn't really the same, it was still a craft of sorts. "Though I think I might not mind teaching one day. Assuming Professor Valenduris ever retires, of course."

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Set by Bee <3

Nigel didn't have that need to be hands-on all of the time, in fact he was far more comfortable with research and paperwork than most, but he had been enjoying working with his hands on something safe anyway. He was pretty sure he couldn't hurt himself with the telescope. It was as practical as Nigel liked to get. "I couldn't do it all the time, but it is fun. Have no idea what I'll pick up once it's running again."

It wasn't hard to imagine Harry teaching Potions at Hogwarts one day. "Do you think there's an age limit? Surely he's got to be getting close." Nigel chuckled. The man had been there for what felt like forever. "I can see you doing well with it, though." Nigel affirmed after taking a sip of his drink.

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Harry laughed. "That's a good question," he agreed. "I suppose I should be grateful he's giving me so much time to build up my own experience." Hogwarts didn't feel so long ago, really. Sometimes he wondered where the time went. It felt like he ought to have accomplished more by now. He'd heard similar sentiments from others, which was some comfort, he supposed.

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Set by Bee <3