Zach had been taught that it wasn't particularly polite to ask a woman their age, so he didn't see it fit to press her. He did, however, know Jo had not attended Hogwarts when he did, she'd been an archaeologist for only two years, and she appeared to be somewhere in her twenties. (Though, appearance wasn't exactly the most reliable source to estimate from.)

"I wouldn't think to ask you to pay for my drink, but I do enjoy a good guessing game," he stated, delight twinkling in his eyes. He always loved a good puzzle. "You are certainly not a Hufflepuff." Of that he was sure. Hufflepuffs had a general aura about them that was incredibly unique.

"It's possible you could be a Ravenclaw since you seem to have an interest in history. However, your line of work tends to be a more adventurous one that many Ravenclaws would shy away from." Not to mention Jo was quite far from home, and it seemed she was in the pub alone.

"My guess would be...Gryffindor?" Logically, it made sense. He hadn't even touched the subject of Slytherin, although it was possible she could have been sorted there. Some former Slytherins surprised him.

  

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Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

Mr. Binns was nothing if not perceptive. Hufflepuff was perhaps the single house Jo might've cried upon being sorted into. Although it would've been nice to have spent more quality time with Saturn, the bubbly nature of Earth's type made Jo cringe. Being forced to live in such proximity to that was a frightening prospect. "Definitely not a Hufflepuff," Jo confirmed before taking another sip, her food almost entirely forgotten in the game.

Ravenclaw was a reasonable second choice. After all, most of her colleagues who attended Hogwarts were Ravenclaws. Collecting knowledge wasn't Jo's foremost passion, however, making her not quite the right fit for the studious tower.

"With a correct analysis like that I'd then guess you were a Ravenclaw," Jo replied. "Am I that obvious?"

  

"You are correct," he answered with a grin, also pleased that he'd guessed right for Jo, as well. "Only as obvious as I seem to be." Zach hoped she realized he truly was a bookseller and his meaning behind 'fargile' texts. He reached out, remembering his food, trying to finish it up. "It helps that most of my family are Gryffindors." In fact, it was only little Emma who had also turned out to be a Ravenclaw. In his opinion, Hugo would have also made a good Slytherin, but his recklessness detracted from that.

"Smith..." He mused, still unsure if he'd be able to grasp the poor fellow's first name. "Do you happen to have a brother? I think I may have attended school with a Smith."

  

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Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

Now that she was thinking of it, there had been a Ms. Binns several years above her. Not that they ever interacted to Jo's memory, or maybe Ms. Binns had tutored her? Jo wasn't certain and it didn't make much of a difference. The fact of the matter was Jo had somehow encountered a wizard from home in a random muggle pub in Virginia. "As everyone should be," she joked.

What were the odds?

"I have six brothers, so it wouldn't surprise me if you've met one or two over the years." Sun was likely the closest in age to Mr. Binns, but any of them might've met him at the shop. "My dearest, darling parents named us all after planets, so if you met a Smith with a celestial first name we're most likely related," Jo explained with an added roll of her eyes. Odd naming schemes were the bane of her existence, truly. "If you own Whizzard's you have likely met my sister, Earth Beck, too. She publishes books on herbology. And perhaps my brother, Saturn. He's an aspiring author, though he just graduated this year."

  

Zach smirked at Jo's assessment that everyone should be Gryffindors, but he didn't comment. He was sure his parents had been a bit disappointed that he'd ended up elsewhere, but they were too kind to say so.

His eyebrows raised a bit. It wasn't odd for families to have six or more children, but to name them all after planets. That was unusual. It wasn't surprising that Jo wished to go by a nickname instead of Jupiter. Although, he didn't believe Jupiter to be all that terrible of a name.

It was such a small world.

"If I ever produce any offspring, I shall remember not to name them all according to a theme." Although, the thought of finding someone to have said children with filled him with anxiety. It didn't help that his mother kept nudging him toward women whom he could hardly imagine having dinner with, not to mention marriage.

"Yes, I do believe I've met Miss Beck. I don't possess much knowledge of herbology, but many people purchase her books." Zach was also sure Jo's sister was the one he thought was a bit 'too much.' Was she the one who was very involved in the Church of the Magical Jesus? He would have to investigate. The mention of Saturn had him smiling, though. "I do know young Mr. Smith. He is often in and out of my shop, especially while at school. He is always on the hunt for the most intriguing titles. Do you have interest in writing? Findings from your digs, perhaps?"

Zach was sure the world was just continuing to grow smaller.

Pausing, he went to take a sip of his drink, but he found it empty. "Would you care for another drink, Miss Smith?" He called the bartender over.

  

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Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

She laughed, her amusement clear across her features. "As someone named as part of a ridiculous theme, I thank you." Jo herself would never have children, but if she did they would be given normal, boring names. Perhaps Spanish in origins as to make them a tad more unique.

"Supposedly, she's a genius with herbology...it was never my strongsuit either," Jo said. Really, she was just relieved her sister chose to write about plants instead of Jesus. Despite having been dragged to the countless meetings, Jo still found it all to be narrowminded. Jesus wasn't mentioned anywhere near the pyramids of Egypt or the Mayan temples. Hell, the Greeks and Romans had an entire collection of gods they believed in. How could any one group be right without all the others being wrong? And to think that those who believed were superior to those who didn't? It simply wasn't something Jo agreed with.

Jo smiled at the description of Saturn, thankful that at least someone in her family was normal. "He's actually traveling with me this time, believe it or not." Hopefully he made it back to the ship alright. "I contribute to research when invited, but writing has never been something I sought out. That gene must've skipped me."

Lifting her glass, Jo drank the remaining half down in a few unladylike gulps and nodded. "I believe I owe you one anyhow."

  

When Jo laughed, Zach watched her, his warm smile growing; it had been a lovely sound.

"I do appreciate plants for their beauty and their uses, but plant identification is not something I prioritize." It had always felt like memorization for the sake of memorization. He wasn't all that partial to potions, even though he did like to hear of its advances. It was likely why his cooking also suffered.

"Oh!" He glanced about the pub a moment, but he didn't see Saturn, so he supposed he must be off elsewhere. "You'll have to send him my regards." Zach supposed it must be interesting traveling with a sibling.

"Discovering the things to be written about is just as, if not more, important as doing the actual writing," he commented with a reassuring grin. It was something he truly believed. Someone had to do the difficult work of going on an expedition or just simply living. He hadn't inherited the writing gene, either; he just distributed their works. And fanboyed over them.

"It's on me," Zach insisted, sliding coin to the bartender who went to fill their order. Once the man left, he admitted to Jo, "Besides, I will no longer be in need of this odd currency much longer." Really, she would be doing him a favor by limiting his trips to Gringotts.

  

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Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

Herbology was Jo's least favorite subject in school, followed closely by potions. Memorizing data was tedious and repetitive with no real lesson to be learned from it. It was easy enough to scour through a book of plants to figure out what she was looking at (although, Jo wouldn't deny knowing the more poisonous ones had benefited her in Central America). "There are much more important things to learn," she agreed. "And so little time to learn it all."

Jo quickly waved off his search and said, "he went back to the ship early. Claimed that inspiration had struck and it couldn't be ignored. We'll see what he comes up with this time. But I'll let him know I saw you."

Regardless of what he said, Jo would be buying a round of drinks tonight. It had been agreed upon (at least in her mind) after all, and a bet was a bet. The sailors had taught her that. "I'm getting the next round, then," Jo stated factually. She wouldn't be so rude as to slide his money back across the counter, but she refused to be denied. "And thank you for the drink."

  

"I'll drink to that," Zach commented with a smirk and a raise of his glass since their round of drinks had arrived. There really was an incredible amount to learn and only one lifetime. He admired that she also held such beliefs.

Zach laughed and commented, "The life of writers." As if that explained everything.

He tilted his head. Jo was being rather insistent. Perhaps it wouldn't be terrible if she bought one round, but he would try not to allow for anymore.

"Where is it you were exploring before this trip?"

  

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Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

"The life of a writer," Jo agreed. Saturn's habits were so strange sometimes Jo wondered whether or not he was truthful. Perhaps 'inspiration' was some sort of subtle codeword for taking someone to bed. Was that a conversation she was to have with her brother? Merlin, Jo hoped not.

Although it was likely just a byproduct of her alcohol consumption, Jo found herself becoming intensely attracted to Mr. Binns. English folk were the hardest for Jo to gauge for conformity, though, so her likelihood of bedding him herself was small. Especially when she considered how determined he was to call her Miss Smith.

"I was in Greece, Athens specifically. There's a team working on the Parthenon," Jo said easily. "Have you been?'

  

Zach's mind was a bit more innocent, in a way, so his mind didn't drift to sexual matters. If Saturn said he were heading off to write, that's exactly what he would believe.

"I haven't had the chance to visit Greece, no. The closest I've been is Italy. My predecessor passed on a few years ago, and he usually did the traveling, so I'm only just beginning to explore." He was incredibly excited about it, really. Never had he thought he would end up terribly far from Hogsmeade. Not only that, but he he met some incredible people both abroad and at the shop.

He wasn't sure why, but he needed to learn more about Jo. He was so intrigued. Whether that was due to the alcohol or something else.

"Where has your fav--?" Zach began to ask when they were bumped from behind by an incredibly inebriated redhead who then proceeded to slosh an entire pint of ale all over the both of them.

  

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Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

The ale soaked into her hair and dripped down the neckline of her dress. "Fuck," she hissed, sending a death glare towards the drunken sailor. Jo had been soaked in alcohol before, but now any hopes she had of even securing a kiss goodnight were squashed. Standing on the bottom rung of the stool, she then reached behind the counter and grabbed the towels for them both. The bartender hadn't even noticed the commotion yet, and she wasn't about to sit here soaked in beer with nothing to sop it up.

She toweled her hair as best she could and wiped the foam from her chest before turning to him once again. "Are you alright?" Merlin, Jo was going to need a bath now, which, unfortunately for her, wasn't an easy task aboard a ship. "What a jackass." The sailor was attempting to drink from an empty mug and glaring at its contents. How drunk one had to be to not recognize an empty glass Jo didn't know.

  

Zach restrained himself from swearing, unable to trust himself from not shouting a crude version of 'Merlin' to the rafters. If they'd been at The Hog's Head, he might have tossed a harmless tripping jinx at the drunk in question. Most didn't expect an unassuming bookworm would do such a thing. However, since they were in the muggle world, he couldn't even offer to magically dry Jo's clothing. Instead, he offered him a glare that he knew wasn't even received by the confused man.

It seemed Jo had it covered, and he smirked at her quick thinking. He wouldn't have been bold enough to just pluck some towels from behind the counter without asking. "Thank you," He set about stopping the ale from completely dripping down his back.

"Yes, I'm fine. Are you?" Zach gave her a concerned look. Spying a puddle of alcohol looking as if it were about to drain off of the counter onto Jo, he leaned forward without thinking, bumping her in the process.

  

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Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

At least it was only ale spilled and not boiling hot stew. The stickiness of her skin was vastly preferable to any potential burns. "I'm okay. It's nothing that can't be washed —" and then his knee was against hers and his arm grazed her own.

If Jo hadn't been four glasses deep, she might not have thought to stop him from pulling away once the puddle was mopped up. The accidental touch (for what Englishman touched a woman without explicit permission) was more than her wound up brain could handle, leading her to take his hand in her own. How easy it would be to lean in and kiss him. They were safe in their anonymous bubble here, surely he wouldn't deny her a kiss...

Her gaze shifted between his striking blue eyes and his lips, and back again lasting longer on each pass. Mr. Binns had broken so many rules tonight, what was one more?

  

He hadn't meant to touch her. He'd been so intent on Jo not getting soaked a second time that he hadn't thought to aim more carefully. Zach lingered there a few seconds longer than was polite, at a loss of what to do. The logical thing was to pull away, but the archaeologist held onto his hand.

He did the only sensible thing he could think of--blush.

"Uh..."

Merlin, what was he supposed to do now? Why was she looking at him like that? That gaze, so full of, well, he didn't quite know. It stirred something in his heart that he just couldn't describe. Zach knew he should pull away, but he felt frozen.

"My..." He cleared his throat. "My apologies."

  

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Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Jo's eyes widened at his reaction and she promptly released his hand. Ignoring both her barely touched drink and half eaten pie, Jo reached for her coat and stood from the bar. "Forgive me, Mr. Binns, I believe I've had a bit too much to drink," she said, her cheeks ablaze from embarrassment. "I'm going to head out for the evening. Good luck on your travels!"

And with that, she began navigating her way through the crowded pub and into the night air.