Sue pushed her hair behind her ears and listened intently as she worked her way around the bar, tending to each drunken male that walked in and cutting off the guys who had had too much and gone past their limit.
She was thrown a bit off guard when she saw a person walk in with a hooded cloak hiding his face and was sure to keep her guard up. "What can I get for you, dear?" she asked as she got a small peak of red hair beneath the cloak.
"Scotch on the rocks," a feminine voice said from behind the cloak.
"ID please," she retorted. She didn't know what this woman looked like, so how could she possibly know her age. The young woman handed her a small card proving she was older than eighteen and pulld her cloak's hood slightly away from her face to prove she was of age. Sue nodded slightly and returned to her previous work and retrieved the drink for the young woman.
It was a Tuesday night and the pub was practically empty aside from the two 'regulars' who came in at least once a day to 'drink away their sorrows'. She walked over to the young girl, "I noticed you only turned eighteen a couple weeks ago," she said busying herself with a rag and clean glasses.
"Is that a crime?" she retorted rather bitterly.
"Just a little early to be developing alcoholism," Sue said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders a bit.
A look of sheer disgust crossed the young girl's face and she glared viciously as the bartender, "How dare you make such an accusation! What do you have to base it on?" she demanded.
Sue couldn't tell if she was speaking rhetorically or if she wanted a real answer and decided to go with the latter, "Well let's put the facts together," she said shrugging her shoulders and putting the glass down on the counter, "you're in here alone drinking far more than your body can handle," she said sticking up her thumb, "it's a Tuesday night and who goes out on a school night to get piss drunk," she said sticking up her index finger, "you're hiding from someone or something with that ridiculous cloak," she said raising her middle finger, "and you're face has sorrow written all over it."
The young red head nodded, "Alright, you win. What do you want from me?" she asked, clearly defeated.
"What is going on in your life that has led you to drinking?"
A shrill and sarcastic laugh was omitted from the girl and she peered at Sue, "Let's see, the man I love is gone and may never return, during the war I lost my brother, my family is alienating me, and my best friend has run away with another one of my brothers hoping to leave this life in the past."
Sue nodded. She knew what this young woman was going through all too well. The only recent war she could think of was in America or in the Wizarding World. She analyzed the chances of this girl being a witch like herself and finally decided if she wasn't she could play if off like a joke and if that didn't work she could obliterate the last hour or so from the girl's memory. "You're not from America, are you?" she asked and when the young woman shook her head no she moved in a bit closer and whispered, "then you're from the wizarding world?"
The young woman peered around and leaned in a bit as well, "You know about the wizarding world?"
Sue nodded her head slowly. She didn't usually get to vent to her customers, but her story might help this young woman. "I used to be part of it. I went to a school called Beauxbatons... I don't know if you've heard of it. My cousin attended Hogwarts and died along with his fellow Dumbledore's Army affiliates. When he died I lost all my will. He was like a brother to me, I have five older sisters. He was all I really had in this world. My father hated me because I was his last shot at a son and my mother hated me because I didn't make my father happy. All of my sisters hated me because I was a bit boyish to please my father. When asked they would say it was just a coincidence we had the same last name. Like there were many people named Longbottom," she stopped to chuckle for a moment and saw the girl had tears in her eyes and they were wider than before. "Um. Are you alright?"
"You're Neville's cousin?" she asked enthusiastically as tears filled her eyes.
Sue smiled broadly, it was the first time she was able to talk about his death and it had been six months since the war ended. "You know Nevvy?"
"I was part of Dumbledore's Army," she said, matching Sue's enthusiasm.
"Bloody hell, you're Ginny Weasley!" Sue exclaimed a bit too loudly as the two girls chuckled. The girls calmed down a bit and Sue motioned for Ginny to wait one moment as she walked across the bar and helped the two men in their drunken stupor up to leave.
"Oh are you closing?" she asked putting the hood up on her cloak.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll be here for at least another hour closing up. You can stay and keep me company if you'd like. It would be much appreciated," Sue said with a small smile. "So let me get this straight, Harry is gone, you're missing Fred and Ron and Hermione ran away together?" she asked, just to be clear though she was fairly certain she was right.
Ginny simply nodded. The girls made small talk for the next hour or so when Ginny got a floo from her brother, George. The two girls were thrown a bit off guard when her brother appeared in the fireplace and Sue stumbled backwards and fell on her ass. "Bloody hell," she muttered.
Ginny giggled and made her way to the fireplace. "What was that?" George asked, his green flame figure peering around Ginny.
Ginny laughed lightly, "Oh I made friends with the bartender, we weren't expecting you. She's Neville's cousin."
George nodded his head, not really listening, "Mum has been on my ass all day wondering where you are. So sober up and get home immediately!"
Without another word George was gone. "You're brother still lives at home?" Sue asked curiously, a bit amused by the young man. She'd heard stories of the Weasleys, but they all ended with "and that's why Ron ran away with Hermione," or "and that's how they say Fred died." All rumors she assumed, and didn't give them much thought.
Ginny shook her head, "No, but I do and my mum worries," she shrugged. The girls parted ways as they left the pub and resolved to meet for lunch the next day in Diagon Alley. Sue returned to her lonely flat and went to bed immediately after a small cup of tea... her usual routine.
His hand slid down her torso and rested momentarily on her hips as he pulled her body closer to his... so close that the heat radiating between them would surely start a fire. His lips were inches from her and all she wanted to do was close the gap. His hand snaked its way around around her neck and pulled her lips closer to his.
And that's when her alarm began to blare loudly throughout the room and she cursed another dawn. She'd had the same short dream for weeks now, but now she got a glimpse of the person's hair: fire engine red. She thought about Ginny's brother, but pushed the thought from her mind almost immediately.