Better Than One
By: OurLoveIsForever
Chapter One: Refusal
The music was beautiful. Slow, soothing, and like a balm to the soul. It lilted on the air, dancing about in notes that I couldn't comprehend, but completely understood. Slowly, I lifted the glass to my lips and smiled before sipping my elderflower wine. It seemed to fit with the laid-back atmosphere of the tavern. Nothing too loud, just relaxing, for those that had a long day elsewhere. Perhaps it was because we chose to play such music that we were a bit of a target for Neo-Death Eater activity. Playing muggle works? Not the most 'magic loyal' thing to do. We knew this, of course, when we started the tavern years ago. The threats didn't bother us at first. We wouldn't let them.
"You know that Jack wants you in the back?"
I smiled into my glass and placed it upon the enchanted wood of the bar. "She knows this is my favorite set. Whatever it is, it can wait ten minutes."
"She sounded pretty—" Tysen sighed at my expression. "I'll send her word."
My eyes moved to the small stage at the back of the pub. A raised bit in the floor housed the current band, their riffs upon muggle guitars moving with precision though the air. The lead male had quite the voice. I would have to recommend him when the agent from Belladonna Records. As usual, the club held a good crowd. People occupied the leatheredseats, some opting for the relative silence of the Halsey room, off to the side of the main area. Those were the older folk, those that chose to listen to the faded tunes of yesterday.
"Just received another message from Jack," I turned a bit to look back over the bar. "She insists that you come back immediately. There seems to be a problem." Jack could most certainly find a way to kill my good mood. I gave Tysen a slightly demeaning glance before he raised his hands in surrender. "Look, it isn't my fault."
"Don't hex the messenger, right?" I nodded, pushing my half-empty glass toward him. "Looks like I will end up needing something stronger."
He laughed. "You know I have it, darlin'."
I slid off of the stool, placing my feet upon the wooden floor. There were only two things that Jack would find so unbearably important. One, someone in our staff was in need of discipline or two, we had received another threat.
I sincerely hoped for the first.
The hall leading back toward the office suites were dark, the graceful notes of the band's cello solo echoed throughout the building. I moved along, hearing the clacking of my heels, accompanying the building beat. Without thought, I waved my wand at the oak door of my office, swinging it open. "Honestly, Jack, what is it? You know I love listening to—"
"—another one today." She stopped, turning to face me. In all my years with Jacqueline MacNeiley, I had never seen her move so quickly. Her entire body seemed to shrink before she moved toward the door, her hands coming up to cover her face. "We received another letter."
"Another?" I sighed. "They're either stupid or barking mad." Most likely both.
She glanced at me through her fingers before pointing toward the desk. The other times, we had laughed about the threats. I wondered what it was that made this particular parchment so upsetting. I felt a wave of panic crash though me like the ocean was beating against an outcropping of rocks. I took a step forward, trying to ignore Jack's whimpers, trying to stop my hands from shaking. I took the wrinkled bit of paper from the desk's surface. My eyes scanned the words.
Ladies of Cells Tavern,
We have not received any response to our previous letters. We are very disappointed. There has been much talk of the ilk you allow into your little establishment. Allowing muggle music, muggle drinks, and mugglefoods into our world. Your nerve is surprising for two women such as yourself. However, we believe that with the proper persuasion, you will change your ways. Should you neglect our demands, it will be your fault if something rather horrid should happen to one of your staff. It is through a rather reliable source that we know there are some mudbloods within your employment. They, of course, will be the first to go.
You have until noon tomorrow.
I leaned against the desk in stunned silence, the only sound being the building music from the main bit of the pub. My heart was beating harder and faster than it had in years. Slowly, I folded the parchment once more before placing it on the desk beside me. "Bloody hell…"
"They're t-threatening our staff." Before it had only been corny, albeit nasty, commands to 'cease and desist'...
I heaved a breath and nodded.
"We c-can't let this go on!"
No, we couldn't. Three actual threats and this was by far the worst. I knew from speaking with patrons, who had been with us since we opened, that there were other muggle influenced establishments that were being threatened in Diagon Alley such as the Leaky Cauldron. Some were even receiving cryptic hate mail in Ireland. It was a small group, with what seemed to be of little pull, but they had managed to attack a Muggle Artifact shop in Wales. Even if there was danger, I felt a determination to not close our doors. I didn't want to fall to petty bullying. We weren't bloody sixteen anymore. "No, we're not closing. We're not changing a thing!"
"What do you—"
"I'll call in some favors if I have to, but I am not closing." I pushed off of the desk and crossed my arms.
Jack shook her head slowly then stopped, staring at me as though I was out of my mind. Slowly, a small smile broke out on her face. "You're daft."
"And somehow still functioning." I responded, smiling. "We need to talk to the staff. Let anyone who wants to run do so. I think we owe them that at least. Otherwise, I will talk to some people before the night is over about some wards and perhaps I can get in touch with some of our other friends."
She nodded, her blonde hair falling into her eyes, which had dried from their tears though I could still see bits of mascara running down her cheeks. "Yes. Yeah. We'll pool our resources. Speak to whomever you can." With that she flashed me a smile and took off from the office, the heels of her ankle boots clacking down the hallway.
I stood for a moment collecting my thoughts. I knew that some influential people were in my pub at that very moment. If I moved quick enough, I could get what I needed. I began out of the office only to hit a proverbial wall. Stumbling back, I found that the 'wall' was in fact a chest. That chest led to a neck and that neck to a face.
"Oh for the love of Merlin!" I cried, throwing my hands up. "Now is not the time!"
"Now is certainly the time! I can pay twice what I offered last time!" The man responded grinning like a fool. His dark skin stretched over his rather nice features. "I can see a good invest—"
"Do you see a 'for sale' sign anywhere?" I retorted, starting forward again. I resisted the urge to throw out my arms. He didn't budge. Neither did I. I stood right under him, glaring up. "No?"
"Everyone has a price."
"And you won't have any bits if you don't move." I smiled pleasantly, my voice taking the tone of utter sweetness. He jerked his head down to see my wand pointed at his crotch. "So, Mister Morino , do we have an accord?" He moved backward and out of my way. "Good to see you still have some intelligence."
"Bloody twat."
"That's Miss 'Bloody Twat' to you, Morino." I laughed, waving my wand as I hurried down the corridor. "I have some things to take care of. Grab a drink at the bar if you're upset. I've heard that Tysen has a new dragon mead mixer." I heard him chuckle lightly before I stepped out into the main dining area, to the dimmed lights and soothing sounds.
Those Death Eaters wouldn't close this place down.
Not if I had anything to say about it.
-
"Sure, I can check the wards." Jeffery Crow responded, settling his glass on the table beside his leather chair. His dark eyes scanned the room before he leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper, sounding very strained with his low, rough voice. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"
I smiled, leaning my aching head against the rest behind it. "Just keeping the security in check and up to date, Jeff. Nothing more." It was best to not let more people know than necessary. "The wards are numerous but only guard against so much."
"Well, you came to the right man. I'll be by tomorrow around three, before you open?" I nodded, scooting forward in my seat. I resisted the urge to run off to my next 'meeting'. I had already spoken to a friend who specialized in protective charms. The only item left on the list was to speak to the employees and I was unable to do that for another hour. "You're a terrible liar, darling."
I couldn't help but laugh. Over the course of the five years that Jack and I had owned our little slice of heaven, we had acquired the most loyal set of customers I had ever seen. The older men looked at us as daughters and that, was a blessing in itself. "Now, Jeff, you know I can handle it. Just be here tomorrow. That is enough for me."
I stood, smiling down at the man in the chair. He gave me a knowing glance before looking back toward the stage, his head shaking. Perhaps I was rather see-through. It was neither here nor there. I moved toward the bar once more, sliding into my usual chair at the end. Tysen was busy tending to a large group of witches at the other end, smiling and flirting like the professional he was. I couldn't help but laugh under my breath. It truly was a turn-around for him. In school, he couldn't seem to get one girl to look his way.
"I spoke to Jackie." A voice said to my left. I glanced out of the corner of my eyes to see Glenn Morino leaning on the counter beside me. His features were set in a serious stare. Why was it that he would always go to Jack after me? She always told him 'no' anyway.
"Honestly, Morino, you need to get a life and stop trying to buy us out."
"That's all a game now. You know I come here just to see you get flustered." I opened my mouth to respond but he cut me off. "Jackie told me about the letters. Why didn't you say anything?" I kept my mouth shut and decided that the wall of bottles behind the bar was much more interesting to stare at. "You don't trust me."
"That's not it. You've been trying to buy me out since—"
"Since I saw that Jack didn't have a ring on her finger. Really, for a Ravenclaw, you're thick." I jerked my head around to stare at the man. Surely he was kidding, but no, there was no expression of humor.
"Don't start with me—"
"So, would you care to tell me what is going on?"
"Nothing that we can't handle."
"That's not what Jack said."
I bit my lip before carefully voicing my retort. "The only interaction that we've had would be you flashing your money bags around for the whole world to see stating that this bar would be a good investment. Now you tell me that the only reason you did so was to get Jacqueline MacNeiley's attention?" He smirked. "Oh Merlin, you know what? I don't have time for this!"
His had shot out to grasp my wrist. "You need to be careful. Take every precaution you can. If you keep this from the Ministry for too long, there could be consequences." I watched his eyes, looking for some sign. Somewhere in those dark depths, I saw honesty and pure unadulterated concern. "You need to tell the Aurors."
"We can handle it."
"Is that confidence or blind naiveté?" He scoffed.
"The former." I responded, tugging at my wrist. Honestly! "We're taking the necessary precautions. The wards will be improved. I even have a man willing to work as security at the door when our other guard has the night off. Under no circumstances am I going to let those Death Eaters ruin this!" My voice was growing more and more vicious to the extent that Morino released my hand. "I don't care if I end up dead tomorrow by keeping my club open. These doors will not close."
"Then let me help." He whispered urgently.
There was the clank of glass upon the counter before Tysen leaned over the wood to enter the conversation. "Your help would be much appreciated, Glenn. I'll owl you later with the details. She's just ill-tempered right now. She'll be seeing sense by the morrow. I think it best you leave now." Tysen's eyes flashed with a good-natured warning before Morino nodded, releasing my wrist. "He only wants to help." Tysen assured as the other man moved away through the crowd.
"He can help by not giving me a headache every time I see him." I retorted, throwing the bartender a wary glance. "Do you have anything stronger than Dragon Mead?"
Tysen chuckled a bit and shook his head. "You can barely handle butterbeer, Lisa. What makes you think that I would give you anything with bite?"
"Because I've had a shitty evening?"
"Under some circumstances, I would give you all that I have seeing as though you own it anyway, but I just can't do that tonight." He shrugged and whipped his hands on his white dish rag before throwing it on the counter. "You have other, more important, things to deal with."
I wanted to slam my head into the bar. "I would be far more effective if I were to have at least a shot to calm my nerves." Perhaps another shot to dull my aching head...
His eyes narrowed. "No."
"Tysen, I do hope that you realize I'm the bank here."
"I hope you realize that you wouldn't have a bar without a bartender." He leaned forward, making me move back simply to keep our faces from touching. "You. Need. Me."
"Like. A. Hole. In. My. Head." I said slowly, beginning to smirk despite myself. He chuckled and stepped away with his hands raised. "I will surrender to the fact that Morino wants to help. I think I've known for some time that he would be going after Jack."
"Bloody love-sick…"
"Now, Tysen, you shouldn't say things like that, especially when you are no better than him." I swallowed my laugh as the young bartender blushed and focused his attention toward filing shot glasses. It really was sad if I knew my employees' private lives better than I knew my own. "You know to contact me if you see James Bones, right?"
"Of course, Madam Turpin, how could I possibly forget? Only our well-being rides on such a thing!"
I nodded my head and started for the hallway once more, intent on taking some sort of potion for my aching head. The music was softer now, a slow set for those that wished to dance. Within the half hour, the band would pick back up again and the pounding in my head would only get worse. I sighed slightly before shifting to place my feet on the floor again. I needed some air, some fresh air before my brain decided to jump out of my ears.
My boots clacked on the hardwood of the hallway as I moved toward the back entryway. Only employees were allowed back in the alley between shops. The wards blocked against any magic being used within the space so there was quite some amount of protection…Besides I would only take a minute before moving back inside. Slipping my wand from its holster on my hip, I slid through the heavy wooden door, listening as the music faded and muted behind the magically sound proofed exit.
The air felt cleaner and cooler as I sucked in through my nose and let a sigh out of my mouth. Calming breaths. It would all be okay. This was certainly something that could be handled. I could handle this! My heart was beating so loud in my ears that I didn't notice the soft crackling of the wards being tested. I pushed back the weight of tears. Tears would not help me. They had never helped before. They certainly wouldn't n—
"Well, well. Look, the blood traitor decided to show her face."
I tensed, chills running up my spine. Jerking my head up, I realized what an utter fool I had been to leave the safety of the pub. What had I been thinking? That was just it! I hadn't been thinking. Not clearly at least. No, my aching head had stolen rational thought.
The alley was dark, too dark to see the owner of the voice. It seemed to hang in the air.
"I've seen no one leave, Turpin."
My voice was deeper than it should have been, but with my throat suddenly dry, it was better than nothing. "No one will be leaving until closing time. Even then, they will return."
"So, in other words, you refuse?"
I measured just how much of a chance I had of escape. My eyes glanced toward the door of the tavern. Darkness seemed to seep into my view of it and the light that hung above. No, he, whoever he was, was blocking that route. I held back a growl of frustration. I took a small step back, toward the end of the alley. If I could stun him and make a break for the end…
"Answer me, woman!"
"I refuse!" I nearly yelled, waving my wand about, sending red sparks toward the shadow. I could hear the grunt, but I had already started toward the dim light of the street. My feet pounded the pavement as my heart pounded in my chest. It was ironic that I would die by my own foolishness. Ravenclaw meant nothing if I would die not using my intelligence! I reached the end of the alley in a shorter amount of time than I thought, throwing my wand around to place a wall between my aggressor and myself.
I kept moving, throwing spell after spell toward the oncoming attacker. Just why wouldn't this idiot fall? I didn't understand it! Surely he was not some magical deity. A mere man would have succumbed to the intensity of my stuns…unless…
I slid to a halt, my breathing ragged. "Merlin's beard!"
"You are one stubborn little mouse." A rather calm voice said to my right. It came from nowhere, from the shadows, from beyond the darkness. I felt the fist connect with my face only a moment before I was once again on the ground. My wand flew away, clattering onto the cobblestones. The pain in my jaw was horrid, aching far worse than the headache I had left the tavern with. Oh, what irony. "Did that hurt?"
I raised my chin, ignoring the throbbing, gritting my teeth to bear it. This bastard wasn't going to see me bow my head.
"Close your pub."
"No."
A foot connected with my stomach, causing me to see stars. I hadn't been expecting that. I fell to my side and held the injury. Hoping beyond hope that I had not broken a rib. My breathing became shallower, the ache worse with every breath. Where were the people on the street? Where was help? I sucked in a large gulp of air before doing the only thing that seemed logical.
I yelled. "Help!"
Another boot to the abdomen seemed to remedy that quickly, shutting off the supply of air that had sustained the action for only moments. I felt the world begin to blur a bit. I jerked in some gasps, the pain only grew.
To my right there was a snicker before a face came into view. I held my breath as he kneeled down beside me, his hand coming down to grab my hair. I hissed painfully as he dragged my face up to his disallusioned one. "Lisa, you should've listened when you had the chance."
I couldn't respond before he let my head go, nearly throwing it into the stones. I yelped, the knock making me dizzy and sick. My vision continued to blur before I saw a flash of light. It was the deepest red, like blood. Yelling made my head smart even worse, but I could hardly tell the person to cease and desist the racket.
"You—away—her!—back!"
I wondered if that was what it felt like to die. A sort of detachment, a floating feeling that filled your gut and made you simply want to let go. Let go? I couldn't. I wouldn't. How could I even think of such a thing? What would Jackie say? Or Tysen? Or Mum and Da? They would kill me for even thinking of dying! I blinked rapidly to try to steady my reeling mind. To my surprise, a face swam into existence above me, glowing somewhat by the streetlamp above. I thought for a moment that the mythical angels had come down upon me to deliver me up to on high.
No, it was a mere mortal man.
His voice was smooth as butter when he murmured down to me. "What the bloody hell was that?"
I didn't manage an answer before I passed out completely.
A/N: Hello there! It has been a long time, hasn't it? Well, I am very proud to present this new tale. It has taken a lot of hard work and late nights to write, but it was written out of love. I write for enjoyment first and foremost. Now, some notes on the story itself:
Better Than One will be written from first person. Other Canon- meaning this is not an original character, but a mentioned character in the book. You will find out who she is for certain next chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. Haha, see ya next Sunday! Please leave me some feedback.
