pter 14
Tuesday, May 12 – 5:30 pm
Malcolm loved his job. He really did. But he hated the dullness of Tuesday. Most everything important in his department happened on a weekend. The planning would take place on Wednesday or Thursday. The action would take place on Friday or Saturday. Reports would be wrapped up on Sunday or Monday. That left Tuesday as the typical day for nothing to happen. For that reason, he always made it a priority to go out on Tuesday evenings and have a bit of fun if he could. Sometimes he asked Roarke over for dinner, but now that she had a steady job, she often worked later than he did. Every now and then, a few of the Aurors would go have drinks together. Everyone was busy or had obligations tonight. It wasn't so long ago that he would head for Storry's apartment, but that was not an option anymore.
Tonight he would be joining Tarquin. He hadn't seen his friend in a while and was looking forward to catching up with him and his work. When Tarquin took the job playing professional Quidditch, he assumed it would be an opportunity to have a load of fun all day. Malcolm warned him it would be much harder than he expected, but Tarquin didn't mind. And besides, it always gave Malcolm the chance to say "I told you so" to his friend. He wondered if he would get that chance tonight.
He stacked up his paperwork, said good night to a few co-workers, and made his way to the lift. Before long, he was heading out of the Ministry of Magic for an evening of relaxation and good humor. If it hadn't been for the flash of blonde hair and the musical voice calling to him, he probably would have made it out of the building in record time.
"Leaving so soon, Mr. Lupin?" Emily said with a grin.
Malcolm stopped in his tracks. "It's not so early. I was in at six this morning."
"I see. You came in early so you could leave early. You must have a hot date," she teased, adjusting the stack of papers in her hand.
"I don't see how that's possible, Miss Jennings." Malcolm said in his most sincere tones. "After all, you won't be joining me."
She smiled, but didn't blush. It was becoming more and more difficult to make her blush. On the other hand, she managed to catch him several times.
"Unfortunately, no. Some of us are stuck here until all odd hours." She frowned and looked down at the files she was holding. "Those of us in the Ludicrous Patents office don't have as much freedom with our schedules as Aurors do. But I wouldn't mind a rain check."
Their eyes caught for a moment, and Malcolm very nearly gave in to temptation and asked her for a date. However, his break up with Storry was still fresh enough in his mind to hold him back. Not that he was still in love with Storry, for he wasn't! He told himself that every day. It was why they parted ways that hurt too much and kept him from openly admitting his attraction to Emily. What if Emily had feelings similar to Storry's?
Instead of an invitation to dinner, he wished her a good evening and headed out of the building. The Leaky Cauldron wasn't far off. Malcolm opted to walk and take in some fresh air rather than Apparate. He wasn't supposed to meet Tarquin until six anyway.
He made his way through London to the old pub marking the entrance to Diagon Alley. It wasn't as crowded tonight as it was on weekends, and Malcolm was able to spot his friend easily. Tarquin sat at a booth in the rear, a drink already in hand.
"Don't wait for me," Malcolm said, taking a seat across from him. "I wouldn't want to slow you down."
"You've got some catching up to do. This is my second." Tarquin took a gulp and fought back a belch.
"Is anything the matter?"
"Why do you ask? It was your suggestion to get together for drinks. I'm just obliging with your request." He took another large swallow, which was followed by the inevitable burp.
Malcolm couldn't help but notice that Tarquin had yet to crack a smile. "I just haven't see you like this in a while."
"Well, I have a lot on my mind, and I need to be pretty relaxed to tell you what I did last week."
Malcolm didn't like the sound of that, and he told that to his friend. "Is this a bad thing?"
"Depends on how you take it. You might want to get a drink though before I get into it."
"Why don't you just tell me now, and we'll go from there."
Tarquin finished off his drink and looked Malcolm in the eyes. "I asked Roarke out on a date."
The exact meaning of the words took a moment to sink in. "As in just a friendly dinner or...a real date date."
"As in...a real...date."
Malcolm frowned. "I think I will have that drink." He signaled for the barkeep to bring him his usual, as well as another round for Tarquin. There was a thick pause before he spoke again. "I thought she was too young."
"She was too young – but that was when I was seventeen and she was fourteen. She's not fourteen anymore."
The drinks came to the table and Malcolm took a long drink. "So, you're here tonight to tell me that you've...that you've...kissed my sister?"
"No!" Tarquin said, and to Malcolm's surprise he began to laugh. "I didn't even get the chance!"
"What happened?"
"We had a lovely dinner, nice conversation, and then..." Tarquin exhaled forcefully, sending a whooshing sound of from his lips.
"What?"
"I don't know. This guy came in and the whole mood of the night changed. She – GOD! I can't even believe I'm admitting this to you! She left with him!"
Malcolm was totally confused. "Hang on. You asked my sister out on a date. You went on the date, had a nice time on the date, and she left with another man?"
"Yup."
"That doesn't sound like Roarke."
"Well, believe me, it was."
Malcolm took a drink while he thought about this new information. "Who was the guy?"
"No clue. Never seen him before. She said he was an acquaintance of your father's. He looked awfully rough to me. I would have never taken her to like that type of man." He took a drink. "But, he was foreign, and I know how crazy girls get over foreigners."
Something clicked in Malcolm's brain. "He's foreign?"
"Yeah – Australian is what I guessed from the accent."
Malcolm rubbed his eyes, fighting back the laugh that was building up inside him. "Great Merlin!" The laugh fought its way out slowly.
"You think this is funny?"
"Oh, Tarquin. You don't know the half of it. I had a feeling – but at the time – it was just..." Malcolm slumped back in his seat. "I believe I've met him."
"Really? So she's already introduced him to the family, has she?" Tarquin downed his drink in frustration.
"Not...exactly. Dad invited him over for dinner on Easter Sunday."
"Wonderful. Just peachy."
"It's not what you think, mate," Malcolm said with a chuckle. "And here I thought I was the sneaky one."
Tarquin gave him a piercing look. "Care to explain to me the humor of the situation?"
Malcolm ran a hand through his hair. "Let's just say that I think she's been trying very hard to keep this from us. I mean, she's never mentioned it to me personally. At Easter, now that I think back on it, she always tried to change the subject whenever anyone asked about how she knew him. It was all very odd, and if it makes you feel any better, I highly doubt that my dad would approve of her seeing him socially. I think dad would rather she were out with you."
"Why's that?"
Malcolm thought about telling his friend the whole truth about Liam, but decided against it. He knew what it felt like to have people talk about you behind you back. His memory of Storry blabbing to her roommates still stung his heart. "I can't really explain that to you, but trust me. Dad doesn't really like Liam all that much."
"Liam! That was the bugger's name. What kind of a name is Liam, anyway?"
"What kind of a name is Tarquin?"
"Stuff it." Tarquin turned around to order another drink, but froze when the door to the pub opened up. He moaned and flopped back against his seat rubbing his eyes. "Great Merlin. Can my luck get any worse?"
Malcolm looked over to find the cause of his friend's misery. Roarke had just entered. She passed a quick glance around the pub and then seated herself at the bar. "What's she doing here? She told me she had to work late. Blew off our regular Tuesday night supper."
"So, you only meet up with me because your sister was unavailable? What is this? Pick on Tarquin week?"
Malcolm scowled at him. "Don't get all worked up about it. Let me go talk to her and see what's up. Maybe I can get an explanation out of her. Who knows, we could be wrong about this whole Liam thing. She might actually despise the man."
Tarquin grimaced as Malcolm stood up and approached his sister. She had her back to him, her head turned slightly to face the door. "Waiting for someone?" he said in her ear. She jumped from being startled.
"Stars, Malcolm! You scared me!"
"Sorry. I thought you were working late."
Roarke looked down at her drink, which Malcolm noticed was just water. "I was supposed to, but they didn't need me.."
Malcolm sat down next to her. "You sure about that? Because it looks like you're waiting for someone."
Her eyes flashed in sudden anger. "Are you spying on me?"
"No, just...watching."
"Watching is another way to say you were spying."
"No- no. I didn't even know you would come in here tonight. I was just having a casual drink with Tarquin," he pointed to the booth in the back where his friend sat, " when in you walked. We were having a lovely conversation."
Roarke pursed her lips. "What did he tell you?"
"Nothing of importance really. Just that you walked out on a date with him so you could be with another man."
"A date? Oh please! Tarquin and I are just friends."
"Have you told him that?"
"I don't need to tell him anything. He knows that would be too weird. He's like a second brother to me."
"Take it from your real brother, I know Tarquin a lot better than you do. He does not think of you as a sister. I nearly pummeled him once when I caught him goggling at you after the Quidditch final our seventh year. He assured me then that you were too young for him, but I don't think he's ever lost interest. He was pretty hurt by the way your date ended."
Roarke looked a bit stunned. "Are you sure?"
"Would I be telling you this if it weren't true?"
"But he only wanted to meet with me to talk about you! He never treated it like a real date."
That confused Malcolm. "Why would he want to talk about me?"
"Because you're still in a dither about Storry. And Malcolm," she pointed a finger at him, "let me warn you that if she even shows her face around me, I will hex her into next week! The nerve of her saying what she said about Daddy. And to think I once hoped that you would marry her."
Malcolm's eyes went wide. "What?" he spat. "How do you even know about that? Tarquin didn't..."
"Oh, yes he did! He told me everything."
Malcolm's chest hitched in anger. "He had no right to tell you anything about that."
"He only told me because he was worried about you. I'm glad he told me so that now at least someone in this family knows the truth. You realize that none of us really ever believed you two broke up over your job. You should have just told us the truth."
"Are you insane? I could never do that to Dad. He already feels guilty about the stress the Ministry put me through just to become an Auror. If I told him what really happened with Storry it would just make things worse. He adored her."
"You realize that Dad will continue to pester you about getting back together with her. He is relentless."
"I know, but he'll get over it. Besides, I think he's in for a bigger shock when he finds out about your new boyfriend."
The color drained from Roarke's face. "What new boyfriend?"
"Liam Zetter. I think at Easter you conveniently forgot to mention that you were dating him."
"I never lied about that. I wasn't dating him at Easter."
"But you are now?"
Roarke opened her mouth to say something but closed it again.
"A simple yes or no would suffice. It might explain why you're waiting for him."
"How do you know if I am? I just came in for a quick drink before heading home."
"And it's only a coincidence that Liam just walked in?"
Roarke's head spun around to make eye contact with Liam. She waved and looked back at her brother. "What did Tarquin tell you about him?"
"Nothing much, but I pieced it together on my own."
"I'm going to strangle him. He should never have said anything to you."
"Yeah well, get in line." By that point, Liam had made his way over to the two of them. "Good evening, Liam. Nice to see you again." He offered a hand to Liam who shook it hesitantly.
"Nice to see you, too, Malcolm" He looked slightly nervous for a moment before saying to Roarke. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's all right. I had a chance to explain a few things to Malcolm." Roarke stood up and whispered something in Liam's ear. He nodded, kissed her cheek, and headed back out of the tavern. "Look, I'm sorry Tarquin thought we were on a real date. I have never thought of him that way. If you want me to talk to him, I will, but not tonight."
"Fair enough. What about Liam?"
"What about him?"
"Don't I get an explanation for why you're keeping this a secret?"
Roarke shifter her weight and placed a hand on her hip. "Why didn't you tell Daddy about Storry?"
"I told you. I didn't want to hurt him," Malcolm said, a bit annoyed by the fact that she kept changing the subject to his relationship with Storry.
"Exactly." Roarke's face was unapologetic. "You and I both know Daddy wouldn't approve."
Malcolm frowned. "You're playing with fire, you know. He will find out eventually, and when he does, things are bound to explode."
She nodded. "I know. Let me deal with it though. After all," she gave him a playful punch in the arm, "it's been a long time since I've lived up to my name."
Firecracker!
Malcolm watched as his sister left the pub. Through the window, he saw Liam put his arm around her and kiss her again. It wasn't the quick chaste kiss he had given her earlier. This was a real kiss. Malcolm pulled his eyes away quickly and focused on what he would say to his friend. From the corner booth, he could see Tarquin downing another drink. Obviously, Tarquin had witnessed the little scene with Liam. Malcolm sighed, giving in to the fact that the evening wouldn't be as relaxing or humorous as he had intended it to be.
Malcolm loved his job. He really did. But he hated the dullness of Tuesday. Most everything important in his department happened on a weekend. The planning would take place on Wednesday or Thursday. The action would take place on Friday or Saturday. Reports would be wrapped up on Sunday or Monday. That left Tuesday as the typical day for nothing to happen. For that reason, he always made it a priority to go out on Tuesday evenings and have a bit of fun if he could. Sometimes he asked Roarke over for dinner, but now that she had a steady job, she often worked later than he did. Every now and then, a few of the Aurors would go have drinks together. Everyone was busy or had obligations tonight. It wasn't so long ago that he would head for Storry's apartment, but that was not an option anymore.
Tonight he would be joining Tarquin. He hadn't seen his friend in a while and was looking forward to catching up with him and his work. When Tarquin took the job playing professional Quidditch, he assumed it would be an opportunity to have a load of fun all day. Malcolm warned him it would be much harder than he expected, but Tarquin didn't mind. And besides, it always gave Malcolm the chance to say "I told you so" to his friend. He wondered if he would get that chance tonight.
He stacked up his paperwork, said good night to a few co-workers, and made his way to the lift. Before long, he was heading out of the Ministry of Magic for an evening of relaxation and good humor. If it hadn't been for the flash of blonde hair and the musical voice calling to him, he probably would have made it out of the building in record time.
"Leaving so soon, Mr. Lupin?" Emily said with a grin.
Malcolm stopped in his tracks. "It's not so early. I was in at six this morning."
"I see. You came in early so you could leave early. You must have a hot date," she teased, adjusting the stack of papers in her hand.
"I don't see how that's possible, Miss Jennings." Malcolm said in his most sincere tones. "After all, you won't be joining me."
She smiled, but didn't blush. It was becoming more and more difficult to make her blush. On the other hand, she managed to catch him several times.
"Unfortunately, no. Some of us are stuck here until all odd hours." She frowned and looked down at the files she was holding. "Those of us in the Ludicrous Patents office don't have as much freedom with our schedules as Aurors do. But I wouldn't mind a rain check."
Their eyes caught for a moment, and Malcolm very nearly gave in to temptation and asked her for a date. However, his break up with Storry was still fresh enough in his mind to hold him back. Not that he was still in love with Storry, for he wasn't! He told himself that every day. It was why they parted ways that hurt too much and kept him from openly admitting his attraction to Emily. What if Emily had feelings similar to Storry's?
Instead of an invitation to dinner, he wished her a good evening and headed out of the building. The Leaky Cauldron wasn't far off. Malcolm opted to walk and take in some fresh air rather than Apparate. He wasn't supposed to meet Tarquin until six anyway.
He made his way through London to the old pub marking the entrance to Diagon Alley. It wasn't as crowded tonight as it was on weekends, and Malcolm was able to spot his friend easily. Tarquin sat at a booth in the rear, a drink already in hand.
"Don't wait for me," Malcolm said, taking a seat across from him. "I wouldn't want to slow you down."
"You've got some catching up to do. This is my second." Tarquin took a gulp and fought back a belch.
"Is anything the matter?"
"Why do you ask? It was your suggestion to get together for drinks. I'm just obliging with your request." He took another large swallow, which was followed by the inevitable burp.
Malcolm couldn't help but notice that Tarquin had yet to crack a smile. "I just haven't see you like this in a while."
"Well, I have a lot on my mind, and I need to be pretty relaxed to tell you what I did last week."
Malcolm didn't like the sound of that, and he told that to his friend. "Is this a bad thing?"
"Depends on how you take it. You might want to get a drink though before I get into it."
"Why don't you just tell me now, and we'll go from there."
Tarquin finished off his drink and looked Malcolm in the eyes. "I asked Roarke out on a date."
The exact meaning of the words took a moment to sink in. "As in just a friendly dinner or...a real date date."
"As in...a real...date."
Malcolm frowned. "I think I will have that drink." He signaled for the barkeep to bring him his usual, as well as another round for Tarquin. There was a thick pause before he spoke again. "I thought she was too young."
"She was too young – but that was when I was seventeen and she was fourteen. She's not fourteen anymore."
The drinks came to the table and Malcolm took a long drink. "So, you're here tonight to tell me that you've...that you've...kissed my sister?"
"No!" Tarquin said, and to Malcolm's surprise he began to laugh. "I didn't even get the chance!"
"What happened?"
"We had a lovely dinner, nice conversation, and then..." Tarquin exhaled forcefully, sending a whooshing sound of from his lips.
"What?"
"I don't know. This guy came in and the whole mood of the night changed. She – GOD! I can't even believe I'm admitting this to you! She left with him!"
Malcolm was totally confused. "Hang on. You asked my sister out on a date. You went on the date, had a nice time on the date, and she left with another man?"
"Yup."
"That doesn't sound like Roarke."
"Well, believe me, it was."
Malcolm took a drink while he thought about this new information. "Who was the guy?"
"No clue. Never seen him before. She said he was an acquaintance of your father's. He looked awfully rough to me. I would have never taken her to like that type of man." He took a drink. "But, he was foreign, and I know how crazy girls get over foreigners."
Something clicked in Malcolm's brain. "He's foreign?"
"Yeah – Australian is what I guessed from the accent."
Malcolm rubbed his eyes, fighting back the laugh that was building up inside him. "Great Merlin!" The laugh fought its way out slowly.
"You think this is funny?"
"Oh, Tarquin. You don't know the half of it. I had a feeling – but at the time – it was just..." Malcolm slumped back in his seat. "I believe I've met him."
"Really? So she's already introduced him to the family, has she?" Tarquin downed his drink in frustration.
"Not...exactly. Dad invited him over for dinner on Easter Sunday."
"Wonderful. Just peachy."
"It's not what you think, mate," Malcolm said with a chuckle. "And here I thought I was the sneaky one."
Tarquin gave him a piercing look. "Care to explain to me the humor of the situation?"
Malcolm ran a hand through his hair. "Let's just say that I think she's been trying very hard to keep this from us. I mean, she's never mentioned it to me personally. At Easter, now that I think back on it, she always tried to change the subject whenever anyone asked about how she knew him. It was all very odd, and if it makes you feel any better, I highly doubt that my dad would approve of her seeing him socially. I think dad would rather she were out with you."
"Why's that?"
Malcolm thought about telling his friend the whole truth about Liam, but decided against it. He knew what it felt like to have people talk about you behind you back. His memory of Storry blabbing to her roommates still stung his heart. "I can't really explain that to you, but trust me. Dad doesn't really like Liam all that much."
"Liam! That was the bugger's name. What kind of a name is Liam, anyway?"
"What kind of a name is Tarquin?"
"Stuff it." Tarquin turned around to order another drink, but froze when the door to the pub opened up. He moaned and flopped back against his seat rubbing his eyes. "Great Merlin. Can my luck get any worse?"
Malcolm looked over to find the cause of his friend's misery. Roarke had just entered. She passed a quick glance around the pub and then seated herself at the bar. "What's she doing here? She told me she had to work late. Blew off our regular Tuesday night supper."
"So, you only meet up with me because your sister was unavailable? What is this? Pick on Tarquin week?"
Malcolm scowled at him. "Don't get all worked up about it. Let me go talk to her and see what's up. Maybe I can get an explanation out of her. Who knows, we could be wrong about this whole Liam thing. She might actually despise the man."
Tarquin grimaced as Malcolm stood up and approached his sister. She had her back to him, her head turned slightly to face the door. "Waiting for someone?" he said in her ear. She jumped from being startled.
"Stars, Malcolm! You scared me!"
"Sorry. I thought you were working late."
Roarke looked down at her drink, which Malcolm noticed was just water. "I was supposed to, but they didn't need me.."
Malcolm sat down next to her. "You sure about that? Because it looks like you're waiting for someone."
Her eyes flashed in sudden anger. "Are you spying on me?"
"No, just...watching."
"Watching is another way to say you were spying."
"No- no. I didn't even know you would come in here tonight. I was just having a casual drink with Tarquin," he pointed to the booth in the back where his friend sat, " when in you walked. We were having a lovely conversation."
Roarke pursed her lips. "What did he tell you?"
"Nothing of importance really. Just that you walked out on a date with him so you could be with another man."
"A date? Oh please! Tarquin and I are just friends."
"Have you told him that?"
"I don't need to tell him anything. He knows that would be too weird. He's like a second brother to me."
"Take it from your real brother, I know Tarquin a lot better than you do. He does not think of you as a sister. I nearly pummeled him once when I caught him goggling at you after the Quidditch final our seventh year. He assured me then that you were too young for him, but I don't think he's ever lost interest. He was pretty hurt by the way your date ended."
Roarke looked a bit stunned. "Are you sure?"
"Would I be telling you this if it weren't true?"
"But he only wanted to meet with me to talk about you! He never treated it like a real date."
That confused Malcolm. "Why would he want to talk about me?"
"Because you're still in a dither about Storry. And Malcolm," she pointed a finger at him, "let me warn you that if she even shows her face around me, I will hex her into next week! The nerve of her saying what she said about Daddy. And to think I once hoped that you would marry her."
Malcolm's eyes went wide. "What?" he spat. "How do you even know about that? Tarquin didn't..."
"Oh, yes he did! He told me everything."
Malcolm's chest hitched in anger. "He had no right to tell you anything about that."
"He only told me because he was worried about you. I'm glad he told me so that now at least someone in this family knows the truth. You realize that none of us really ever believed you two broke up over your job. You should have just told us the truth."
"Are you insane? I could never do that to Dad. He already feels guilty about the stress the Ministry put me through just to become an Auror. If I told him what really happened with Storry it would just make things worse. He adored her."
"You realize that Dad will continue to pester you about getting back together with her. He is relentless."
"I know, but he'll get over it. Besides, I think he's in for a bigger shock when he finds out about your new boyfriend."
The color drained from Roarke's face. "What new boyfriend?"
"Liam Zetter. I think at Easter you conveniently forgot to mention that you were dating him."
"I never lied about that. I wasn't dating him at Easter."
"But you are now?"
Roarke opened her mouth to say something but closed it again.
"A simple yes or no would suffice. It might explain why you're waiting for him."
"How do you know if I am? I just came in for a quick drink before heading home."
"And it's only a coincidence that Liam just walked in?"
Roarke's head spun around to make eye contact with Liam. She waved and looked back at her brother. "What did Tarquin tell you about him?"
"Nothing much, but I pieced it together on my own."
"I'm going to strangle him. He should never have said anything to you."
"Yeah well, get in line." By that point, Liam had made his way over to the two of them. "Good evening, Liam. Nice to see you again." He offered a hand to Liam who shook it hesitantly.
"Nice to see you, too, Malcolm" He looked slightly nervous for a moment before saying to Roarke. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's all right. I had a chance to explain a few things to Malcolm." Roarke stood up and whispered something in Liam's ear. He nodded, kissed her cheek, and headed back out of the tavern. "Look, I'm sorry Tarquin thought we were on a real date. I have never thought of him that way. If you want me to talk to him, I will, but not tonight."
"Fair enough. What about Liam?"
"What about him?"
"Don't I get an explanation for why you're keeping this a secret?"
Roarke shifter her weight and placed a hand on her hip. "Why didn't you tell Daddy about Storry?"
"I told you. I didn't want to hurt him," Malcolm said, a bit annoyed by the fact that she kept changing the subject to his relationship with Storry.
"Exactly." Roarke's face was unapologetic. "You and I both know Daddy wouldn't approve."
Malcolm frowned. "You're playing with fire, you know. He will find out eventually, and when he does, things are bound to explode."
She nodded. "I know. Let me deal with it though. After all," she gave him a playful punch in the arm, "it's been a long time since I've lived up to my name."
Firecracker!
Malcolm watched as his sister left the pub. Through the window, he saw Liam put his arm around her and kiss her again. It wasn't the quick chaste kiss he had given her earlier. This was a real kiss. Malcolm pulled his eyes away quickly and focused on what he would say to his friend. From the corner booth, he could see Tarquin downing another drink. Obviously, Tarquin had witnessed the little scene with Liam. Malcolm sighed, giving in to the fact that the evening wouldn't be as relaxing or humorous as he had intended it to be.
