Iris casually walked down the sidewalk, heading towards a little muggle restaurant near the Ministry where she and Percy typically met. The food was good, and Percy could get back and forth relatively quickly without having a coronary about being late. Iris supposed she could have apparated nearby rather than walking the whole way - it took about 45 minutes - but she enjoyed the walk. It gave her time to think and people watch.
Slowing down, she stopped at a small flower shop that had a display out on the sidewalk. She still had plenty of time before she had to meet him as she perused the various flowers, thinking it would be nice to have a bouquet on the table. She could pick it up on her way back to the flat after lunch.
"Iris?" someone said from her right. Iris stopped and glanced over, recognizing the voice. It was familiar, though she hadn't heard it in a very long time. Standing in the middle of the sidewalk staring at her was a tall, handsome man with dark brown hair. His crystal blue eyes were wide. "It is you," he said as he broke into a grin. Iris straightened up, her eyes wide.
"James," she said, shocked. He walked over and hugged her, towering over her small frame. She had forgotten how tall he was. Much taller than her and even a tad bit taller than Oliver. "My god, I wasn't expecting to run into you. I thought you moved to America." He grinned and shrugged.
"I did, but just moved back a few days ago," he said. "Look at you. You haven't changed a bit, excluding the long hair. How long has it been? Four years?"
"Give or take," she responded, finding herself genuinely smiling.
Most of her past she did seriously want to forget, but James was one of the few nice things amid the darkness. She had been rather broken up when he moved to the U.S. for graduate school. The two had met one day at a coffee shop where Iris had been working at the time. It was one of the few times she felt comfortable enough to allow her true self to show though her long, red curls had been cut short. A couple of teens had tried to stiff her on a bill and James caught them before they could leave and forced them to pay. She wasn't sure what had possessed her to give him her real name, but there had been something about him - something that told her she could trust him.
After that fateful day, they spent two years running around, sneaking into concerts and getting entirely too drunk at dodgy pubs. Iris had never been to a concert, but James seemed to know all the bands. He was from a rich family, but dreamed of being a music manager. So, he ran away from home, got a dingy flat and spent most nights going to concerts, trying to find the one that would make him rich in his own right. A couple of the bands he worked with had started to take off. But as with so many young bands, everything always seemed to fall apart before they could really go anywhere. In the end, he ended up going back to his family when his father suffered a heart attack and James realized he needed to accept the responsibility of taking over the family business. So, he left London and went to America to business school.
And yet, despite their differences, he had been the closest friend she had had during those days. Probably the closest thing to a boyfriend she had had as well. They had kissed a few times - even had a drunken tryst one night that neither mentioned again out of embarrassment. But Iris knew despite her infatuation at the time, it was never anything more. Not for her at least. She had been acutely aware of their differences and knew there was no way his family would accept her. Not to mention, at the time she still felt she couldn't get too close to anyone, lest she put them in danger.
"So, how are you?" he asked.
"I'm… doing well," she said. As happy as she was to see her old friend, she had to remember that he was muggle. There were still many things that she couldn't share. "And what about you?"
"Well, I'm back. Father thinks it's time for me to step in and take more control of the family business," he said. Iris nodded, remembering that his father worked in whisky exports. "He's still hanging in there, but he's getting on in years. About time to start transitioning everything."
"So, no more sneaking into concerts for you, I take it," she said, grinning. God, it felt good to have a lighthearted conversation with someone that didn't come with baggage, she thought.
"No. I can actually buy the tickets now," he said, chuckling.
"As I recall, you could then as well. Just thought sneaking in was more fun," she said. James laughed, showing off perfect teeth.
"True. But I suppose we have to put our reckless youth behind us at some point," he said. Iris nodded. "Say, are you busy? Maybe we could go get some coffee. Catch up?" he asked. "I know great little place around here."
"I'd love to, but I'm actually meeting someone for lunch. Rain check?" she asked. James nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet.
"No worries. Here's my card. Give me a call and we'll catch up soon," he said. Iris looked at it, then back up at him.
"I look forward to it," she said, smiling.
"Good, well I'll let you get off to your appointment. Good to see you, Iris. You look great," he said. Iris blushed slightly.
"Thanks, you too, James," she responded before slowly turning around and walking down the sidewalk. She glanced back at him, noticing that he was still standing there, smiling. She grinned and shook her head, hurrying towards the restaurant.
Humming softly, she walked into the restaurant and sat at a small table in front of a window. The server walked over and handed her a menu, then set to filling two glasses of water.
"Your friend coming today?" she asked. They had come so much that she was almost surprised that the young woman had even asked. Iris nodded.
"Should be along shortly," she said, smiling. She then opened the menu and perused it, knowing that she would most likely end up ordering a salad like usual. She then sipped her water and looked down at James' card still in her hand. They didn't have a phone - no one in the wizarding world did - so she supposed she would have to find a public phone to call him. It would be a bit inconvenient. Maybe she could charm a muggle phone into working at the flat or splurge a bit and get a mobile phone. Though part of her couldn't fully justify the cost when she had no job and was only getting it to call one person.
She sighed and glanced out the window, seeing Percy rushing down the sidewalk, looking slightly out of place in the muggle suit that he had no doubt charmed his usual robes into before leaving the office. Iris was beginning to think Percy operated in two modes - fast and faster.
He walked in briskly and sat across from Iris.
"Have you waited long?" he asked. Iris shook her head no.
"Just got here actually," she said. Percy nodded and glanced at the menu, then set it aside.
"You're looking bright today," he said. "Something happen?" Iris smiled.
"Oh, well, I just ran into an old friend from my muggle days," she said. "Planning to try and meet up soon." Percy smiled.
"That's good. You should get out more. What's her name?" he asked.
"His name is James," she said as the waitress walked up. "I'll have my usual." She nodded and looked expectantly at Percy, who was staring at Iris. The waitress cleared her throat.
"Oh, right," Percy said, shaking his head. "The reuben, please." The girl took the menus and walked away. "James? As in a bloke?" Iris nodded and sipped her water.
"Yea, we used to run around together about four years ago before he moved to the U.S.," she said. Percy continued to stare at her. Iris had talked a bit about her days before re-entering the wizarding world, but this was the first time she had mentioned a name. What's more, it was a man. Iris noticed Percy staring at her.
"For god's sake, Percy. He's just a friend," she said.
"I know… it's just… you look so happy to have run into him," Percy said. Iris sighed.
"Yes, I know things are a bit rough with me and Oliver right now, but it's not like that. It's just nice to run into an old friend. Especially one that you thought you'd never see again," she said. "Besides, he's a bit too upper class for me." She wrinkled her nose a bit, imagining what his parents would have said had he ever introduced them. From what she could remember they sounded fairly insufferable. Percy relaxed a bit.
"Really?" he asked. "What's he do?"
"Family business. Whisky," she said.
"I'm sure you had fun with that," he joked. Iris laughed.
"He would on occasion sneak a few bottles from his father's private stash. Though he didn't really go home that often," she said. Percy watched her for a bit. He was happy to see her in a better mood.
"How's Oliver?" he asked, almost not wanting to bring up the topic. True enough, her smiled faltered a bit.
"Same," she said, pursing her lips together slightly. "Runs off during the day. Won't talk. Still having nightmares." Percy nodded.
"I suppose he just needs a bit more time," he said. Iris nodded.
"What about you? How's work?" she said, wanting to talk about something other than Oliver. Percy sighed haggardly.
"Still a bit of a mess, to be honest. But then again, it was always going to take awhile to get everything sorted out," he said.
"George said you get weekends on occasion," she said.
"One. I got last weekend off unexpectedly. Minister Shacklebolt insisted we all spend it with our families or something," he said. "Doesn't want us all burning out."
"So you spent it cleaning George and Ron's flat," Iris replied.
"It needed it. Have you been there? Rubbish and dirty clothes everywhere. It's worse than their dorms at Hogwarts," he said, scoffing. "I didn't even know two people could generate that much rubbish." Iris laughed.
"Well, George has decided to reopen the shop, so hopefully getting out of the house will cut down on that. Or he can afford to hire a cleaning lady," Iris said. Percy's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Is that so? When did this come about?" he asked.
"Last night. He's asked me to help," she said. Percy smiled.
"Well that will be good. You'll finally have a job and something to occupy your days," he said. Iris nodded.
"Apparently he's not the only one wanting to hire me," she said. "Shacklebolt stopped by this morning to try and convince me to join the Ministry as an auror." Percy looked excited at the prospect of Iris working in the Ministry, but then his face fell as he read hers.
"You said no," he stated. Iris shrugged.
"Yea, didn't seem to be something I'd care to do. Not now anyway. But he said the door was always open if I changed my mind," she said.
"You should at least consider it. Could be worthwhile," he said. Iris laughed.
"You sound like him. But no. I don't really care to running back into danger," she said. "Besides, the shop would be more fun. I'm planning to start working on some products this afternoon. See if I can conjure up a special something for the opening," she said, careful with her wording with all the muggles around. "It's been awhile since I've work on anything new."
"More than that, it'll be good for George," Percy said. "I don't even know if he's been to the shop since…" Iris nodded slowly.
"Well, it's a good sign. He's starting to move on," she said. "Maybe it'll rub off on Oliver."
"Iris, really, he just needs more time," Percy said. Iris huffed, starting to let her frustration get the better of her.
"It's been months, Percy. Even you and George have managed to pull yourselves together," she said. Percy went silent a moment.
"It's not all sunshine and roses, you know," he said softly. "We may not show it all the time, but we're still struggling in our own way." Iris shook her head and reached out, placing her hand on top of Percy's, patting it before sliding it back across the table.
"I know, I'm sorry, Percy. I didn't mean it like that," she said. "I'm just… I worry about him. It's not good for him to bottle everything up." Percy nodded.
"I know. Eventually he will want to talk about it. And you'll be there to listen," he said. Iris nodded. Before either could say anything more, the waitress had returned and set their plates in front of them.
"So, what sort of products are you thinking about making?" Percy asked before taking a bite. Iris shrugged as she stabbed at her salad.
"Dunno. I may make up some old concoctions. But I should probably have a few new things. We'll see what comes to me when I get to the chemistry set," she said.
The two passed through the rest of the lunch brainstorming potential potions. While Percy wasn't particularly good at coming up with creative ideas - he mostly came up with practical things - he was good with listening to Iris' ideas and fleshing them out. Soon they had finished up and said their good-byes, Percy turning at a corner to head back to the Ministry while Iris kept going straight. She came up to the flower shop again, and stopped to pick up a bouquet of yellow and orange tulips. They would had a nice punch of color to the otherwise starkly white living room. As she slowly walked home, she came up to a phonebooth. She stopped and studied it for a moment, then took the card out of her jacket pocket. She read over James' name, looking beneath it and noticing an office number, mobile number and fax number. She looked back up at the phonebooth and decided to give him a call.
Five minutes later, she was walking down the sidewalk again, humming lightly. James had answered right away and the two had plans to meet at a pub later that night after dinner. For the first time in awhile, Iris was happy. She was still worried about Oliver, but figured while she waited for him to come around, it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of fun.