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9/27
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Harry Potter:"Do you really think there's going to be a war, Sirius?"
Sirius Black: "It… feels like it did before."
TURN ON THE LIGHT is a Post- Potter roleplay that takes place twenty-five years after the Second Wizarding War.
We welcome canon and original characters in this (currently) sandbox style roleplay.
It was almost scary how well things were going for Sydney Harrison. She had a stable roof over her head, an amazing (if not sometimes frustrating when she won't take money) roommate in Paz, and now she finally had a steady, full time bartending gig working at Down The Hatch.
She had started to think maybe bartending wasn't going to be a sustainable route, considering most places she applied didn't give her a second look. Or when they did, it was the really creepy kind of second look from skeezy bar owners. Then she remembered being in Down the Hatch, and how welcoming it seemed so she decided to reach out to the owner and see if she could get lucky.
And oh was she glad she did.
The owner, Phil, was far nicer than others she had met and extremely polite as well. He actually treated her as a person, and not just a pretty face. Though if any bar owner was going to hit on her, it really should have been him. She'd have let him take a second, third, and fourth glance. After a bit of a trial run, he was impressed enough to keep her on and that was just another stressor gone.
This night was a rather slow night, which meant Syd could work on the whole social aspect of the job. It was the ONE thing she could struggle at, which was why she preferred it busier.
Her attention was drawn to a patron that just sat at the bar, and she walked over with a soft smile on her face. "What can I getcha dear?" she said, leaning against the bar.
If things were going well with Sydney this particular customer who looked like a slightly older Hogwarts student wasn't having an easy life. Life just seemed to be about work and her dog right now. So it was starting to be a habit to either dine out or just drink to deal with the general frustration. She'd just arrived at the dive bar knowing the place from before. She also looked like she was here straight from work.
Then she heard a different type of accent; not the Canadian one she knew Phil had but different yet belonging to the same continent. Following the voice she seen herself looking at a very cute and sexy barmaid. Sussy wasn't one to deny her nature as she'd both boyfriend and girlfriends at Hogwarts. Also some afterwards before work took over and she ended up fixing up animals all over South East England and beyond
So trust Phil to find somebody that would at least make her smile a little. She adjusted her round glasses and then asked in a typical Southern English accent. You couldn't take the East Anglia out of the girl no matter where she went.
"Please could I have a tankard of beer? Something which might make me forget work for a while" she posed sounding a bit tired. Perhaps on this quiet night something was looking up after all as she looked back at Syd.
The girl across from Syd was clearly having a bit of a day, and that was made clear by her words. She could hear the defeat in the woman's voice, and she did what she could to hide the instinctive frown that threatened to creep onto her face. "One tankard of our finest, comin right up." she said with a smile, wiping off the counter and sliding a coaster to place the mug on once poured.
She placed the drink in front of the woman, her eyes scanning the bar to make sure nobody else needed anything. "Just the one or should I start a tab for ya darlin?" she asked, the soft smile back on her face. For someone who wasn't the biggest fan of socialization or people, she was quite a natural behind the bar.
Today's defeat had been a gradual affair. A case of just getting worn down as while she covered other peoples areas it didn't seem to work that way for her when she needed help. The help she needed wasn't there and while she had helped define the travelling vet programme it was clear she might well face changes in it. The last fortnight had been hard in general and it was clear she needed two days off really badly.
"Thank you. I pay as I go so no tab needed" she mused opening up her strappy handbag. She could have muggle money in it if she knew she was going to one of those areas but today hadn't been that case.
So paying for her drink and looking at the golden liquid she did wonder how fine this really was. There was only one way to find out as she lifted it to take a taste. She was beyond caring about if it caught her out or not. It wasn't bad and maybe on the stronger side. "Even this bar gets a quiet night" she further mused deciding to introduce herself. "I'm Suspiria. Your typical over worked ministry witch instead of being a lady of leisure like my school dorm mates are now. Karma's a bitch". By Morgana this beer went down smooth and easy and it would have to substitute for other things instead.
The patron informed Syd that she tended to pay as she goes, which was fine with her. People tended to skip out on tabs, though she didn't seem like the type. Syd was generally a good judge of character though and had a feeling this woman wouldn't have done that anyways. "Works for me, just let me know when ya want another one."
The woman commented on it being a slower night. which was definitely true. "Not a bad thing sometimes, means i can focus on the people here." she said with a soft smile. In her mind, Sydney was just being nice but she had a tendency to not really think how her words could come off to other people. Had she been accused of being overly flirtatious when she didn't mean to? Maybe once or twice.
The woman introduced herself, commenting on being overworked for the ministry. "Oh a government employee, merlin bless your soul. Never had the patience to even try somethin like that." she said as she wiped down the bar. "Names Sydney, pleasure to meet ya. Am I allowed to ask what ya do or is it like, super secret?" she asked, genuinely intrigued. She was fascinated by the difference in cultures since moving, and she could only imagine how different the government was.
Drinking more of her smooth beer that might well catch her out later on Suspiria listened to what the witch said. She now knew the cute one was called Sydney and even in her tired state her brain was taking notice and having ideas that normally would be bad but Sussy didn't care too much. Things had gone so far downhill there was some self destruction going on with her.
"I'll let you know Sydney. I can also appreciate the customer service as well as how cute they look" she replied with a little smile. She'd known this was the way she was from an early school age and there was no point in changing that viewpoint now. In this part of the world you could do everything from 17 years onwards and she wouldn't be working here unless she was off age.
"I'm in magical creatures. It's not super secret and I'm one of the travelling magical vets. I get South East England as my area but recently I've also gotten the South West as well. Basically we go to the sick animals when wizarding folk can't go to a muggle vet. Very few can do this job as most can't handle it" she added using the short version of her job description. The lack of personnel meant everyone was overworked; tonight might be different as she flirted and gave that little signal to Sydney. The odds were probally long on success but she'd try anyway.
As a bartender, and one who was decently attractive (not that she'd ever say that about herself), Syd was used to hearing drunken compliments all the time. Normally they were a bit more raunchy, and she had thrown many a few out with the help of Maddox, who was always willing to lend some assistance. It was always amusing as people would look at the two of them and not expect such...forceful removal.
This was different though, as it was a sober woman complimenting her, and Sydney felt her cheeks go a bit red as she tried to brush it off. "Trying to get a free drink from complimenting the bartender? Keep it up and it just may work." she said with a smile, once again not realizing that her words could easily give off the wrong impression.
She made no attempt to hide her excitement when Suspiria mentioned working with animals. "That may be the single coolest job you could have said." she said joyfully "though the overworked part is never good no matter the job."
While Suspiria faced little judgement about her bi-sexuality in Hogwarts she'd seen it more in the wizarding world. Not that it had made her do anything different. "I meant what I said and you should have more witches thinking that you're not just cute; you're also hot. Life isn't just about guys and quidditch" she softly replied before taking a deep drink of her tankard. She'd just left the ball in Sydney's court and would see what happened next.
"It's hard work and I'm glad you think it's cool. The happy little faces you see when a childs pet gets back to normal again makes things worthwhile. I've dealt with everything from black rats to horses and everything in between except for dragons. Mainly cats and dogs though theres farm visits where I deal with cows" she added smiling more. Just sometimes it took somebody to point things out so you'd realise what good you were doing.
"So where did you come from before ending up in wizarding central?" she also posed. It was just Suspiria being curious.
If Suspiria kept up the compliments, Syd was pretty sure her face was going to have a permanent shade of red affixed to it. Especially when she referred to her as hot, which caused a slightly nervous chuckle to escape from her lips. "Hot? Now thats a new one for me." she said honestly, not really thinking of a time she had heard that.
She felt herself getting a bit flustered, which was definitely a new feeling. Syd leaned against the bar, listening to Suspiria as she talked about her job a bit. The woman started to smile as she spoke about her travels and different animals, and Syd was completely enthralled. She loved animals, and was completely jealous that someone got to spend all their time with them. "Yeah you are easily the coolest person I've met since I moved here."
Syd was then asked where she was before, and it was a common question considering her accent stood out like a sore thumb. "Oh i grew up in a lil town in Georgia, daughter of a preacher. Imagine that shock when they found out I was a witch." she said with a roll of her eyes.
This was the longest time she'd had with any bar staff without interuption in quite a while. Sydney's response seemed honest and it was accompanied by a nervous chuckle and a blush. Suspiria wouldn't rush this and let Sydney come to her own conclusion and if she wanted to act on this or not.
Then once she'd finished talking and answered the question Suspiria took another deep drink of beer. "You'll better believe it because its true. And I can imagine their reaction. Even more of a shock than most people finding out. I always knew I was going to Hogwarts so that wasn't a surprise. Yours must have been double or treble my experience given who he was. I knew I was different from most witches not long after my magic showed but I did have understanding grandparents.
Georgia? No wonder you sound so exotic. So which school did you end up going too?"
She'd known muggleborns who found their way into Slytherin; there was never than many of them but being the helpful student while she was there she got to hear their stories and make sure they got her support. The brief time so far she'd spent with Sydney gave her good vibes and it felt like she could make a friend tonight.
Suspiria kept the compliments flowing, and the blush kept creeping onto her cheeks but she was going to try and just work through it. "Oh it was extremely traumatizing at the time, but looking back it was like a scene from a movie." she said with a genuine laugh. She remembered it like it was yesterday.
Her parents had FREAKED out, thinking it was someone playing a prank at first before the letters kept showing up. "Honestly the only reason they even let me go was me threatening to tell the whole town about it." she said with a nonchalant shrug. "Exotic? Now THAT i could get used to hearin." she said with a wink. "Though I must say I MUCH prefer y'alls accents." she said. After all, what American DIDN'T love a good UK accent?
"I went to Ilvermorny, way up north in the States." she said proudly. She knew Hogwarts was THE school when it came to magic, but she wouldn't have traded her experience for anything. "Apparently one of the founders was a descendent from your Slytherin house dude."
Suspiria did notice Sydney’s reaction to her compliments and smiled. She usually didn’t have the time nor opportunity to flirt so was a bit rusty. What she was saying seemed to be working in regards to her aim this evening. She’d baited the hook and it would be a good result if it was taken; if not then nothing was lost.
“I believe one of my old school house was involved. Isolt Sayre I believe” Suspiria mused cheerfully. “I was a Slytherin from a family who couldn’t remember being anything else. Apart from the few in the past who went to Durmstrang” she replied. She knew from her family tree that there was more squibs (and those were very few) than members of other houses. And Sussy was the last of the line.
“At least you got to go there. As if a No-Maj would have been able to stop you. If they had others would have stepped in” she added. “You know we could have more than just a bit of this evening. I’ll leave it up to you if you want some fun later on”. You had to attend a wizarding school if you have the ability and Sydney certainly had Suspiria’s interest right now. Exotic accent and all.
