RP: The First Annual Spring Festival - Day Two

[tt_ginny]

Date: 10 March 2002
Characters: Ginny Weasley, Marcus Flint, Open to Anyone
Setting: The Festival
Content: PG
Status: Public : Open



She waved as she passed the current gave of Living Chess, gripping her broom tightly as she jogged over to whisper a tip in the ear of the young girl playing the Knight. Her game this morning had gone great, though they'd played against a local team from Three, and not any that had the professionals in them. She'd caught the Snitch though and that's what had her grinning from ear to ear as she went looking for the coffee stand, remembering what Alicia had said. If Flint reverted back to his vile attitude with her, she's cure herself of these lingering thoughts.

There were two very lively volleyball games going on at this end of the beach but Ginny could see at least two more at the far end and what looked like a game of cricket, too. She passed a juggler entertaining a group of young children and stopped at one of the beer stands to ask directions. Now heading in the right direction, Ginny knew she was in the right place when she saw Viktor and his teammates had transfigured some rocks into chairs. He lifted a hand to her and she returned the wave with a smile but didn't go over, heading instead to the coffee stand, checking the time as she did.

Comments

[tt_marcus]

It was good to play Quidditch, even if it was just a friendly match and Marcus had to reign in some of his more aggressive playing tendencies. There was nothing like Quidditch to get the blood flowing and he hoped to get another game in after lunch. First, though, he needed to rehydrate.

The message from Weasley had confused him, to put it simply. While he'd been curious in the wake of the love potion fiasco, he hadn't gone so far as to see her out. There had seemed no reason to - things had never progressed to the point where he'd need to beg back his grandmother's ring or other, more dramatic, consequences.

Having already stripped out of his damp t-shirt from the game, Marcus pulled a clean one from his kit bag with his free hand as he moved through the crowd. He spotted Weasley near the coffee stand, unable to resist a brief admiration of the sight of a fit woman holding a broom. Never an unwelcome view. "Weasley," he called as he drew near, raising his broom slightly.

[tt_ginny]

Somehow she felt reassured that the Bulgarian team was just a few yards away while she waited to see if Flint showed up or not. There was nothing to give her the impression that he wouldn't but Ginny knew her request was a bit strange.

It wasn't like they'd shagged or ran off and eloped or even did anything more than snog, although she did recall the snogging to be pretty good if she was honest with herself, which she really wasn't trying to be. Every ounce of her being resisted acknowledging that there might be anything good about Marcus Flint.

Letting the older woman put ice cubes into her coffee, Ginny was sipping it to check the temperature when she heard her name called. More precisely, her last name but she recognized the voice. Turning, Ginny couldn't help but let her gaze travel for a second before pulling herself together. Grinning spontaneously, Ginny replied. "Flint. Did you win?"

[tt_marcus]

Marcus grinned, his whole face lighting up at just the thought of winning. "Yeah. Of course." He let his kit bag drop to the ground at his feet, forgetting that his datapad was in there until the very last moment. But he couldn't hear anything break, so he assumed it was okay. Flipping his broom until it was horizontal, he ordered it to hover, then let go. With his hands free, he could finally pull on his clean shirt.

Once fully-dressed, he ran his hand over his hair, appraising her quickly as he did so. "What about your game? I'm guessing you played?"

[tt_ginny]

That was the thing about Quidditch players. They had a confidence that couldn't be faked, evidenced again by Flint's grin. She also couldn't help but notice that he was being friendly, though she wasn't going to make any assumptions there.

"Caught the Snitch when we were up 50 points," she replied with a smug grin that shifted to a quick smile. "Can I get you an iced coffee? They're pretty good."

[tt_marcus]

"Nice," he remarked with a smile. Marcus was pleased for her, but also glad for himself. He'd played Weasleys at Quidditch back during his school days and they had never been the most pleasant people after they'd lost. Of course, he'd usually been on the team that had beaten them, which probably coloured opinions a little. Knowing that Ginny had won made him feel a lot more secure that she wasn't about to start getting angry with him for something.

"Er, yeah. Sure. Coffee would be good." He'd never had it iced before, but he needed a cold drink. "So... how've you been?" he asked cautiously.

[tt_ginny]

"Thanks," she replied, her smile widening. No one liked to lose, but what was the point of playing if you weren't going to play to win? Ginny turned and used the four Bulgarians words she actually knew to order an ice coffee for Flint.

"I've been... good. Really busy after the potion thing but its finally settling down now," she answered, glancing over. It only took a few moments and she was holding out another coffee to him. "How have you been?" Gin asked just as cautiously.

[tt_marcus]

She spoke Bulgarian? That was surprising. The best Marcus had picked up was how to say thank you, which came in handy at the market. If he combined that with a smile, sometimes the older ladies would give him an extra piece of whatever sweet treat he was buying.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Marcus said as he took his coffee. People had been a little negligent with their work when they'd been under the potion, which meant a few things to catch up with. "I haven't been too bad." He scowled as he thought. "My sister's just about stopped mocking me." He shrugged. "So I guess that's something."

[tt_ginny]

"My friends have had a rather different reaction," she replied with wry twist of her lips and a sigh. Gin wished they were in a more private spot to talk but it had been her idea to meet up here.

Sucking in her bottom lip, Gin thought for a moment before saying. "So, no, err, lingering effects, then?" she asked hesitantly. Scuffing the toe of her sneaker in the sand, feeling dread welling up inside her, Ginny plunged ahead. "I've had some, er, random thoughts, you see."

[tt_marcus]

"What, they're not taking the piss 'cause you fell in love with a Slytherin troll?" Marcus asked, raising his eyebrows. More than anything, he was surprised that a group of Gryffindors weren't finding a way to ridicule him somehow. He'd expected as much.

Trying his iced coffee, he paused. The taste wasn't what he'd expected. Not in a bad way, just different. He tried another sip. "Random thoughts?" he asked blankly, at a loss until his brain managed to catch up with what she'd mentioned about lingering effects. "Oh. Er, I dunno. Maybe? I'm not sure." Had he thought about her since? Yes. Was that an effect of the potion? He had no clue.

[tt_dempster]

Dempster had asked for the second day of the festival off - he'd done security detail open the close on the first - as a chance to clear his mind among the crowd. After hiding hadn't worked, he'd been working his usual far-too-much and spent his free time with Lisa at the pub. But he hadn't stopped thinking of his fellow Security personnel, all blond hair and wit and charm. He knew the affects of the love potion were long since gone and so he'd spent a good amount of his free time trying to figure it out.

And thus, he needed a day to get lost. He'd watched some children playing quiddith low in the air, to the amazement of a few muggles - children and adults alike - and then watched most of a football match and even gone in for a few kicks himself.

Sitting back down on the side of the field where they'd been playing, Demp gave a big huff and swigged a big gulp of water from a canteen he'd been carrying with him most of the day. It wasn't cold anymore, but it did the trick. Laying back on his elbows, he watched another game pick up and let himself enjoy the solitude, the sweat, and the sounds of play around him.

[tt_hestia]

It was after she had realized she had confused 'bursitis' and 'capsulitis' that Hestia realized she needed a break from studying. While the major items of medicine hadn't changed (do no harm and keep them from the brink), there had been several changes in the day-to-day activities of medicine. So even though she was now officially a Healer for the settlements, she still needed to get caught up on the newest advancements. Saturday had been spent reading through instead of attending the festival and Hestia had planned on using Sunday to continue studying. But confusing the two words had her realizing that a break was definitely in order.

So she had gone over to Settlement Two, watched a couple of the games that had been going on, joined in on an impromptu dance party by one of the bands, and wandered around until she found herself watching a football match. That is until the man who was sitting down next to her caught her attention. It took a few seconds for her to recognize him though. Mainly it was that he looked hale and hearty, rather than having the aftereffects of being in a fight with a dark wizard.

"...Auror Wiggleswade?" Hestia asked him, turning to face him. "Hestia Jones," she said. "I was a Healer at Mungo's."

[tt_dempster]

"Jones! I remember you, don't be ridiculous," he shook his head and laughed, grateful for the familiar face in the crowd.

"How are you settling in? I didn't know you'd come through." He tried to be tactful with those who had... come back and through. He leaned back and let the sun dry his face and squinted through the sun at her.

[tt_hestia]

She grinned as a laugh escaped her. He did remember her; that was a relief. Else this was going to become a very awkward convesation very quickly. "Better safe than sorry," Hestia replied with a smile.

"I came through the sixteenth of February," she said. Odd that he didn't know. Hestia thought that all of the security personnel would know when an unexpected arrival came through. Security precautions and all. Especially with not having caught the person who attacked Hermione. "It's been an adjustment. But it's been going well for the most part." She gestured to the spot next to him. "May I?"

[tt_lisa]

Lisa waved to a couple of regulars as they ran past in pursuit of their kids, glad to be out of the pub for the day - she and Paul had decided together that even if it was a Sunday (and Sunday was busy day for them) - they deserved a day off if the rest of the Settlements did. She had splured and bought herself an old fashioned cotton candy from a vendor and played with the pink concoction as she meandered through the grounds. Finally she settled in to watch the match of Living Chess and cheered and shouted with the rest, wondering quietly how many fellow Ravenclaws in the crowd had caught that totally misguided move by the knight.

[tt_fleur]

"He should have moved the knight in the other direction," Fleur noted dully as she slipped into the seat next to Lisa. She knew how to play chess but it had never interested her much behind the basics. Yet she was smart enough to be better than most should she try to play. The girl looked vaguely familiar and she figured she had seen her face at Hogwarts at some point.

"Though I suppose if the other player does not realize it they will get lucky and it will not cost them more than a pawn or two."

[tt_lisa]

Lisa looked up as Fleur sat down next to her, "Exactly what I was thinking, it took all of my restraint not to shout it while he was still moving," she laughed. "Fleur, right? Lisa Turpin, I run the World's End," she recognized the Beauxbatons beauty right away - she'd been in fourth year during the tournament after all - but doubted she was known to the blond. "Do you play?" She asked casually, wondering in a self-deprecating fashion why the other witch would have sat down next to her at all.

[tt_fleur]

Fleur nodded as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair in an attempt to smooth the already smooth locks. "It is nice to meet you." Sure Fleur had seen her a time or two when Bill and her had gone for dinner but they had never been properly introduced. "Someone should yell it out before he loses rather spectacularly."

"Me? Non." Chess was too boring for Fleur in the sense it wasn't fast paced enough. She was too impatient for it. "Only when Bill's brother ropes me into it at the holidays because he is too bored beating the rest of his family. I always lose." Fleur said with a laugh. "Then again most people lose to Ron when it comes to chess."

[tt_james]

Since meeting up with Sirius the week before, James had been turning over in his head a million times what to say to Lily. Finally, he'd sent her a note asking to meet him at the festival, hoping it was an easy enough environment for their first outing. He'd stopped to himself an iced pumpkin juice and then walked through the crowds looking for a familiar head of red hair just in case.

[tt_lily]

At noon, Lily headed for the festival. Yesterday had been fun, but she was just as excited to spend the day with James. This was such an unexpected surprise.

Wearing jeans and a white top, Lily stopped by the pumpkin juice cart, looking for James. She spotted him walking ahead of her and hurried to catch him. "Hello, James." She said, stepping up behind him.

[tt_james]

James wore a striped t-shirt and looked down at himself in slight embarrassment as Lily approached - she was beautiful in a simple tank-top type thing and jeans. "Lily!" He waved as she came closer, "It's great to see you, I'm sorry my note was such late notice..." He trailed off, still feeling awkward about this whole thing. Sirius had been insane, this was a terrible idea. He reached forward and gave her a small, swift kiss on her cheek.

"So, um, did you come by yesterday at all?"

[tt_lily]

She blushed crimson at the kiss, however innocent it may have been. "I did. I met Sirius' er... friend. Very sweet lady. Did you come here?" she asked him, wondering to go from here. Both mentally and physically. "The chess game is fun to watch, as is the Quidditch game. How are you?" Leave it to Lily to start rambling away in sheer nervousness.

[tt_james]

James took a sip of his pumpkin juice and shook his head, "No, we closed the media center for the weekend but I took the chance to catch up on some repairs I had waiting for me." He shrugged, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to spend a Saturday working.

"I'm always up to see a Quidditch match," he thought out loud, but when she asked how he was he faltered. "I, um, yeah I grabbed drinks with Sirius last week, and um," he reached out and took her hand with his free one, "well, there's something I wanted to talk to you about?"

[tt_lily]

You could have bowled Lily over with a feather. Where had this James come from? "Er...sure?" she asked hesitantly, looking to him oddly. Lily was so confused; she understood what was going on, but this seemed so sudden and... odd. She wasn't complaining, it was welcome, but... wow.

[tt_james]

With their hands joined, James lead the way just past the Living Chess match to the beach. Heading closer to the water, he dropped her hand and looked out, with Lily behind him surely confused as can be. Finally he took a deep breath and turned back to her, fiddling with the straw in his juice.

"Listen, Evans, this is gonna sound insane and I told Sirius the same thing when he pointed it out to me but just, hear me out." He inhaled again, and then dove in.

"Since, what, first year? Second? You've been the only woman for me. Even when you were bossing me around when we were prefects and when I was being a jackass and you were calling me out on it," he shook his head and moved closer to her, "I don't know what was going to happen to us in that future that I never got to see. I don't know what second chance everyone's talking about when they get so excited that we're here, I don't know Harry, I never gave my life for him or for you, but I would." He finally stopped to take a slow breath, watching her, and added, "I really would, Evans. You're still the only woman for me. I just hope you don't mind if I'm still a bit of a jackass," he waited for any reaction, silent.

[tt_lily]

The first thing that came to Lily's mind was, "You can start by calling me Lily." She had remained silent through his monologue, just trying to wrap her mind around. Yes, he had been a jackass growing up. Several times.

"Keep in mind James that while I have a little more insight as to what happened, I don't know all that either. I know where we were, but that's it. It's something we can work through together. There are times where I'd rather be back there than here. I miss that home. But I want to give you a chance."

She thought for a moment. "Despite what you may think - our marriage was not perfect. You were still a jackass even after. I just overlooked it. When you're ready, let me know. I'll work with you to help you with whatever." That didn't come out like she wanted. What was she trying to get out? "Let me work with you. Yes, that was then, but that doesn't have to be now. Our future, if any, is not that. It's something totally different now."