Flat Above Dervish & Banges

[Jed Ramiro]

Above the shop are several small rooms. One has been given over to storage. Jed has plans to clean it out and turn it into a bedroom. For now, he's living in the other room, which serves as living room, kitchen and bedroom in one.

[Jed Ramiro]

Jed sat with his back against the wall of the tiny kitchen of his flat. By his side was a bottle of firewhiskey, and in his hand was a glass. His drinking binges had become less frequent the longer he'd been out of Azkaban. But tonight he was having trouble keeping all the memories shut away in the airtight room in his mind he had crammed them into.

Normally, by the time he was halfway through the bottle, his senses were starting to become dulled, the memories still sliding through his head, but without the power to affect him. When the bottle was empty, usually, so was his mind, and he could slide into unconsciousness.

But tonight was different. Seeing Charli face to face had been hard enough - remembering the punishment cell, the terror of being thrown in, clawing uselessly at the door, convinced that it would never be opened again. They all knew, every prisoner in Azkaban knew, the stories that prisoners were walled up alive in those cells. Bad enough to have those memories dragged up, to see the woman whose face he had thought would be the last thing he ever saw.

He could even handle the memories of the humiliation that had followed, the anguish of thinking he'd found a scrap of comfort, only to have it ripped away from him.

Usually he could cope with that, drinking until he didn't care. But to find that she remembered nothing of it, that she didn't even remember who he was. He couldn't let go of it. Not even alcohol could banish the ghosts tonight.

He dropped the glass and clambered to his feet. He couldn't stay within walls tonight. He had to get out. He stumbled down the narrow stairs and out the back door. Not even bothering to lock it, he began to stagger along the dark, deserted street. He didn't know where he was going, he didn't care, so long as he was outside.

[Jed Ramiro]

Jed opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't. The sun was shining directly into the room, and his head just couldn't cope with the brilliance. He groped for his wand, and pointed it at the windows, pulling the curtains across.

He groaned. He must have had a lot to drink the night before. He remembered going out for some air, into the back lane, and then... now he remembered. Charli. He'd talked to her, actually got some things straight in his own head. And she... she had kissed him? Yes. What was she doing? Tormenting him? Trying to make it up to him?

He sat up, shaking his head, and groaned again. He was tempted to go back to sleep for the rest of the day, but he'd advertised that he would be reopening the store that day, and it would not look good if he was a day late.

He dragged himself out of bed, and went to make some coffee. That was one thing, at least, that muggles had got right!

[Jed Ramiro]

Jed opened the door of his tiny flat, and immediately wished he'd at least made the bed. That was the problem with living in one room, there was no place to hide the junk. The kitchen, at least, was clean. After five years of Azkaban - eating off unwashed, rusty dishes, if he was lucky, or more often off the floor - he was particular about the conditions he prepared food in. That, however, was probably cancelled out by the fact that the t-shirt and underpants he'd slept in last night were scattered on the floor beside the bed.

He glanced at Charli. "Sorry about the mess - I overslept this morning, didn't have time to clean up. But, uh, the kitchen's clean. I've got a couple of steaks in the freezer, maybe I could bake some potatoes...?"

[Charli Saunders]

Charli followed Jed into his apartment, and looked around, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She chuckled at his awkwardness. Though, she herself was feeling just the same.
"It's fine. Mine sometimes gets a lot worse than this," she admitted. And she had more than one room, so her junk tended to spread out more. She nodded. "Steak's fine. Potatoes are too," she assured him. Her hand raised to her neck, scratching the back of it nervously.

Sitting herself down at the little table, she smiled encouragingly at him, to show him she actually wanted to be here. And she did. More than anything at the moment.

[Jed Ramiro]

Jed quickly stuffed the dirty clothes under the bed and pulled the comforter over the tangled sheets. Then he went back into the kitchen area, and got out the food. He shoved the potatoes in the microwave, then used his wand to supply the power to it - living in Hogsmeade meant, of course that there was no electricity supply, which was a shame, because some muggle inventions really were useful. He set the oven to 'broil', and dumped the meat in a bowl with some red wine and spices to marinate for a while. It was actually pretty good wine, so he divided the rest of the bottle between two glasses, and set one in front of Charli.

As he took the other seat at the small kitchen table, he grinned awkwardly at her. "There's another room here, but it's full of old junk. I should clean it out, double my living space."

[Charli Saunders]

Charli watched him as he rushed around trying to tidy a bit, then start the food. She watched with interest. She could cook, but boring stuff mostly. It kept her going, that was about it. Giving him an awkward smile as he passed her a glass of wine, and watching him as he sat down. She nodded. "It's almost identical to mine. Though, mine's a little bigger I think. Honeydukes is a bigger shop," she added, for good measure. She took a sip of her wine, trying to calm herself down. This was ridiculous!

[Jed Ramiro]

Jed had noticed that Charli watched his preparations with interest. "After I was released," he explained, as he took a sip of his wine, "I decided I was never going to eat badly-prepared food again. So I learnt to cook." He shrugged. "My values changed in that hellhole. Everything I was raised to believe no longer meant anything. Now I try to enjoy just being alive and free. The simple pleasures." He was surprised at how easily he could explain it to Charli. Maybe it was because she'd been in that place, she could understand how Azkaban changed people.

[Charli Saunders]

Charli listened intently as Jed explained his apparent cooking skills. And how that place changed him. She smiled, and nodded. She knew that. Though, it hadn't really changed her that much. Dulled her, yes, and somethings had changed. She appreciated things more than she used to.
"I can cook. But - uh - just the basics. It gets me through the day. Maybe I should invest in learning," she mused, trying a chuckle. "Alive and Free," she repeated. That was definately something she appreciated more now. She thought she would die in that place. They told her she'd never get out. But, when they had let Kildara out, they'd decided it was injustice to have her kept in there as well. "I can understand that," she murmured softly, looking up at him.

[Jed Ramiro]

When Charli repeated his words, Jed met her gaze. She was one of the few people who really appreciated what that meant. "I spent most of the time since I was released travelling. It didn't matter where, so long as I was moving. And I slept outside most of the time. So that when I woke up from a nightmare, I could just look up and see the stars, and know I was just dreaming." During the first couple of months, being inside any building gave him acute claustrophobia. At least now he could live a relatively normal life - so long as he could see a window somewhere close at hand. He reached for his wineglass; there wasn't much space on the tiny table, and his fingers brushed over hers. "Sorry," he muttered, suddenly feeling awkward again. He pulled his hand back quickly, and knocked his glass over, splashing the dark red liquid all over his t-shirt.

[Charli Saunders]

Her breath caught for a moment as he met her gaze. What in the world! She listened to him speaking, surprisingly taking in the words, seeing as she couldn't really concentrate. She saw him reach for his glass, then his fingers brushed over hers, sending shocks up her arm. "It's okay," she murmured. She gasped as he tipped his glass over - splattering himself with wine. "Oh my god," she breathed.

[Jed Ramiro]

Before Jed could get up from the table, the rest of the wine from his glass soaked into his jeans. He grabbed a cloth from the sink and mopped up the table, then looked down at his clothes. "I guess I'd better change..." He went over to his closet, and rummaged around for a fresh pair of jeans and a t shirt. He glanced up at Charli. He could either change right here, or he could go and hide in the bathroom and look even more awkward. Resolutely turning his back, he stripped off his soaked clothes, extremely thankful he'd worn underwear today. Sometimes he went commando...

[Charli Saunders]

Charli looked up at Jed as he stood up. His clothes were soaked. Then he said he should change. "Uh -" she said quietly. Watching him as he went over to the closet, she sighed. She tried not to look at him as he peeled off his clothes. But she could still see him out of the corner of her eye. He was fit. She sighed and took a rather large gulp of her wine. Oh dear god!

[Jed Ramiro]

Jed pulled on his dry jeans, and zipped them up, then pulled his t-shirt over his head. Tugging it down over his chest, he turned back towards the table, just in time to catch Charli looking at him surreptitiously. Ridiculously, he found himself blushing, then gave himself a mental shake. The fact that she'd glanced at him while he was changing didn't mean anything, he told himself.

He managed an uncomfortable grin as he walked back to the little kitchen area. "I'll check on the food," he said, busying himself with moving the potatoes into the oven to crisp them up, and putting the steaks under the broiler. He took some lettuce and tomatoes from the fridge, and put them in a bowl on the table. "We might as well have some salad too," he said.

He opened a fresh bottle of wine, and poured himself a fresh glass. Trying to start up the conversation again, he said, "So, uh, why did you decide to open a sweet shop?" Merlin, that sounded lame.

[Charli Saunders]

Charli sighed, noting how uncomfortable he looked. He saw her looking! How embarrassing!! She nodded as he said he should check on the food. This was now very awkward. She watched him as he busied himself with the food, getting out salad as well. He opened another bottle of wine, and poured himself another drink. Then he asked a question. She jumped. "Uh - It was empty, and I decided it would be an easier shop to run. People already know about it." Then she sighed. "Jed - I - " She groaned. "I need to say something. I'm not actually that hungry, to be entirely honest. But, I said I was because the concept of spending more time with you was extremely appealing. And I'll eat because you cooked it." She took a deep breath. "I - uh - eugh - maybe I shouldn't have said that -" she groaned.