To Lenora, even going to Godric’s Hollow, still slightly magical, was a break from the craziness of the magical world. It had been one of her rare days off from work, even though she still stopped by to say good morning to the children. Her days off now left her feeling slightly lost, unsure of what to even do. Though, after joining the Dimitte group, she knew she needed to focus on trying to help bring everyone together. It was really disheartening to see the treatment of Death Eaters and their families, especially since a few of the children in her home had been surviving children of Death Eaters that had either been killed or had been put into Azkaban with no other family that could take them in.

There were many older folk who would tell her that she had not had to really witness much of the reign of Voldemort, seeing the terror that he and his Death Eaters had caused. She felt horrible for what had happened during his reign, sure, but she also did not feel that treating others how they treated someone else poorly, was the answer to the problem. Sighing, she fought to try to understand what she could do with the Dimitte other than voice her opinions. Wanting to be a good example to her children, she knew she couldn’t just sit by and watch the wizarding world make a terrible, ghastly, mistake in their haste and anger.

Sighing, she stepped inside the small coffee shop, always finding comfort from the caffeine. It also didn’t hurt that the place had a wonderful aroma that seemed to never leave. After placing in her order, she took a seat in the surprisingly empty shop, staring out the window while she patiently waited for her drink to arrive.

@gino

Outfit

Gino walked through the streets of Godrics Hallow still a bit vexed over his family situation. Most of his family were now in some kind of danger because of their blood status and probably his oldest niece—or was it cousin? It really was confusing seeing as he was two years younger than a witch who was supposed to be his niece. It almost felt better to say cousin than anything else. Either way, those sides of his family was already being targeted and whiles her and his other neph—cousin, whatever, were in some form of law enforcement they hadn’t seemed to do any fucking good to anyone.

His niece Bells was already going through enough shit, without having to deal with her dead beat aunt at the fucking school now. Sometimes he wondered if it had actually been a good idea to reunite with his sister. A poor kid from the streets of New York finding out he was a wizard related to a wealthy pureblood family though he was only a halfblood himself had been jarring. He had settled in fairly quickly as they had accepted him without little to no questions being raised.

He stepped into the coffee shop taking a deep breath to appreciate the smell of fresh coffee hanging in the air before walking to the counter to order a coffee when he turned around to see a pretty red head sitting all by her lonesome. He grinned the moment he realized who it was, just grateful to see a familiar face that actually brought him some sort of reprieve. He made is way over and cleared his throat. ”Ya gonna ask me ta sit down, or do I gotta be a prick an demand it.” He said in his thick accent with a chuckle.

A few moments had passed before she received her coffee. She thanked the waitress warmly, a wide smile gracing her features before she took a sip of her wonderful drink. Thinking back, she couldn’t really remember when exactly she became a coffee drinker, just that she had at some point and now, it was one of her favorite addictions. Though, she certainly didn’t necessarily need it to function…she just strongly preferred it.

Merlin, her days off seemed to drag by as all she could think about was if the children were okay. The summer was approaching quickly, though, which meant she would have even less days off as all of the older students will have returned from school. Summer was her absolute favorite, if she were to be completely honest. Lenora found herself quickly lost in her thoughts, the very reason she came for coffee with nothing to do but sit. However, before she found herself too terribly distracted, she heard someone clearing their throat, turning her head to see who it was before a wide smile spread on her face. Jumping out of her seat, she opened her arms to embrace her friend, sincerely happy to see him.

“I assume I don’t have a choice either way?” she questioned, her eyebrow raising at the two options he sent her way as she resumed sitting, thankful for the distraction that came her way. “How are you, Gino?” she asked, smiling and listening intently for his response.

Gino laughed loudly at his friend’s response. It was nice to be around someone with a sense of humor. That wasn’t to say that his family didn’t have any, they were actually very amusing but with all the craziness going on it was hard to find amusement in anything when it came to them. At least work had been a good distraction. Granted his work was still a bit on the shady side, he was at least holding down an ‘honest’ job in a sense. It was the beginning of the month which meant he had a lot of working to do collecting on debts. There were always several people that either didn’t have the money to pay loans, or were just trying to skive him off. Sometimes he wished he could take care of the issues as he had in the States, though that was definitely not an option. He found some people were far too cocky for their own good and could do good to be knocked down a few pegs.

”No, ya don’t have a fuckin choice.” He chuckled before sitting down beside her with a smirk as she asked how he was doing. Things weren’t great but he wasn’t one to complain or even really mention anything negative about his life. To him it would just bring down everyone around him. ”Same shit, different fuckin day.” He said with a shrug as the waitress came over to bring him his drink. He gave the witch a wink and a thank you before taking a sip of his coffee and setting it back on the table. Lenora knew about a few things going on with his family but he didn’t feel it was really something worth talking about. ”So how tha fuck are ya doin? Ya fuckin hidin from me these days?”

The older Lenora got, the more she realized it was really difficult to intentionally meet up with friends. Everyone had their own work schedules and their own lives that were getting in the way, making planning anything to be such a hassle. This hadn’t mattered to her all that much, anyways, as she much preferred to randomly meet up with friends, seeing familiar faces wherever she went. The spontaneity of the events made everything all the more exciting as she never knew who she’d run into. In this case, she was happy to run into Gino, always finding their conversations light and amusing, with a hint of seriousness when necessary.

The redhead nodded at his response, taking a sip of her coffee. She had known a bit of what happened with his family as it was hard to not know. It had been all over the news after the event had happened, a family being murdered…though the reasoning behind such was varying based on the source. Some said it was Death Eaters that were angry at the family for not joining the side, others said it was simply another Pureblooded family that did that, reasons unknown. There had been a couple of articles, immediately after the incident that mentioned it being Radicals that killed them because of their status. Because of the way things were looking, Lenora believed that to be the truth over any of the other stories she had heard. Though, this was not something she would be asking Gino about, not wanting to be insensitive to his loss.

“Darn, you caught on? And here I thought I was being sly,” she grinned. “I’m doing really well…bored out of my mind when I’m not working, but well, nonetheless. Ready for the summertime,” Lenora answered. “Did I tell you that we are thinking about taking the kids to the states over the summer for a quick trip?”

It seemed like the days were going faster and faster the older he got. Actually it felt like from the moment he had hit his late 20’s things were in fast forward. He had no real solid plan in his life other than paying rent and just having fun. There was nothing wrong with that, especially after his psychotic ex that he had just gotten rid of only a year or so before. It had actually been Nora that helped point out how miserable he was. He had just assumed that was what a relationship was like. He was extremely lucky to have had Nora there to put things in perspective. She was a sweet enough girl, but she certainly had a way with words that made one think twice about certain things. It wasn’t really intimidating—well really it kind of was. But that was one of his favorite things about her.

”You… sly? Ya must of fuckin hit ya head today.” He chuckled lifting an ankle to cross over his opposite knee sitting back slightly. ”Bored? How are ya fuckin bored with all those kids around? An hold on… ya excited fa summer?! Isn’t that when all tha older kids come back?” He asked slightly confused. He wasn’t raised in a big family. It hadn’t been that many years since he had been reunited with his sister’s family, well actually meeting them for the first time. He had well over twenty nieces and nephews of varying ages, and as much as he loved them, they could be a complete pain in the ass. No ya didn’t tell me youse were thinkin bout taken tha kids ta the states. Where at?” He asked his interest piqued.

It had been slightly amusing to Lenora how she had met this friend and how they seemed to make it a habit to bump into each other in random places. Though, not often enough, she mused silently, enjoying the banter that he provided for her amusement. Their meeting at a random pub was amusing in itself as she threatened him that she would kick his arse out of there if he started to become fresh. With the back-and-forth easygoing teasing, it only seemed natural for a friendship to develop. Then, she liked to think she was superwoman at times as she did try to help him see how much his crazy ex really was rather psychotic. Just the thought of the woman left a distaste in Nora’s mouth, having not liked that woman one bit. Of course, she wanted to see Gino dating someone who was worth it, and he was certainly not going to find it with a woman who would probably intentionally get pregnant just to keep him around. Every girl knew those types. It was, what she liked to call, a girl’s natural sixth sense. It was rather easy to determine when a girl was playing a bloke and that woman was bad news.

“Only when I was trying to hide before you saw me,” the redhead shrugged, rubbing a spot on her head lightly as if that was the spot she hit on the way to hide from him. “Well, Gino, when I’m not working, I won’t be around all of those kids, now will I?” she teased lightly, laughing. “Yes, all of the older kids come back for the summer. It’s a full house and so many things to do,” she grinned, her mind already flowing with ideas. “It gets crazy, but you should see when we have everyone at the kitchen table,” Lenora laughed, remembering the food fight that started one time. “We have been contemplating taking them to New York City…we figure there is something there that will interest all of them…but nothing is set in stone yet. Any suggestions?”

Gino smiled when she said she had been trying to hide from him. ”Like ya have any fuckin chance a hidin from me with that red mop on ya head.” He teased leaning forward to ruffly her hair. He had always had more of a preference for dark haired girls, but he did find Nora attractive. She was probably the only red head he had ever met that he thought was as pretty as she was. He had never tried to make a move on her, just on principal. They were friends. Actually he considered her to be one of his best and most cherished friends. If he came onto her and she rejected him he was sure it would screw everything up. He couldn’t chance that.

He shook his head in amusement as he took a sip of his drink. ”You should go out an enjoy yaself when tha little cretins aren’t around. Fa the love a god ya neva owl me. I would gladly fuckin hang out with ya. No need ta be bored. I find maself very entertaining.” He joked. He was exactly a humble guy, but he did like keeping others amused. It made him feel good in a sense. It was most likely that it helped balance out all the horrible shit he had done over the years before being reunited with his sister’s side of the family.

His grin widened when she mentioned having all the kids at the kitchen table. That was one thing he loved about his own family. Sunday dinners had become one of his favorite things. It was a loud combination of Italian and English being yelled across the whole of the house as the women gossiped and then men talked business loudly. There was so much love that it had been strange for him initially. Of course things had felt tense since his niece Persephone had been back. Her and her fuckin body guard. He caught himself frowning slightly though quickly recovered. ”If ya like big loud meals ya should come ova my brother-in-law’s house sometime. Neva a dull fuckin moment.” He chuckled. It was about time she met his family. It would only be right for them to meet one of his best friends. He was sure they would love her.

”Ya really wanna take em ta New York City? As long as ya stay away from the slums youse guys should be okay. It ain’t tha nicest a place in some areas.” He said running a hand through his hair as he thought about all the shady business that happened on the wrong side of town, business that he took a large part in. That part of his life was over, but some of the things he did he was sure would haunt him until the day he died.

Gino was definitely one of Lenora’s favorite friends, someone that she easily got along well with. They had instantly connected, which was simply wonderful. Lenora seemed to connect well with most people, but this friendship definitely seemed to jumpstart even quicker. Of course, she had to deal with her close girlfriends swooning over the attractive male and wondering why Lenora wasn’t dating him, but as she told them time and time again, they were simply friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Girls always seemed to have in their head that boys and girls were incapable of being friends which was just ridiculous. “Argh,” she muttered as she pulled away from him after he ruffled up her hair. “Maybe I’ll dye my hair dark just for you, help me blend in a bit,” she grinned. Really, Lenora loved her red hair and she doubted that there was anything, other than a bet, that would get her to cut and dye her hair.

“Hey, those little cretins are my angels,” she stated defensively before a smile appeared on her face, stretching towards her eyes. “Oh, well now that you say so, you can expect more owls. You asked for it,” the redhead laughed, amused. “We’ll go cause a bit of havoc, and then I’ll be the good saint who kicks your arse out of there. Sounds perfect,” she laughed, happy that he just volunteered himself, to which she would gladly abuse the option. They always did seem to have a good time when they just went out to grab drinks or whatever they decided.

“Inviting me over for food? Now, how can I possibly resist?” she asked, eyebrows raising in surprise. “I’d love to meet the clan that has to put up with you,” she joked, taking a sip of her drink. “Oh, we would only take them to the tourist areas. You’re welcome to come join us, if you’d like,” she offered, shrugging. They always needed more chaperones and he did know the area much better, so it only made sense.

One of the many things Gino loved about Nora was her ability to light up a room with just her smile alone. It was almost impossible not to feel happy in her presence. Even during all the craziness going on in his family she seemed to be that beacon of light to help guide him out. He wasn't sure if she knew that or not though he hoped she did. There were some times that he had the urge to maybe ask her out on a date of sorts but would immediately shoot down the idea. He wasn't exactly the nicest guy and she really did deserve the best. That aside he didn't want to make things awkward if she said no. Then again he could have always played it off like a big joke between friends. The only problem with that plan was that she was far too intelligent to believe it would be a joke. She had been around him enough to read him so well that she could probably tell at a glance what his actual intentions were. "I always liked dark haired broads. Fuckin go fa it!" He teased. He always preferred dark haired women but he would be lying if he said he didn't love her fiery locks.

He chuckled loudly at her comment about her kids at the home being angels. He had enough baby cousins, nieces, and nephews to know the sentiment but it was still amusing nonetheless. "well Ya heard me fuckin ask fa it didn't Ya?! Fuckin clean ya ears out woman." He teased hoping she actually would owl him more. He did miss seeing her around. It always felt like they spent far too much time apart for his liking. "How long ago was that? Ya still haven't done shit. I'd like ta see ya try to kick my ass outta anywhere.' He snorted in amusement thinking about the first time they had met while he was still dating that one crazy Scottish broad. Nora really had saved from a lifetime of fucking crazy at the rate he had been going.

A large boyish grin spread across his face as she agreed about coming to dinner with his family. He was sure they would adore her and was certain at this point she would probably be able to handle the loud craziness of the event between the women arguing and fussing at the men and the men egging the women on it was sure to be fun. "Ya can't fuckin back out now. Ya betta show up this Sunday or I'll be fuckin offended." He chuckled. He paused for a moment taking a swig from his drunk when she talked about there trip to the states before swirling his drink around thoughtfully unable to hide another smile curling at the corners of his lips. "Go with ya an ya fuckin cretins? I'll see if I can pencil ya in." He replied letting the smirk finally move across his lips excited over the idea.