He tried to recall a Nikki Williams or anyone that looked vaguely similar to the man seated at the table with him. “I think I may know of her, can’t actually recall if I ever spoke to her or not” remarked Samuel. Going the woman’s name alone he couldn’t recall dating anyone ever named Veronica even after he had finished Hogwarts. “Have you seen her much since you’ve returned home?” the professor asked him, which was a bit contradictory since he himself hadn’t seen Hannah in years and had all but given up on even sending her a letter.

“She hasn’t” Samuel shook his head in amusement since there was a much deeper reason why he knew all that. “Daisy, that’s the Arithmancy Professor’s name happens to be the woman I feelings for, she started two months or so before term ended” he told James wondering how the bloke would take it, given his previous experience with other staff members dating or whatever at his previous school. “However mate I’ll sure you will meet everyone soon enough and learn their names” he tried to reassure James.

“Really, and you were fortunate enough to run into me” joked the former Gryffindor. Samuel had no quips at all about having company today, it was much better to get to know a new staff member than it was to read the paper. Heck he even preferred reading muggle newspapers to the magical one.

James shook his head. He had seen much of his sister, though it wasn't on friendly terms. "We've spent a lot of time together, though it hasn't been on friendly terms. I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but we have never been close," he said, taking a drink. He hated that they weren't close, hated not being able to have a normal sibling relationship. "What about you? Any siblings?"

The professor sat in thought. He smiled when the other man opened up to him. "i won't pry, but that is great. I have no problems with people finding happiness. I just hate the drama that can tend to go with it, though I don't think I need to worry about that with you," he laughed. His thoughts attempted to take him back a few months to when he was happy, but he shut that down quickly, not wanting to make a scene. He had been close to proposing only to have her leave him when family duty called.

Shaking himself mentally he laughed. "This has been quite pleasant. It hasn't been often lately that I've been able to sit down and relax with a nice conversation."

Samuel listened as James spoke of the ‘rocky’, well that’s perhaps the best way he could think to describe it, yes rocky relationship between him and his sister. It practically mirrored Samuel’s relationship with Hannah, the only difference is that James actually saw Veronica where Samuel hadn’t seen the younger Copeland in a long time. “I’m sorry to hear that mate, I can fully relate and yeah I have a younger sister, Hannah, we haven’t spoken in three years, I think she resents me I’m not a hundred percent sure” the wizard shrugged.

“Thanks, but mate feel free to pry I don’t mind” the man shrugged smiling. There were some aspects of his life he preferred to keep private but this wasn’t one of them. But he would leave it up to James to ask any questions he wanted to. “I prefer to stay drama free, except for the whole Hannah saga. My students create enough drama for to handle” Samuel smiled as he realised his drink was nearing its end. He looked over the bar and signalled to the bartender to send another one over.

"It’s nice to have my conversation skills confirmed, thanks mate” he grinned as his next drink was delivered to the table. “So will you be teaching the same sort of topics you taught in the states?”

The professor was sorry to hear that his colleague had a strained relationship with his own sister, though he had to admit he was slightly relieved. It was nice to hear that the stereotypical sibling relationship wasn't as stereotypical as people would like to think. That being said, he was hoping to eventually change the relationship with his sister. If all things went well he would be able to explain that, if the roles had been reversed, she would have made the same the decision - the offer was too good to turn down. "I'm sorry to hear about your situation."

"I can understand the students being enough to handle. I can't understand why adults would want to cause more drama, though I have known several who don't seem to follow that logic," James said. Most of his problems had come from assistant professors who felt the need to act like they were still students themselves. It was part of what had led to the incident. His life was stressful enough without needing to add more to it.

He grinned back, taking a drink. "I plan to keep things mostly the same. There are some cultural differences, but most of the basics are the same, especially religions and technologies," he said, lighting up a bit as he spoke. He had loved studying how Muggles coped without magic having grown up watching his parents do so. The differences between the two worlds were outstanding. In some things the wizarding world was more progressive and in others it went to the Muggle world. He was hoping he could impart some of his knowledge on his students and work to abolish blood prejudices, though that would not be something he spoke out loud just yet.

It was unfortunate that Samuel had more or less settled into the situation he was in with his sister considering how much time had passed since they had spoken let alone seen each other. Even if he reconciled with himself that this was the situation, it didn’t stop him from feeling guilty. He had been ‘the man of the house’ since he was six and he had assumed that once Hannah got into her later teenager years that he would still have that title and be able to direct her but he had been wrong. Had his parents stayed together and their father was still around he was sure the situation wouldn’t be as it was. “That’s okay, it is what it is. I just hope she’s okay” he shrugged and tried his best to smile.

He was probably opening up more than to this bloke than he had with any of his other colleagues the first time he had met them, he realised he should probably stop talking sooner or later. “I honestly don’t time the dramas the students go through, I knew what I was getting into when I started out as head of Gryffindor” he nodded as he glanced at the newspaper briefly to take note of the photograph on the front page. “Deep down we still have the tendency to cause drama or find ourselves in it” he told James. Samuel dreaded what drama faced him if he and Daisy started dating, not so much with each other but their friends and colleagues.

“Well that’s a good plan you have mate, it will be good for students to get to see a different way of life" he nodded as he spoke and really hoped that James was able to open the minds of the Hogwarts students of this generation.

James nodded, taking in everything his colleague said. He had opened up more than he ever had to someone on a first meeting and he hoped that was a good sign. He felt comfortable around Samuel and was looking forward to working with him. It was surprising how a little support could go a long way and a friendship with a colleague could make all the difference. Yes, this year was already looking up.

"I suppose I should actually go and get on with my errands," he chuckled. "Thank you for the conversation. Hopefully we can do it again before the school year starts." He downed his drink and extended his hand to the other man. It truly had made his day more enjoyable.

He had thoroughly enjoyed chatting with James. It had been a long while since had done this. And he was sure that the new professor was going to do well at Hogwarts. Samuel could tell from their conversation that the other wizard had determination in him which was something needed when trying to motivate the current lot of students. Well really students during his time had need a lot of motivation too but that was beside the point now. It was also interesting to learn from James how the two schools differed.

Samuel was mid-sip when James announced he was leaving. He hoped he hadn’t said anything that had offended the guy. Quickly putting his glass back on the table he shook his hand. “Likewise mate, it was nice to meet you, I’m confident we’ll catch up before September” he commented before releasing the wizards hand. He watched as James left the pub before he picked up the paper again and flicked straight to the sports section.

**END OF THREAD**