It came with relief that Hannah's wand reappeared, with some help from Herbert. Johann was rather warming to the cat in a weird way, but the direction the wand quickly escaped from, suggested that the cat had been to blame in the first place.

“Apparently you can perform basic spell work, after all.”

"I'm even better after a cup of tea." Johann replied, matching her small smile and looking relieved. He turned away from the bedroom doorway and headed back through the flat.
"I'm glad you found it, wasn't looking forward to trying to track it down through the international floo and the other house." He was definitely going to avoid his parents for as long as was possible now. Last night and the arguments over Christmas were enough for another year. It had been a mistake to go back, even for the funeral.

"Is everything going to be alright, what with you not being at work last night?" Johann asked, making quick work of making the tea now the water was boiled and the wand returned. "I'd stay but I have to go to work, my boss might be my cousin, but I'm still under scrutiny for staying at St Mungo's last month." He stirred, "Some undersecretary had the cheek to put on my file I was unreliable!"

He turned round and saw Hannah, and paused, realising his little rant about work was poorly received, but he wasn't quite sure how to talk about the night before.
"Uhm, you will be alright, won't you?"

“Unreliable?” Hannah questioned, following the wizard towards her kitchen. The wand was shoved in her trouser pocket and the kitten held close, being fussed. “You? Never.” After last night’s drama Hannah was without a doubt not in a position to bring up the sleeping potion habit that had almost killed him. That had definitely made him an extremely unreliable wizard. Yet as far as she was aware, things were better and he was moderating it. Except last night. She had spied the bottle on the table before he’d knocked it off in his morning state.

"Uhm, you will be alright, won't you?"

Eyebrows rose as Hannah regarded her friend. It wasn’t often one saw a caring side to Johann Storm other than an awkward question or two. But he did seem genuinely worried. Hannah nodded and held out her hand for the coffee she’d requested.

“I’m fine.” She muttered. It was Johann’s father that would be waking up feeling particularly worse for wear. Hannah wasn’t sure how much she’d cut him but that was going to leave quite a lovely scratch. Not that she was proud of her actions. “They’ll be fine at the hospital. My charge has been acting strange anyway. He seems to have forgotten he doesn’t like me.” When he was even there.

Hannah lifted the mug to her lips before sighing and glancing across at the wizard. “I am sorry about your parents, Johann. I shouldn’t have done what I did no matter how much he provoked me.”

Her sarcasm was disregarded for the moment as Johann instead sipped tea and tried to gather his thoughts. She'd almost certainly seen the bottle, she knew he'd taken some last night. It wasn't the first slip, and it wouldn't be the last.

“They’ll be fine at the hospital. My charge has been acting strange anyway. He seems to have forgotten he doesn’t like me.”

"That's good." He replied without great commitment, glad that Hannah's job at least was calmer than it had been. He wished he could say the same.

“I am sorry about your parents, Johann. I shouldn’t have done what I did no matter how much he provoked me.”

He took two more sips of his tea before replying taking his time and considering his response.

"I don't blame you." The words eventually came, but the expression in his eyes did indicate his upset at being verbally abused by his father, pushed across a room and then told to leave. The disowning, despite the fact he'd not been inclined to visit for a full year, hurt. His mother's crying hurt. His father's anger, however, was anticipated, and although the volume of it had alarmed them, it hadn't been out of the blue. Wolfgang had questionable methods.

"These things happen." He dismissed the apology because he didn't want to face up to the fact he'd been scared stiff. Well, he had confessed to being scared just a little earlier, but he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to relive his best friend diving across the room and tearing at his father. It made him imagine Colin doing the same. He lived with Colin. He'd got engaged to Hannah. He'd watched another werewolf tear a Muggle limb from limb on a full moon for sport.

Never again.

"Don't let anyone in, alright? Any trouble, let me know." His feet shuffled on Hannah's kitchen floor and he looked ever more awkward.

"I would stay if I could. I didn't want to leave you last night."

Hannah couldn’t help but stare at Johann in mild disbelief. Had he really just suggested she call him to her side if there was any trouble? The wizard who, up until this morning, she’d never seen perform a spell. The wizard who’d backed down to his father’s harsh words and criticism. He was as likely to protect her as Wolfgang Storm was to let bygones be bygones and welcome her into her family with open arms and warm smile.

“And what trouble would that be that you’ll protect me from Johann?” he witch queried innocently before sipping her coffee. The cat was getting fidgety, trying to climb up her front so Hannah ended up dropping Herbert carefully onto the small wooden stall beside her.

“I don’t want you to stay, anyway. There’s things I must do today.” The probably sounded harsher than it had been meant. “You go to work; don’t fuss.” It had been a while since someone had had such an attitude towards Hannah and she wasn’t sure how she felt about the situation if she were perfectly honest. This was all seeming too familiar for her liking and comfort levels.

“And what trouble would that be that you’ll protect me from Johann?” Maybe she was right. But saying it to her had made him feel better at least. He stared down at the floor, not sure what to say in return.

“I don’t want you to stay, anyway. There’s things I must do today. You go to work; don’t fuss.”

The linguist gave a single nod, and finished his tea, it was far too early in the morning for any of this, and all he wanted was to sneak back to Colin's flat, wash and change. This was him, using his tactic of running away. He should have done this long before, but she'd asked him to stay. Now it was definitely clear his welcome was outstayed. Besides, she could tear any intruder's eyes out. He'd seen her try.

"Fine, that's fine." The words were almost a whisper, his long fingers placing down the empty mug on the kitchen surface.
"Have a better one than yesterday." He didn't meet her eyes.

Johann scratched Herbert on the head and passed Hannah by, collecting his crumpled jacket from the sofa, tucking his wand away, and then to the hall for his coat, sliding his aching limbs into it.
"You're running out of tea bags." He told her, reaching to unlock her front door.

Don't fuss.

He pulled it open with a cursory glance over his shoulder into the hallway.

"I'll see you."