Things were finally starting to settle down once more it seemed.  Isaac's second book had been released at the beginning of the month and according to his publisher sales were good.  The few public talks and signings they had scheduled had also been relatively painless, for which he was thankful.  Upon waking up to a Sunday without anything scheduled he thought perhaps a chance of scenery would be nice, which is why is he found himself sitting at The Three Broomsticks.

He hadn't spent much time there since leaving his post as the Muggle Studies Professor at Hogwarts, and judging from the makeup of patrons he knew he had managed to arrive during a Hogsmeade Weekend.  He had seen many familiar faces as he had walked down the street, greeting those he knew with a cheery smile.  Reaching the Three Broomsticks, he chose to settle in an unoccupied corner with a copy of the Daily Prophet and a butterbeer, remaining a bit inconspicuous.  Everything about the trip to the Wizarding village felt familiar and cozy.  Working in London was certainly different, and taxing.

At first he had thought that perhaps the switch would do him some good.  It was a chance to help Muggleborns and allow his career to follow a new path.  It had been an exciting opportunity, but it certainly wasn't exactly how he thought it would be.  Working for a government agency meant having to jump through lots of hoops to accomplish even a tiny speck of forward movement.  He was well aware change wouldn't happen overnight, but to move at such a snails pace was making him weary.  It made him think that perhaps it had not been one of his wiser decisions to leave his former post.  Perhaps the saying was true after all, the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Something drew his attention then away from his reading, causing him to look up.

Nightingale spent a great deal of the day at his new house, having found that life was feeling normal again, and that the gardens would need a great deal more work than he anticipated. The roof had come along nicely, the men finishing in half the time and now all he needed to do was finish painting and work on getting the electric set up again. The whole house needed rewired, but that was the extent of his knowledge. Gale knew that he would have to find someone with a bit more information and a few contacts to make that happen; and this was when he missed Chaz the most. His former lover had always been very resourceful when it came to muggle matters, and let Gale live in his little bubble of solitude that satisfied the both of them. However, these things couldn't be left alone for too long, and he could do this.

"Mr. Fraiser," The answer to his prayers. Gale had reached the man by hardly a sound, his steps as quiet as freshly fallen snow. His shoulders were tense but held back, his spine straight and his chin raised as though he'd come before a subject of his court (that bastard prince inside him coming out), but he would offer him a small apologetic smile, 'Forgive me. I do not mean to interrupt, but I was hoping that you could help me."

Gale hadn't had the chance to know Isaac well before he left, and honestly he wasn't sure that the former Professor would even know who he was. Though, the Charms Professor was certain that by now his reputation would have at least put him in the topic of a few dinner conversations. It was amazing he still kept his job at all--Gale wasn't the most liked by half the school.

"If you are not terribly busy, I will not keep you long," A nervous habit of his was to hold his hands together as he held his breath, but this time Gale did his best to keep them hidden behind his back. He really could do this…Isaac wouldn't bite…would he?

March had been an interesting month , to say the least.  Although Atash Hendurabi had mentioned a pureblooded wizarding family that shared her surname, she had been able to easily ignore that and push that aside—that is, until Aileen had mentioned that same family. Not only that, but that one of the members was her sister-in-law. She hadn’t yet gathered the courage to reach out, find out for certain if they were actually related—but part of her wasn’t usre if she wanted to know. Her memory of her father had been an honest one—and to think that he lied to her about being a muggle? Well, that was difficult to reconcile with, considering what her teenage years had been like during the war, as a ‘muggleborn.’

What was she supposed to say to them? ‘Oh, by the way I think we’re related even though we’ve never met?’
And if that turned out to be true, how was she even going to mention it to her brother? It’d mean that he was technically a squib, and she wasn’t sure he’d handle the fact that under different circumstances, he’d ideally be a wizard.

Either way, all this stress and worry was making her body ache. She’d spent the weekend at home, and it was time for a drink before going back to Hogwarts. She had a student that wanted to see her early in the morning before breakfast, so it was best to spend the night in her office tonight for the sake of convenience.
Her mood immediately improved when she saw two familiar faces at the bar. One, she barely knew—the other, she was particularly fond of.

“Gale!” She exclaimed, “And Professor Frasier—how nice to see---“ Mai covered her mouth. Oops. It was rude to interrupt a conversation.  “Sorry—carry on.” Maiko gave them a chagrined smile and ordered a pint of mead.