It was just before lunch on a July Friday, when the bell above the door jangled. Two figures slid inside swiftly. The door clicked shut behind them and Johann turned on his heel to peer through the gaps in the glass at Diagon Alley beyond, checking if the coast was clear.

"Why are we in here?" Bobbie demanded. They had been heading up Diagon Alley to get some lunch after an appointment together where Johann had been observing her progress. "And are you going to let go of my arm?" She protested. Johann looked round, down at his hand on Pinn's arm which he was unaware of and gave a quiet 'oh' before unwrapping his long fingers without any apology.

"Hamilton," he hissed, pointing at the figure walking up Diagon Alley. He would have passed them by, or stopped to annoy them, or say something about how long they'd been. He was an informant hellbent on getting them in trouble.
"Eugh." Pinn replied, peering through the glass too, none too keen on the wizard from Trading Standards either. He and Johann fought all the time, and the linguist team stood up for their acting team leader.

"Where are we anyhow? Some sort of junk shop?" Pinn asked, her voice distant as she was wandering away from him, looking up and around herself. Johann turned on his heel to look into the shop, his keen blue eyes taking in the familiar scene.
"You haven't ever been in The Yelling Compass?" He asked with surprise. Bobbie looked over her shoulder and gave him a look that he recognised as don't be a dumbass, Storm.

"I'm shocked, Pinn." Johann replied, clapping his hands over his heart, before turning back once more to check if Kadyn was gone. He wasn't - he'd stopped to talk to someone within sight of the shop doorway. Almost as if he knew they were inside.
"Trapped." He muttered before resolving to introduce Pinn to one of his favourite shops.

"Then I must introduce you to Liam." He grinned and gestured for his junior colleague to step along with him.
"And once Hamilton's buggered off, we'll grab lunch and get back to the office, you've got plenty to be doing this afternoon." Pinn rolled her eyes.

"Liam," Johann greeted the shop's owner with a wide smile. "How's business?" Beside him, Pinn gave a bright smile, her eyes flitting up and down the shop's owner. "This is Pinn, my colleague, tragically never been in here. I couldn't let that continue."

Liam had been putting a few books back on the shelf before he headed out to get something to eat.  He could of just gone upstairs, fixed himself a quick sandwich and came back down in a matter of minutes, but he wanted to get out for a change. He needed to stretch his legs and pretend to exist in polite company.

He heard the door open and he smiled.  He loved his customers.  From the small ones who come in with their parents (which was a rare thing), to the school students who want to peruse his weird trinkets for something to take to Hogwarts, to the older patrons.  He loved them all.  He put the last book on the shelf and turned to see who it was.

"Ah, the younger Storm, how are ya?" he asked with a grin.  The man had been in his shop a few times, but although he tried to remember everyone's name, the last one was the only one that stuck most of the time."  He looked briefly at the person standing next to him, "Business is business, some days I don't have anyone in here, and some days I don't have any time to myself." 

After being introduced to the other person he grinned wider, he always liked it when some of his regulars dragged their friends and/or colleagues into his store.  Sooner or later they'd learn to love it, or just not be around when their friends or work partners were heading towards his shop.  "Such a tragedy, you should of dragged her in here sooner, would've lightened the place up."

He hoped that they would catch on to his own particular brand of sarcasm.  He certainly didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

"Ah, the younger Storm, how are ya?"

Liam was as polite, warm and welcoming as ever, and Johann found himself drawn to that smile before he glanced sideways at Pinn who was also enjoying it.
"I hope the older ones haven't been terrorising you," Johann asked, not imagining his father would have been in, but perhaps Ignan had once stuck his nose in.

"Business is business, some days I don't have anyone in here, and some days I don't have any time to myself."

"Afraid so," Johann's younger colleague confirmed to the fact she'd never been in before, though her eyes didn't leave Liam's face, much to Johann's amusement. Pinn liked Liam on sight, she only did that to people in meetings that she mentioned to her other female colleagues or asked Johann's opinion on later - using words like dreamy.

"Such a tragedy, you should of dragged her in here sooner, would've lightened the place up."

"I'm sorry I'm such a raincloud when I visit alone."Johann teased in return, and Pinn socked him on the arm after a second, too busy gawping at Liam to get there sooner.
"Yeah Storm." Johann rolled his eyes and turned to look around the place.
"Got any German texts in lately?" Johann asked, "Pinn could do with some revision." He thumbed at his colleague. "The more tedious the better."

Pinn stuck her tongue out at him.
"Ignore him, do you own this place?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "I always wanted to run a shop when I was little. Now I sit in boring government meetings with him." Bobbie propped herself up with her elbows on Liam's shop counter and gazed at Liam. Johann raised both eyebrows and folded his arms.
"Don't you get lonely?" Pinn was once hungry for lunch and now seemed to have entirely forgotten. Johann glanced back to the door, squinting to see if he could still see their colleague from Trading Standards outside.

Playing along with Storm's teasing, Liam ducked behind his counter and pulled the largest book he could find that was in a foreign language out and dropped it loudly on the counter-top.  "Well, it's not German, I think it might be in French, will that do?" he said with a smirk in Pinn's direction.

"So, what brings you in my direction today Storm?" He directed his attention back to Johann, "You aren't usually one of my lunch time visitors and my newest shipment doesn't arrive for another week."  He knew that the other man popped in whenever, but he liked to tease the occasional customer and today happened to be Johann's turn to receive Liam's full attention.[1]

1.	Sorry it's so short.

"Well, it's not German, I think it might be in French, will that do?"
"Oh, easy." Pinn replied with a grin, and took the book from him to leaf through it.

"She's spoken that since she was knee high, but at least she can tell you what it's about." Johann explained as Pinn turned pages with her hands, eyes bright. At least it had distracted her a moment.

"So, what brings you in my direction today Storm? You aren't usually one of my lunch time visitors and my newest shipment doesn't arrive for another week."

"Well," Johann smiled, mirroring Liam's open and friendly approach to the conversation, "We were passing, and our least favourite colleague from Trading Standards happened to be in our path, so we thought we'd pop in." He grinned, "You're far better conversation."

Pinn gave a less-than-ladylike snort of agreement, or perhaps it was about the contents of the book. Johann hadn't given it a good look before she'd thrown it open.

"Don't worry, I'll still be in for your new shipment." He winked. "How are you keeping, anyhow? Still have to get you out this shop and down the pub for another drink."

Liam leaned forward on the counter, placing himself a bit closer to the person he was talking to.  Looking up at Johann, he replied, "I've been thinking that I could do with a bit of fun, I have been spending way too much time in here all by my lonesome." He smiled and asked, "We should go have a pint sometime."

Liam wasn't sure why he never went anywhere, most of it was because he just didn't get along with most people.  He had been in a few muggle and magical fights just because he couldn't stand the people he was around.  But lately the people who have been coming into his shop were actually people he could stand.  Johann was one of the few he chose to show his true self to, the flirty, teasing, sarcastic person that not many outside his family have ever seen.

"That is, if you want to be seen with the reclusive book shop owner who has a penchant for crazy gadgets." he said with a teasing glint in his eyes.

Pinn picked up the book and wandered away from the both, strangely intrigued. Johann gave her a funny look - to ignore the good looking Liam the book must have really caught her attention.

"I've been thinking that I could do with a bit of fun, I have been spending way too much time in here all by my lonesome. We should go have a pint sometime."

"Well," Johann replied, not perceiving the request to be anything more than a social request as he began. Seeing Liam was drawing breath to continue he paused.

"That is, if you want to be seen with the reclusive book shop owner who has a penchant for crazy gadgets."

"Heh, won't be reclusive once you've got a pint down your throat." He chuckled, "And we should. Next weekend? Can't do this, got a bit of a deadline for a client.[1]" Johann looked a little dismayed. He'd be at the Leaky Cauldron that weekend, but holed up in one of the rooms working solidly for private clients.

"I'll send you an owl." He agreed, "or drop by if I'm in the Alley when you're open." He shot Liam a grin. "Perhaps drag Colin out or call into to Rover's to see Rufus?" He suggested. Liam and Colin had shared the Ravenclaw dorms at school, and Rufus had been their classmate - both were friends with Johann, and he and Colin had lived together for a while in Uxbridge.

"I shall introduce you to more people though, someone better company than Pinn, anyhow." He thumbed towards his colleague who glanced up and protested,
"Hey!"

1.	Sadly, they Johann doesn't make it owing to the full moon events but we can thread them later in the year if you like?

Liam's smirk faltered a bit when Johann suggested meeting more people.  He'd never been real comfortable in groups of people, preferring to stick to one or two people whom he trusted implicitly.  But part of the reason he had the shop was to meet people, and he'd accomplished that. He had a few friends now, maybe it was time to start breaking out of his comfort zone.

"Not sure about the meeting other people, but I'm game for anything else." Liam told him and stood up.  "Next weekend's good."  He crossed his arms over his chest as the regular feeling of uncomfortable situations crept into his mind. Still, he smiled at the other man and nodded to make sure he knew he was okay with the plan.

Pinn returned the book to Liam's counter as Liam confirmed the next weekend was good. He looked ever so slightly apprehensive what with crossing his arms, but it did not dismay the linguist.

"Great, I'll let you know." Johann met Liam's gaze and smiled boyishly, happy to line up some social contact with Liam. It had been a while since they'd last raised a pint - he saw him more from dropping into the shop.
"It's a cook book." Pinn interrupted, her hands on the cover of the weighty book. "With detailed descriptions of how to pick the best mushrooms and stun the best pheasants."

Johann looked at her as if she'd just come out with gibberish or turned purple, and then realised what she was on about.
"The book! Oh! Right, well now you know how to classify it." He glanced to Liam with a grin.
"And he went that way but I didn't have the heart to interrupt you two." Pinn smiled cheekily, glancing from one to the other. She meant Hamliton, their most irritating colleague who they'd come into the shop to hide from. 
"You're welcome to come for a drink too, Pinn…"
"No, no. You two go right ahead. Thanks for letting me have a nose. Nice to meet you." She smiled brightly at Liam before trailing towards the door.

Johann gave a bemused shrug to Liam, reached over and clapped the former Ravenclaw on the shoulder.
"See you Liam. We best get back to work." He headed after Pinn. "I'll send you an owl!"


End