"See!" Cepheus exclaimed from the floor, "I told you he didn't need a wand."

His face caught up with the surprise at how quickly it had happened, and he grinned, glad when his good mate and joint birthday celebrant released him to haul him back to his feet. Always happy to let Nate show off his non-magical skills with his martial arts - well, as long as he could be healed and didn't get blood on anything that mattered. He clapped the other man into a hug to prove it was all fine and nobody was actually trying to hurt anyone.

The pair had been friends for years now, one of those where one never quite remembered the exact moment they'd become friends, but somehow it had happened quite organically as colleagues. He'd known Jilly before her accident and had seen Calliope grow up, even babysat for Nate in a pinch. It was down to Nate's influence that Cepheus had hiked all manner of places and even tried climbing up rock faces with his heart in his mouth.

Of course it both helped and was a complete hindrance that Nate was easy on the eye, despite his questionable fashion sense on occasion. Cepheus could easily find himself staring too long into those striking blue eyes. But then, Nate knew very well of Ceph's tastes, they didn't let it bother them.

As usual, their livers had barely recovered from New Year, but with their birthdays falling over a weekend, it was only appropriate to see it all out. Hangover potions were brewed specifically for this sort of event, and he'd need a few pints of it before settling down in his new role the next day.

"Could fight crime on all fronts, could Nate." Cepheus elaborated, "But you're missing something, mate." He looked to the Lawyer, gesturing towards and away from him "Where's your queue of admiring ladies? It's y- our bloody birthday!"

December 31st, one of Nate's Hogwarts-aged cousins babysat Calliope so that he could go out with Ceph to celebrate the New Year. Hungover the next day, his daughter woke him up by spilling a bowl of cereal on his face in an attempt to bring him breakfast in bed. After cleanup, she gave him his birthday gift;  a hand-drawn birthday card. On it, was a picture of a sasquatch and an orca getting married-- two creatures near and dear to his heart., despite this unholy union. The rest of his day had been spent with her and his family.

And here he was for round two of birthday celebrations-- getting beers with his old friend Cepheus... And showing off some jiu-jitsu to complete strangers. It still stunned him that wizards in this part of the world were not as into martial arts as they were where he was from. Perhaps it was the region-- some parts of the united states were decidedly... Less muggle than others. The country was far too big for every area to be exactly the same.

"Could fight crime on all fronts, could Nate." 

The wizard opened his mouth to respond-- when Cepheus, of course, mentioned the fact that there was a serious lack of ladies surrounding him.  He hadn't dated much since his wife's passing, though he knew that Jilly would have wanted him to move on by now. She was the practical, unselfish sort. Surely, the fact that he hadn't completely moved on by now would have been dubbed as foolish by her standards. It was easier said than done. Nobody would ever replace her, of course-- but over the last couple weeks he had grown more open to the prospect of meeting somebody new.

"Well, what about you?" Nate countered, "Where's your fan club? You should have dozens of men fawning over you by now."

The New Years Party had been a hit… a smash… a revelation!  And a total hangover inducer.  Margo had not climbed out of bed until around 3 in the afternoon and even then, she’d puttered around, eaten some exceptionally disgusting (re: delicious) Thai food from downstairs and finally climbed in the shower so she could possibly work again tonight. 

Shrugging on her jacket, Margo headed out the door and to the lift – stairs were not her friend – and down she went, then out the door.  Thankfully, Diagon wasn’t too far and the bar wasn’t that much farther.  When she walked in, the workers were already milling around. 

Jefferson was setting chairs and Jesse had showed up already, cleaning cups and whatever.  Margo just pulled her jacket off and hung it up on the hook by the bar.  The one for employees: obviously.  “Hello!” she yelled and waved down the bar.  The employees waved back, greeted and resumed their business. 

Apparently it was already business as usual! 

---

So, hours later and about two glasses of very conservatively (for Margo Amherst) nursed whiskey, Margo was doing her thing: eternal hostess and party person.  Of course, then she got pulled aside by a slightly older person who claimed they wished to buy a pair of patrons drinks for their announced birthday.  Margo followed the wobbly finger toward the two who she presumed were the birthday boys. 

Well, there was only ONE choice:  “I have just the thing,” she grinned and winked before turning on her heel and disappearing behind the bar to whisper in Jesse’s ear.  He gave her a skeptical look, of course, but she was so sincere about it that he just did it.  The two wooden slats in hand, Margo came up just at the tail end of a very interesting conversation. 



“Happy birthday boys!” Margo announced, “Might not have girls – or boys,” she inclined her toward both of them in turn, “on the menu: but a challenge – on the house.”  She put the slabs down, “Triwizard Tournament,” she explained.  “Winner gets a birthday crown!” 

Andromeda was warm all over. She grinned and put down the shot glass. She saw Margo approaching. Andromeda reached for the camera on the table again. Something told her she would need it. Nate throwing her brother on the floor was an ok shot. This was going to be better. She lifted the camera up and exhaled wispy white-blue steam.
"Are you ready?"

"Well, what about you? Where's your fan club? You should have dozens of men fawning over you by now." Nate countered.
"I know! What the heck, Nate." Cepheus exclaimed.

“Happy birthday boys! Might not have girls – or boys on the menu: but a challenge – on the house.” Margo Amherst loomed up laden with drinks and a crooked smile. Nobody at Death & Co. ignored the owner, especially not when it was Margo. Cepheus was all for her new venture - hopefully she'd enjoy her remaining limbs.

“Triwizard Tournament,” she explained, gesturing to the shots. One was firewhiskey, one could smell it, the other two he wasn't so sure. “Winner gets a birthday crown!”

"Crown?!" Ceph exclaimed, sitting up straight and looking around with interest. "What sort of crown are we talking?"

At the other end of the table his younger sister, Andromeda reached for the camera again, lifting it to her face. Steam from her mouth licked around it as she drew the focus.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready?" Her brother exclaimed, and drew himself straight to the drinks before him, elbowing Nate accidentally-on-purpose. "Ready as I'll ever be against Nate." He stretched his arms and cracked his fingers, limbering up. "Count us in, Andie."

Cepheus seized the first, the firewhiskey and threw it back with an uncharacteristic roar which he hoped pleased his Gryffindor sister, dropping the glass as his lungs felt they had been set alight. He wasn't a huge drinker, truth be told. The Murky Lake came next and as soon as it was down Cepheus blinked and wondered why the room was hazy all of a sudden. He instinctively rubbed his eyes, and then exclaimed rudely as he remembered it was a race. He fumbled Last Chance between his fingers in his haste and extended his other hand to try and block Nate and his drink.
"Nooo noo you don't want to drink thaaat."

Andromeda focused the camera on Nate and Ceph.
"Three, two, one, GO!" Andromeda counted for them and clicked the shutter. A puff of sparkly smoke shot out the top of the camera as the flash went off. Ceph roared. Andromeda laughed. Her brother did not drink lots. That was Orion. It was funny to watch him try. She pressed the button again. Cepheus tried to stop Nate drinking. "Cheat!" Andromeda yelled. Even if he was her brother.

So far the birthday night was going well-- Nate honestly, wasn't a big fan of whiskey, but he couldn't very well say no to free shots! The wizard took a hesitant sniff of the first shot, and downed it, nearly choking with laughter as Ceph roared. It seemed like he was ready to compete for the crown, whatever kind of crown it was. Nate was never too competetive, but he could get in the spirit. Especially when Cepheus challenged him.

He flashed a grin at Margo, "Thank you!" He exclaimed, knowing very well that she owned the place. He grabbed some food for lunch on the occasional weekday. Nate picked up his second shot, swatting away Cepheus' hand. He couldn't take the warning to heart-- after all, they were competing.

Nate took the second shot, and everything went blurry. Okay, maybe he didn't want to drink it. But he sure as hell wasn't going to let Ceph drink the last shot. So, he felt around for his friend, stumbled, and tackled him to the ground.

"THE THIRD ONE, GIVE IT TO ME!" He shouted, hoping to find an ally.

Mr. Blue Eyes certainly had a winning grin.  She wasn’t the type to fuss and bat her eyelashes, but she appreciated a nice face and grinned in response, “Anything for some birthday boys,” she winked and shifted her eyes to the other, scruffy man.  His question, she realized, was important. 

What sort of crown are we talking?

“Only the best sort!” Margo responded with incredulity. “Shiny and fit for winners.”  A pause then an extremely deliberate statement: “No loser heads allowed.”

It was true: she had picked the best paper crowns knuts could buy for this – since she anticipated that it would be popular, the play ones she’d originally found had been deemed too much of an expense by her brother and sister, so paper won out in the end, and Margo was just glad they were shiny paper.  None of that matte cardboard nonsense. 

“Now get on with it!” she shouted, and like a shot they were off.  The girl with them had her camera and she supposed it was a camera worthy moment, especially as the steam erupted and roaring ensued.  Margo couldn’t help but laugh. 

This was too beautiful.  Really.

She never got tired of this.    Even the cheating.  Okay, especially the cheating.  Another fit of laughter as they tumbled to the ground – in a somewhat busy place, it wasn’t unusual, but still!  They’d never get back up to find their last shots.  Not at this rate.  She had to end up – just who to help?!  Looking at the pile of man – decided winner: Mr. Blue Eyes.  Even with that ridiculous shirt on.  She couldn’t resist a poorly dressed man.  Grabbing the shot she crouched down (an actually difficult task to do, considering) and put the drink to his lips: “bottoms up!”

"Cheat!" He briefly heard his sister yell and there was a flash of the camera. Nate and Ceph wrestled and then Ceph's back met the floor which knocked most of the breath out of him. But like a boy who had grown up with an older, stronger brother, he struggled back.
"Noooooo! Don't let hiiiim!" Ceph protested, a little noisily for the fact they were in a public place and he was meant to be going back to work to take up a more senior post at the office. Nate was going to win and he'd used his bloody ninja-skills to do it.

"THE THIRD ONE, GIVE IT TO ME!" Nate shouted, and Ceph gave up protesting, laughing and laying back on the floor.
"Bottom's up!"
"Nooooo! I don't believe it!" Cepheus's arms extended upwards, flailing in an attempt to stop his best friend downing Last Chance. Everything was rather fuzzy so he couldn't quite see who or what he was flailing at, and was pretty sure his hand momentarily latched onto Margo by accident.

"Come on, least you can do is hand me mine to toast the winner!" He protested from the floor beneath Nate.

Nate pushed Cepheus down on the floor again. Andromeda jumped up. She took another photo. Margo gave Nate his last shot so he won.
"You play dirty Hawke." Andromeda said. She grinned. It was funny. If she ever challenged Nate to drinking she would be careful. "You are only meant to be on the floor if you drink too much." Andromeda told Ceph off. She waved her wand at his shot.

All it took was a tackle and a plea for help, and he won. Margo helped him take the final shot. Underneath him, Ceph was squirming with laughter as he begged for his shot. Nate staggered to his feet, about to reach for it out of pity when Andromeda beat him to it.  With a slow yet eager smile, Nate faced Margo.

"Where's my crown?" The wizard asked, forehead wrinkling as he raised his eyebrows. "You promised."  He glanced down at Ceph, "Can he also have one? A small one. For losers. It's his birthday too!" Not the most convincing argument that a lawyer could have, but he wasn't quite sober enough to be convincing.

"Ta sis!" Ceph cried from the floor despite her telling him off. Luckily Nate got up a moment later, and Cepheus peeled himself off the floor below for the second time that night.

"Oi! Not a loser's crown," the impending Head of Being Division protested, "a birthday crown and nothing else." He waggled a finger at the murky blur that must be Nate and downed the shot while he was on the floor. Suddenly the world was back in focus, so he used his best friend's legs, waist and arm to haul himself back up on his feet in revenge.

"Go on then, let's see your crown." Ceph demanded squinting at Nate's head with suspicion. "What - just - that?" He exclaimed, feeling it was more the glory than the paper hat that could have warranted his reacquaintance with the floor of the bar. Wrinkling his nose he dusted himself down briefly while he waited for his loser's birthday crown.

“Being a little dirty is never a bad thing,” Margo commented with a bright grin and a salacious wink toward the girl referred to earlier as Andie.   Especially if you happened to be as pretty as Mr. Blue Eyes, otherwise called Nate.  But ah, now there was a crown to produce!

As if on cue, Dorsey appeared with the metallic silver paper crown.  Margo, being ever the cheeky host took it from Dorsey’s hands and motioned the birthday boy – and winner – over with the crook of her finger.  Perching the little hat on in a lopsided sort of cocky fashion – it seemed appropriate for a birthday winner, after all, and she took a step back admiring her handiwork.

"Can he also have one? A small one. For losers. It's his birthday too!"

Margo considered.  “Well, we don’t typically give losers crowns…” she began before being cut off very abruptly…

"Oi! Not a loser's crown.”

So he demanded a birthday crown.  A sudden idea popped into her head and she nodded.  “I guess I can get something,” she grinned and quickly made her way behind the bar to dig around the crowns.  Placing one of the paper crowns on the floor, Margo went to grab her wand… but paused.  “Dorsey!” she called the other witch over. 

If they didn’t want to light the bar on fire (again), she’d let her do it.  The bartender leaned down, raising her perfectly groomed eyebrows and Margo explained her plan.  The other witch commented on her exceptional maturity, which Margo decided to feel really good about and she brought out her wand for a simple glimmering charm.  You know, adding some extra sparkles to it and maybe the fact that it broadcasted LOSER only when the wearer couldn’t see it… you know… all the normal things. 

It was an ostentatious pearly glittering thing…  so when Margo stood up with it, she held it out on flat palms and a wide, devious smile.  “Someone wanted a birthday crown?” she piped up and extended her arms out toward the shorter man – perfection.

"Someone wanted a birthday crown?" Margo asked, revealing a rather glittery one from behind the bar.
"Ooh, now there we go." Cepheus exclaimed, and dipped his head to allow Margo to oblige in placing it on his head, even if he was a tad shorter than her already. It perched on his black hair looking a tad ridiculous, but Ceph didn't care.

"Thank you Margo - I shall wear it with pride."

He drew himself up, patted his chest proudly, completely unaware it was flashing LOSER in big letters above him.

Nate said Cepheus should also have a crown. She thought Nate looked better in a crown than her brother. "It is still a crown." Andromeda replied. A crown was still a crown even if it was paper. As soon as she saw Ceph's crown, Andromeda lifted the camera and took photos. "Precious." She smiled. Andromeda tried not to laugh. "I think that is the best photo all night."