"I marched him out the lift." Said Andromeda. "By the elbow. Then suggested he had some sick interest in our family. Not sick. I cannot remember the exact word I used."

Andromeda pressed her palm into her forehead. Slid her fingers into her dark hair. Pulled. She uncharacteristically drooped over the table. Both arms of her leather jacket resting on the sticky wood. Hand clawed round her glass. She was describing what happened on her way out of the office. How she had dragged her brother's new boyfriend into Transport. Grilled him. Brought up their age gap. All the stupid things the papers said about Gamps.

"If I was a brother and Ceph was my sister it would be normal right? Maybe it is because of what our parents did. Hex me. Now he thinks I am a dick." Andromeda sighed. Deflated. Drank deep.

"Fuck. I am doom and gloom. Thank you for listening." Raised her glass. "Who else could I rely on to drink on a Tuesday with me? What is going on for you?"

Tara nodded along, she wasn't entirely sure how to help the other woman with her problems, she'd never had siblings to defend really, but she could understand the sentiment regardless, even if it didn't match traditional gender roles as Andromeda was describing, although that meant very little all around to herself anyway in the end.

"If it was you as a brother, it could look like you're simply picking on your siblings...questionable choice in partners." She shrugged as she sipped at her firewhiskey, putting the glass down she leaned back in the seat.

"And no, you're nowhere near as doom and gloom as me, for a start I don't think you're excited about the opportunity to punch a child in a couple of days, so that's probably saying something, and you've probably got a better dating game going on." She shrugged gently. it wasn't as if she was really looking forwards to punching children, just more as a chance to make fun of a baby auror.

Sure she was with an Auror now but that was because Andromeda didn't seem as up themselves as most others about their position, or atleast so far, things were liable to change in the future.

"What's going on with me? Apparently not much as I'm reliable for drinking on a tuesday." She said with a faint joking smirk. "Otherwise not too much, settling into work here, apparently Hit-Wix are underused for you lot. Oh and in a couple of days I'm going to be a giant mess of fur that will try killing anyone nearby." She took another sip of her drink. "And likely I'll succeed if there's a single rusty nail, don't worry I've got a safehouse planned in the middle of nowhere."

Lix Mordent, healer by day, collected friends by night. Admittedly, some of her friends had been more than such in the past, but these days she was tied to blonde bombshell and badass Deputy Head of the Department of Law Enforcement, Eva Kuester. A couple of drinks in, the witches at the table with her were overlooking the fact she was dating one of their bosses. Truth was, these two witches were bosses of their own design.

Andromeda Gamp was uncharacteristically despairing over a decision. She had always been so direct, so assertive, but Lix supposed that the past year, and certainly the past month, had upset that stone foundation.

“If I was a brother and Ceph was my sister, it would be normal right?” Gamp asked, while similarly butch Tara Sallow nodded along to the account.

“If it was you as a brother,” the hitwitch counselled, “it could look like you’re simply picking on your sibling’s questionable choice in partners.”

“Mhm,” Lix agreed. “You’re only looking out for him, and who can blame you with everything lately. But maybe ease off? He is a grown man, even if that doesn’t count for much sometimes.” She grinned.

Cepheus Gamp had once stood in her living room, perusing Arcturus Hollingbury’s book collection, waiting for Lix’s housemate to rise and join him for breakfast. Lix knew it had all come to an end, Arc’s relationships never seemed to run smoothly, but she had not realised Ceph had already moved on with someone notably younger.

“Fuck. I am doom and gloom. Thank you for listening. Who else could I rely on to drink on a Tuesday with me? What is going on for you?” Auror Gamp raised her glass, and their glasses met in the middle of the table.

Tara brushed it aside, deciding she was going to outdo her auror colleague on this measurement.
“… I don’t think you’re excited about the opportunity to punch a child in a couple of days…”

“What?” Lix asked, eyebrows drawing together in confusion at this statement, dark gaze turning to Sallow instead.

“… you’ve probably got a better dating game going on.”

“Nah, I win there.” Lix smiled smugly, and traced a finger round the rim of her glass.

“… in a couple of days I’m going to be a giant mess of fur that will try killing anyone nearby…” Lix pressed her lips together, the corner of her mouth turning down at the monthly curse Tara suffered.

“Try not to,” Lix suggested, though her tone indicated she fully accepted there was not much past taking wolfsbane for the nights leading up to the full moon.

“Is it a Ministry one?” She asked, referring to the safehouse, “only I read the Ministry’s cracking down on unregulated and private safehouses.” She looked to Andie. “Have you managed to get yours sorted?” Andromeda wasn’t a werewolf, but Lix knew she was making a safehouse for someone she loved.

Tara thought Virgil Carstairs was questionable. Elixa thought she should let Cepheus make his own mistakes. Andie did not want to think about it all night. Tara had bigger stuff on her mind. Her werewolf transformation. The full moon was nearly there. Andie's cousin Tia also had the curse. They had been busy converting the cellar of the Gamp house at Godric's Hollow. From mysteries hell hole to safe room.

"Waiting for the inspection." Said Andie. "Takes a long time for someone to come out. Then they pick fault. Delay another moon cycle. Meanwhile word is the Ministry ones do not get a proper inspection." She hunched her shoulders. Not really keen to bad mouth another team. Who were very busy. Frustrated for Tia.

"Ministry." She replied bluntly, she didn't have the resources right now to construct her own holding cell or likely the patience when there are others available for use. "I like to go to ones that are less visited however, probably in much worse shape then well kept home ones." She nodded her head to acknowledge Andie, it wouldn't surprise her if the Ministry just kept on with being fine at itself while condemning others for doing more then they did for themselves.

She noticed the dark look that Elixa gave her when talking about the child. "Its a baby auror, don't worry about it, and she asked for a training partner."

She looked back towards Andie with a malicious smirk. "If you need me to get some attention for an inspector, I can see about kicking up a fuss in Level Four, I'm planning on going down there somepoint, might aswell shove a boot up someone to make them work for a living."

"How do you win the dating game? Got anyone right now, or atleast not going for fools like someone's brother?" She asked with a side eye to the Healer.

"Waiting for the inspection." How frustrating! Lix felt that frustration herself on hearing the response, and that could be nothing on what the Gamps were feeling.

"If you need me to get some attention for an inspector, I can see about kicking up a fuss in Level Four..." Tara offered. Lix shook her head ever so slightly. It wasn't a you-shouldn't-do-that shake it was a I-don't-doubt-you'd-love-to one.

"How do you win the dating game? Got anyone right now, or at least not going for fools like someone's brother?" Tara asked.

"I've had my fair share of fools, don't worry," Lix assured her. She had not told the details to the hitwitch ever, as they were newer acquaintances, but it was no secret in London that Lix Mordent had graced the bedsheets of partners of all genders in double figures in a couple of years, and in Sweden the list was a lot longer. "Are you suggesting that monogamy is not a good look on me, Tara?" Lix teased, framing her chin with the backs of her palms.

"No, me and Kuester have been going strong since last July, somehow!" Evangeline Kuester was superior in Magical Law Enforcement to both her drinking companions, though only since the start of the year.

"It hasn't come up in conversation, darling, hope it's not too much of a surprise." Kuester had believed herself straight as an arrow before, after all, and was straight-laced at work. She wasn't the sort of witch to talk about her private life, especially given the jobs she had held before.

"That's why I was off the market this valentine's day. Andie had her chance before that." She reached out to playfully push the upper arm of the auror. "Maybe you two should just be friends with benefits and cheer each other up." Lix winked, and grinned, thumbing between auror and hitwitch. She did love to stir the cauldron.

"Who is to say we have not already?" Said Andromeda. Straight face. Elixa talked about her sex life and desires as much as she went on nights out. She broke when she saw Tara's face. "If only getting someone off was the solution to everything." Said Andromeda. "I know it is for you." She looked at Lix. "Next time I have to talk to Kuester about something serious I am going to owl you. Make sure you give her a good time. Put her in a good mood for me." She drank deep. "Maybe I prefer to look out of the office." Said Andie. "But it is mostly what I see."

It took all of Tara's strength to stop herself from spitting her drink out as Elixa offered the idea of friends with benefits, it was rather unexpected to have it said casually, especially when Andromeda didn't seem to even rebuff it and just offered the simple answer of, but maybe they are? If they were it was something that Andromeda had never discussed with her, seemed a little rude for them to have such a close relation without informing her of them having sex.

"When were you going to inform me of our sex life?" She asked in a more casual tone as she glanced over at Andie, a small smirk playing on her lips, followed by a short shake of her head as she looked down. "I don't think we'd work out. I've not been with a girl but. I prefer dick too much. Unless..." She gave a mischievous grin towards Andromeda to tease her a little bit.

She leaned back and resumed sipping her drink softly as she glanced towards the bartender, holding up three fingers and gesturing to them all so they might all get another drink, before returning to the two.

"Would you be able to tell me whenever you and Kuester do go at it? I wanna ask for a raise."

“If only getting someone off was the solution to everything. I know it is for you.” Andie took a dig. Lix stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

“Next time I have to talk to Kuester about something serious I am going to owl you…”
“… I wanna ask for a raise…”

“Yeah, yeah… you haven’t been the first to say it since word got out.” Lix batted a hand at Andie and then at Tara. “We don’t talk about work if we can help it. Most of it is confidentiality like, for specifics.” Lix was a healer, and as much as she made jokes, she did take her job seriously. Kuester meanwhile wasn’t the sort to crack jokes often, and took her job super seriously. A lot of what she dealt with was heavy, so it was a priority to take her mind off it when they were together. It didn’t mean they didn’t bitch about things behind closed doors, but Lix wasn’t about to tell two of Kuester’s underlings that…

“But winding back there…” Lix gestured with her fingers as if winding a roll of string up, “did you just infer Andie was fuckable if she can grow a dick?”

"You know. I think she did." Said Andromeda. "You know a girl can get a penis without a man these days." She looked dead serious. "Man optional." She was winding Tara up. A little. Maybe. "Eh not my thing Tara. Sorry chick." Andromeda shook her head. Everyone was curious about being a metamorphmagus. Only adults wanted to know if she could change what was in her pants though. Eye-roll. Mind their own business.

"Have you been invited to Hericho's birthday?" Said Andromeda to Tara. Changing the subject. "I took her out on a job yesterday. Higgins thought he had been burgled." She added to Lix. "The floo guy."

"I plead the fifth." She replied to Elixa, before glancing at Andie, she wasn't sure if she had taken offence at it or seemed genuine with her own comment before Tara just sighed and leaned down at her drink. Doing her best to let the comment slide about men being optional, she'd admit to it. "Yeah but you need a man, after all, how else will they tell you it was great and fall asleep after five seconds." She gave a soft smirk as she sipped her drink once more.

Hericho rang a bell, she shook her head however at the question.

"Nah, she's the child I'm going to punch in a couple of days." She said with a tone of pride. "Also I'm not really invited to any parties except full moon ones, I think its to do with my full of energy attitude." She broke into a somewhat dark, while also girlish giggle at her own joke of her lycanthropy.

Oh poor Tara, Andie could be so blunt. Neither of them had their feet far from their mouth once a few drinks were down.

“Higgins thought he had been burgled. The floo guy.”

“Ohhh the floo guy.” Lix’s eyes widened at the memory of a ginger haired wizard wearing a waistcoat with as many pockets as a fisherman. Johann had warned her never to make eye contact if possible, that she would be stuck forever. Luckily he was more likely to end up in Spell Damage than Potions and Poisons.

“Nah, she’s the child I’m going to punch in a couple of days…” Tara replied about the name Lix didn’t recognise.

“Why are you going to punch her?” She asked.

Tara gave the shadow of a smirk as she glanced back at Elixa, she was probably taking more pride in this then she should be, but if anything, it was the only way for her not to be annoyed or upset at the idea of having to fight recreationally instead of as part of her full job in real situations.

"Well, she's asking for further combat training, and as I'm the, newest." She did air quotes with her fingers. "Hit-witch, also cause they're jealous I'm prettier. I've been assigned to give her some lessons."

She finished the last of her drink with a small sip.

"So I'm gonna teach her to not just rely on your wand in a fight, what's more unexpected in a magical duel then a punch to the face?"

A punch was a unique birthday present. Birthday bumps maybe!

"Unlucky." Said Andie. "She has a lot to learn." Hericho was a good learner. Not always enthusiastic. But she got there. Tara would be a good teacher. Traumatizing or make the trainee up her game. Andie hoped it would be the second.

"Make sure you throttle her." Suggested Andie. "I threw a wizard over my shoulder in the field once." Andie was one of the shortest aurors. "Learned it from Fenny. Hitwizard." She said for Lix. "He going to retire when they send Musgrave to Azkaban?" Hitwizards did not have long careers. They got killed. Injured. Or changed careers if they wanted to live longer.  "He's the bald guy who guards him. You maybe seen him." To Lix again.

"I may of met him." She nodded softly to her, before leaning back in her seat, taking her new drink with a smirk as she glanced back around at the other two, trying to gauge the reaction from Elixa, Andromeda at the very least seemed into the idea of punching the soon to be birthday girl, although the fact it was her birthday meant nothing to her, she wasn't going to go easy on her due to it.

"There's quite a few bald Hit-wIx, it sort of comes with the job. I was almost made bald at one point." The idea did bring about a thought...would a bald person still be bald when in their werewolf form? Were there bald werewolves? What would that even look like? It must look like all saggy and scrunched like a bear...must be worse for the male werewolves.

She took a soft sip of her new drink.

"Never underestimate physical contact in a duel. No one expects it because you know...the ability to create a flaming hurricane with a few swishes."