Running into Hogsmeade was becoming a bit of a habit for Dexter lately. Granted this was one of those times where he was walking about for pleasure rather than business. With work and dealing with runaway children all over the Hogwarts grounds, the first few weeks were already rather eventful. Who knew that it could be so busy already?

In the past two weeks, Dexter had chased students out of the pens, rescued a child hexed into a disappearing step, talked a student out of a tree and gave treats to a dog swimming in a lake. All in all it added up to a rather busy first few weeks of work. This was the first year he was Head of Gryffindor House so he had his hands full. Tied to the school as he was, Dexter was surprised how much spare time he had to wander the streets for fresh aire.

Then again, even lonely old professors needed a breather. If the first two weeks was any indication of what he would have to deal with for the rest of term, Dexter contemplating taking up stronger way of coping. Alcohol. Shaking his head at the very thought, he walked swifter through the streets of Hogsmeade.

There however out of the corner of his eye was a shop he hardly noticed before. Was he really that distracted that he hadn't noticed the little tea shop tucked away as it was? Rubbing his eyes to make certain it was not an aberration he decided he could certainly use a cup of tea. So with a brief check of how many coins were in his pocket, Dexter made his way towards the door and entered the teashop a sent of oils and leaves damn near knocking him on his bum as he entered. A fresh scent, just strong and not unpleasant. Dex grinned a little as he made his way into the shop.

Jo was just ringing up the total for a customer. “I hope you enjoyed it,” she said sweetly to the couple who had just sat down for the large platter meal. The weekends tend to bring more business, and not to mention more familiar faces. The couple she had just served she was sure had been there just last weekend, and perhaps the weekend before. Jo was slowly learning the names and faces of the regulars, and boy was she proud of the fact she had regulars.

Just as the weekend brought in faces she had seen before, she was beginning to see more faces that were new. It probably all came down to the fact that Hogwarts was back up and running, the Professors needed a little time to themselves on the weekend. Curiosity often got the better of her, wondering what Professors still lingered in the halls since her days. She seriously doubted any f them would, but one could always remain curious.

For a brief moment it was just herself at the front of the shop, a few customers in the room to the left nursing their tea and platters. Peggy was tending to them leaving Jo free to help the customers at the front, and stock anything they needed. Since there was little to do for the moment she sat wondering how her son was doing with grandma for the day. She hated being away from him for so many hours of the day but she had to so they could keep living in the way they did, even if it wasn’t great.

Another body entered the store snapping her from her thoughts. “Welcome to Divine Tea, how can I help you?” She asked rounding the counter and looking at the man. Boy did he look familiar, and did it ever take her back. That definite flutter in her stomach brought back memories. Was it actually Dex Pratt? Jo didn’t want to embarrass herself but she was so sure it was Dex. “Dexter Pratt?” She asked rather enthused. She hoped she was not wrong, but she doubted she would be after all, all that time staring at him had to have come in handy eventually.

The light from outside was distracting him from his surroundings. There had been so many scents, and stimuli he could hardly be judged for his lack of attention to those where surrounding him. The hustle and bustle was a bit intoxicating, to be around movement of adults instead of hearing the yells and squeals of children bickering within their social groups, it was a treat. Even though the first part of the year had barely reared it's ugly head, he could feel it weighing heavily on him this term. Maybe it was the added pressure, Dexter thrived under pressure, he could only hope he would continue down that path.

When he heard his name he snapped back to attention. Someone knew him, perhaps a parent of a child he taught. No the voice was familiar, like a cloudy memory. A faded thought bringing him back to a time where he had the world by the broom handle and was making the most of it. At the top of his game, prefect when he left his house his seventh year, Dexter married the woman he thought he loved more than life.

Who knew it would be only a couple years later that ring of gold would become a pale white circle, and then eventually fade completely. The band he though bound the pair for life was a lie, and Dexter was left all alone raising a daughter who couldn't understand why her mother liked her uncle Leonard more than her daddy. It was stomach churning, gut wrenching, heart breaking, and past remembering all by a little voice. The voice was not of his ex-wife or his former best friend instead it was a neutral party, a voice of comfort.

"Jo?" He blinked rapidly as the name rolled off his tongue. A blast from the past if he ever saw one. The two lost touch when he ran off to Romania to be some great Dragon researcher, he was too busy being the father, the lover, the man of the family to keep in touch with his younger friend. A pang of guilt hit him when he realized how much his ex made him lose, "It's been too long there Minkus," a smile crossed his lips and met his eyes. Looking her over he could see how much she had grown up since Hogwarts, "Not a little Gryff anymore I see," he was still thinking of her as a kid but that was not the case.

“Far too long,” she chuckled as she walked towards him more. He had not changed too much from what she remembered but he had definitely aged and filled out more, perhaps for the better. He was definitely still as attractive as he was in Hogwarts; he was lucky it was not something he outgrew. Just as she was thinking such things she realized she probably should not be thinking things like that about a married man. For the last she had heard, heck perhaps she had just assumed, Dexter had gone off and married that girl he was in love with in school. Yes, Jo had been a bit bitter at the time because Jo had to settle for just being the friend. She had years to get over that and she did, but seeing Dexter had sparked up some memories.

“Nope, no more am I the little Gryffindor you once tutored.” The grin would not leave her lips. She felt stupid for smiling this much but seeing Dexter had that effect on her after all these years. It was as if it were a blast from the past. “Man it is good seeing you again.” She said as she took the leap of faith and moved in for a hug. Nobody else needed her attention at that exact moment so why no indulge a friend.

Letting the hug linger for a moment or two she pulled away. “Now what brings you here to Divine Tea.” She looked around. It was a curious thing to have a lone man standing her store, it didn’t happen that often unless they where just here to buy a cup of tea to go. Heck that was probably was what he was doing.

A fluid memory emerged as he looked at her. It was squashed with thoughts of passion and heat he hadn't felt in a while. A costume party, two years after his ex left him knocking the wind and life out of him, there had been a chance encounter with a girl who looked surprisingly like his former close friend from Hogwarts. There was a little too much fire whiskey under his belt, and his mates egging him on to forget the bint who crushed his heart. So with the interest in breaking his dry streak, and getting her out of his mind he foolishly hooked up with a girl at a pub. Not just any girl, Jo. It was a distant and foggy memory over eight years old now, and they haven't seen each other since, he practically forgot about it except for now standing front of her it was like a slap in the face. When he woke she was gone before the break of dawn and he found himself without a way to get in touch, so he went on with life.

Feeling some pink tinge around his ears, Dex allowed a spare hand to find his hair as she held him and released. "Um, yeah just been skipping about looking for things to occupy my time before I have to head back towards the castle. Thought maybe I would stop for a cup of tea, had no idea this shop existed," light conversation was not going to solve the lump he found in his throat forming for lack of a proper way to interact with an old friend. How is it that a memory could be so clouded that it could be for the most part forgotten until that very moment.

"Doing well for yourself I see," he tried to shift gears and make sense of the words coming out of his mouth. "Haven't seen you in awhile.. I said that already haven't I?" He was starting to fumble over himself. 'Save face you moron', Dexter thought to himself in almost an internal scream. "So what tea do you suggest?"

As much as it was a memory for Dexter it was something Jo lived with. How she wished she had stuck around that morning just to spend some time with him and live in the moment for at least a few hours. If she had maybe she would have felt less guilty, or maybe even more so. Jo always thought that night she had been the cause for Dexter to cheat on his wife, the woman she was so sure he had married. She had never stopped to ask questions, intoxication could do that to you. That memory was something she lived with, and saw in the face of her son. She never had the guts to tell Dexter, inform him, but she didn’t want to screw things up.

After the hug she just wanted to forget about it. Benjy wasn’t his other than genetics, maybe she would one day tell him but not right now. She just wanted to catch up with Dex how they should have done years ago. The way he was talking to her confirmed with her that he had indeed forgotten that night, and probably didn’t remember it. Jo would just forget about it.

“Well in your defense the shop didn’t exist other than in imagination till August.” She smiled playfully at him as she opened up one of the pamphlets that had a menu you could take home with you. “I like all the teas, else I wouldn’t serve them,” she said as she opened it up to him. Of course showing him the tea list involved getting close to him again. She pointed out two teas she thought he might like. “We have the Mangosonne tea which is nice, and the Bourbon Vanilla.” She paused looking up at him, “If you want something less fruit thought I suggest the Early Grey Cream.”

Looking now, onto the face of his friend who has grown up considerably since their last ill-fated rendezvous and even more since their former years of school, Dexter felt aged considerably. Was it so hard to look onto their night of passion as a stupid mistake on both parts. If he had known how the night was go maybe he wouldn't have had so much to drink, or he wouldn't have invited her to his place. The 'what ifs' rang in his mind like wind chimes in his mind after storm, regret was there greedily beckoning him to apologize for their past discretion.

Dexter remained silent on the subject. She didn't seem like she wanted to discuss it, besides this was not the venue to dig deeper into the past. There was a lot of wonder in his heart to why she ran off like that. Dexter had little doubt that when the time had come he got the job done, but to wake up and find she was gone with little more then her scent lingering on the pillows and to his dismay no note.

That hug though she gave him though told the story, it was long, warm, inviting. Dexter felt himself caught up with internal confusion.  The frustration of not being able to make sense of the mess was still weighing on him.

“Well in your defense the shop didn’t exist other than in imagination till August.”

"That does give my observational skills a little more credit. It would have been really pathetic if you told me you have been working here for the past year or so considering I bring the students here every Hogsmeade weekend." Looking about he took in the scenery a little, "Quaint little shoppe you got here though I have to say. You've done well for yourself since we last spoke."

Thinking for a moment his eyes looked at her with interest, "If I get a cup of Early Grey Cream does that come with some company? It would be nice to catch up, that is of course unless you are too busy with the other patrons."

“Thanks,” Jo said as she looked around the shop. “I am quite pleased with the way it turned out and business is growing everyday.” She had to admit she had not expected things to turn out this great, but she was extremely happy they had. It also had an upside she had not expected and that was seeing that Dexter Pratt was in her shop and could potentially return knowing that an old friend was here.

After Hogwarts she had not expected to see Dexter and let alone have that experience that night eight years ago. She had not expected to find him walking back into her life through the doors of her establishment but to be honest she was not complaining. Still their was guilt for not telling him about Benjy but maybe if he spent more time with her she could build up that courage.

“You know I think I can give you a cup of Early Grey Cream and my company.” Jo chuckled as she moved around to the back of the counter and started to steep some of the tealeaves into a good-sized cup. “If you would like to we can go into the office,” she pointed towards the small door that led to the backroom. “That way if I am needed I can pop out, but I am entitled to a break now and then.”

“Now do you take any milk or sugar?” She looked at the steeping leaves it was getting close to the two minutes which meant the tea would be ready in about another two. “Or would you prefer some honey instead?” She asked brushing a few strands of hair from her face.

It was a pleasant shoppe, one any person who owned it would be pleased to own he was sure of it. If he had gone into the business of running his own shoppe he would figure a handsome one like this would be right up his alley. Granted he had no idea what he would have sold in a shoppe, it didn't change that he wouldn't mind a similar one if life had been a little different. "My daughter would love this place, you should see her now she is fifteen going on thirty so bloody mature it scares me sometime." His former ring hand brushed some of his brown hair strands away from his forehead.

Office, privacy, yes that would be good. "Sounds like a brilliant idea." There should be time for a boss to have time off he thought to himself. When he worked with Dragons in Romania it was a rare day when he wasn't heading back to bed exhausted from all of the work involved, what little rest they could get during certain activities were not taken for granted. Now as a professor there was periods of rest given to them, when they weren't hunting down children who skipped class or chasing students from hanging off things in the castle.

Sometimes Dexter felt like a babysitter rather than a professor anymore. This year was the hardest to date, though the year barely begun he was already hosting detentions and taking away points. "Lite sugar, no cream and thank you. I have to say you look rather well. What has it been now seven or so years since I last saw you?" Maybe there was a way to segue into the uncomfortable conversation he knew they would need to get out of the way.

“Well let her know I am here and when they get that chance to come to Hogsmeade she can drop in.” Jo had to admit she was extremely excited about the Hogwarts students popping in; no doubt it would drum up some business. Jo would have to keep an eye out for Dex’s little girl, well perhaps not so little. Jo looked up just in time to watch his fingers move through his hair, and Jo was not slow enough not to notice a ring on his hand. Jo wondered if she had a hand in it or if it was something that had taken place before that night.

Jo looked back down at her work in front of her and poured the tea into the cup stirring in some sugar. “Well here is your cup.” She said with a big smile on her face before moving around the counter to join him so they could head into the back office. “It has been eight years,” Jo knew better than anyone else just how long it had been as she had a reminder of it every day. “You look just as good as you always did.” She smiled as she walked towards the back room.

“So how is working at the school?” Jo had always wondered what it was like as a Professor rather than a student. “Do you like teaching? Is it a change from actually being out in the field?”

Dexter gave her a smile, "I will be certain to send Maddie your way when she has her first Hogsmeade weekend. It's not often she gets to meet my old house mates, hell Dora didn't care much for any of them when she was growing up might of been why I fell off the face of the planet myself." Dora was a jealous woman who had wanted Dex all to herself and when she had to share, she went for a weaker man who would make her the only real occupation. Leonard took Dora away, and Dex was left in a funk for two years. Two long years of not being able to really date or see anyone without feeling the need to go home and check on the well being of his daughter the only point of light he had in the dim dark former life they built together. Madeline had been one of his key reasons for coming back from the blackness, and he credited her birth with being the only good thing to come from his brief marriage.

She corrected him on the accuracy of his dates and times, "Eight? Merlin's beard how time does fly when you are completely involved in your own life... Sorry for losing touch like I did." Then again Dexter couldn't be certain who lost contact with who. The letters he wrote her after the incident had remained unsent. While his ex-wife was off gallivanting, Dexter never thought he could enjoy a relationship and raise a daughter properly if his heart was else where. So while he wrote long scrolls of apology for what he assumed was a misstep on his part, those pieces of parchment found themselves in the fire soon after completion. There was no need to force something that she obviously hadn't wanted at the time. Wincing at the murky memory, Dexter wondered why she had scampered off like that.

Taking the cup he followed and chuckled at the compliment, "You have to say that you are seeing me for the first time in eight years." Once in the back room he took a seat and looked up at her waiting for the tea to cool, "It's been interesting. The school year was already off to quite the start, I can only hope it will mellow out as it rolls on. Made Head of House this year, can you imagine..." he spoke wistfully as he took a sip of the tea a small smile crossing his lips, "Very good... no wonder you are the boss."

“You know it was a shame you fell off the face of the planet like that, I enjoyed spending time with you in school.” It wasn’t a lie some of Jo’s favourite times in Hogwarts were the time that Dex tutored her. She had always been jealous of his girlfriend and how easily she kept him close. Jo missed him greatly in the years she remained at Hogwarts after his time there. Jo has always wondered what it would have been like had she remained that morning and not left, if she woke up next to him. “I look forward to the chance of meeting your daughter,” Jo was curious to know what she was like and if she looked more like Dex or her mother.

“Yeah eight years do fly by,” especially when you were raising a child by yourself. She had always regretted not calling him or telling him about Benjy. Jo was just worried to screw things up between them and between Dex and his wife. Apparently that was not something she should not have been concerned about it. She had to ask about it but she would work up to the questions of his love life. She didn’t want to know about who he was with know, but she at least wanted to know she was not the cause for the split.

“No it is something I always thought, you always looked good.” Jo smiled as she sat down and leaned back in her chair. “So don’t sell yourself short.” Jo laughed a little as she ran her fingers through her hair. It was true she had always thought him attractive. “After all I had a huge crush on you in Hogwarts.” Jo blushed a little at the mere mention of it, it wasn’t something she had ever discussed.

“You are head of Gryffindor!” Jo said in excitement. “That is brilliant!” She never could have thought Dex would be a professor let alone head of house, but now that he was it made a whole lot of sense. “Congratulations are in order I think.” She grinned from ear to ear. “And thank for the compliment on the tea.” Sure it took some time to get right but the greatness of the tea was not in the making of the tea but in the blend and care of the tea leaves.

“Now do tell what happened with Dora?” Jo asked as she settled in for a conversation. She let her eyes drift to a few photos on her desk and smiled as she saw the pictures of her and her son. Watching herself play with her son in the photo made a smile play on her lips even more. Jo looked back over to Dexter. “I can see that lack of wedding band on your finger.”

"Work took me in one direction as did raising a child on my own, it's been a rough sea but the two of us seem to do alright for ourselves," he took another sip of his cooling tea. It was a nice blend, very calming. Dexter could understand why Jo enjoyed tea so much, it was his favorite beverage next to Fire Whiskey. It was also acceptable to drink tea in the middle of the afternoon and he wasn't looked upon as a lush or a wino if he sipped it in the daylight. Social norms, who needed them?

When she mentioned meeting his daughter he smiled, "Yeah she is getting to be a hand full, but I am proud of her. Luckily she takes after me," It would have been wrong of him to speak ill of his ex in front of Madeline, however he was thankful she took after him. If she took after Dora he feared their relationship might have been a strained one as she grew older.

What he did notice was that as she grew older, she was becoming a woman without the guidance of her mother there. Dexter may have disliked Dora, he practically hated her for what she did to him. Making him look a fool in front of his friends, and their family killed him inside. However he could not completely despise her because she was the mother of his daughter, who since birth, was the light of his life. To think someone he grew to hate helped him make a person he loved so deeply confused Dexter. It was not his daughter's fault that Dora ran off with Leonard, and he was not about to keep her from a relationship with her mother. Though Dora's lack of interest in maintaining lines of communication with their only child disgusted him.

When Jo complimented his looks, Dex felt a red creep in over his cheeks. "You fancied me in school? Why is it that I only find out about this now?" What was it about time that made it so easy for people to admit their true feelings for someone. Chuckling at the awkwardness of the conversation he took another sip. "Yes, Head of Gryffindor it's a brilliant job. Not sure how I can fill the shoes of our former Head of House, but I shall try." Dexter puffed out his chest a little proudly displaying his confidence.

The puffed out confidence dwindled however when Jo asked about his wife. "It appears that Dora had a special relationship with my former best mate, you remember Leonard don't you?" He sighed deeply, "Left me flat with Maddie about ten years ago now. I rarely have any contact with her anymore, other then to ask her why she isn't writing her daughter..." though he knew Madeline hated his meddling, Dexter still felt a pang of guilt when she opened gifts from him only under their Christmas tree or on her Birthday. "Seems that romance was not meant to go much farther than Hogwarts."

“I am pleased to hear she takes after you,” Jo knew it was somewhat wrong to speak ill of someone’s ex like that, but Dora had never been one of her favourite people at school. Okay so her feelings of contempt probably were fostered by the petty fact that she had Dexter and Jo didn’t. Jo really didn’t want to go down those thought paths at the moment. “She has had a good influence so you really could only expect her to take after you a little more than her mother.”

“It was quite obvious Dex, or at least I thought it was.” Jo chuckled, “You just had a girlfriend, why would I go around confessing feelings for someone I obviously had no chance of getting.” Well apparently Jo did have a chance, just later on in life. She really did regret leaving that morning, who knew how things might have been had she hung around and woken up in his arms instead of just leaving without a word or a not.

“I am sure you will fill the shoes just find and make your own shoes to fill when you eventually leave.” She grinned from ear to ear. Jo was just glad that Dex had found happiness after everything that had gone on in his life. She felt the smile fading though as the topic of his ex wife came up, but Jo was curious. She brushed some strands of hair from her face looking at Dexter.

“Leonard!?” Jo was rather surprised by this had she honestly gone off with Leonard rather than stay with Dexter? “Bloody hell I am sorry mate.” Jo was just shocked by such things; she really could not make sense of the fact that he had lost the girl to his best mate. “Well she obviously was not meant for you, nor was Leonard your true best mate.”

"You and me both, if it wasn't for the fact that she has some of her mum's features I could have sworn she spawned off of me," he chuckled at his own stupid joke. "Impossible I know, but it's nice to have someone so much like me as my little girl. The only thing that worries me is if I am doing all I can as her father," he paused and took a sip of the still warm liquid. It flushed his cheeks a little with the warmth of the tea, it was strong and tasted better with each sip. "I mean she is a girl, and I know she cannot ask me or tell me everything. It hurts to know that I cannot substitute for the mum she lost, I try even though I know..."

Dex ran a hand through his already fluffed hair. He had done this several times since they started talking that day, a nervous habit he picked up when he was younger. It was a wonder he didn't go bald at this point with the amount of times essays made him want to tug at his strands and his daughter had him thinking he was losing his hair.

She was confessing her past feelings for him and he was dumbfounded, "I had no clue..." he felt a little foolish now. If he had been truly paying attention, really looking at the woman he was sitting with he would have known all along her feelings for him. Instead he was so wrapped up in Dora he was lucky he knew his own last name, a Pratt family tradition it seemed. They locked themselves away in the love of someone until they were hurt and then lost all sense. "It was stupid, wasted so many years on a woman who didn't really want a relationship with me. On the upside my daughter was born so it couldn't have been all a big loss, everything happens for a reason. Hopefully you and your husband, er or boyfriend are doing better than Dora and I," he assumed that Jo had to be attached, she was attractive and had an amazing personality.

He remembered how they used to pal around constantly growing up in Hogwarts, he always thought of her fondly. Their one night of sweaty passion had thrown him off, he had seen her like a sister in school and she shattered that image with the passage of time and the closing of the bed curtains. It was a wild night and he sadly never had closure to it, though she did help him move on from his wife that day in a rather large way.

"Nope, no mate of mine. Alas the girl for me is also eluding me at the moment, it just doesn't seem to be in the cards for me at the moment. Enough about me though, I am a rather boring topic, how have you been other than being a brilliant shop owner. I feel like we haven't spoken in ages," he looked at her with renewed clarity.