Despite his workaholic nature, Simon was due an evening to relax every now and then. He was reassuring himself of this fact as he entered the Leaky Cauldron, his cloak folded over his arm, unneeded in the warm evening air. Warm for London, anyway. The fact he was still clad in the suit he'd worn to work was also factoring into the fact he didn't need the cloak. London didn't really have hot nights. 

It was sometimes difficult to get Simon out of the hospital - and not just because half the time when he was getting ready to go home someone got rushed in and he had to go explain to them that, yes, turning your nose into a frog was entirely treatable. Then, of course, there were the non-treatable cases...

Thankfully today had been pretty mundane; aside from one of their long-term mental ward patients making a run for it, everyone he'd dealt with today had been treatable without serious loss to their limbs or impact on their lives. For Simon, that was a good day.

The pub was crowded as ever, and Simon headed off to a far corner, where it was a little quieter. He wasn't a big drinker, but the occasional reunion with school friends was certainly deserving of it - besides, the woman he was here to meet was a big drinker (despite his warnings to her on the contrary). Some people didn't like their livers. But a little beer never really hurt.

Hearing the door to the pub open, he glanced over and spotted Althea. Smiling, he waved her over.

Alethea loved her work above all things, but have to go to the Ministry on weekends was the perfect excuse for her to have double fun at night. Luckily she had time to go home, take a long long bath and choose carefully an outfit. She was about to meet a sober friend, – everybody around her seem to be sober lately, by the way – so she picked some serious colors too.

As she headed to the Diagon Alley, Thea left all her problems behind. The workday was definitely over and her only duty on Sunday was to deal with a hangover. So she let the Saturday night begin.

The Leaky Cauldron was an interesting place where a bunch of different people could get together, but honestly, wasn't her favorite pub. Still she thought Simon was way too traditional for an adventure through what she would call properly magnificent places.

So she opened the door and walked in the crowded pub. That made her smile, it was good to feel the night so lively already; it would be a great time no matter what. Then she recognized Simon waving at her, making her smile more openly while walking in his direction.

“Hello, handsome! Are you alone?” She playfully asked, giving him a brief hug before sitting beside him. Thea started to untie her cloak to take it off, for the place was really stuffy. “Already asked for something?”

Simon stood as she came up to him, returning the hug briefly. "Hallo, Althea," he said, with a slight hint of an embarrassed smile at the comment of 'handsome'. He sat back down before any more could be made of that; this was hardly the time, place, or the person to deal with that avalanche of issues. "Haha - and when was the last time you saw me on a date?" He asked, jokingly, though he knew she wasn't necessarily asking that.

"They're pretty busy tonight, it seems," he said. "The waitress hasn't been over here yet." He eyed the busting crowd; he thought, perhaps, that he could see a uniformed woman weaving through the tables, but it was hard to tell...

Ah well. "How have you been, Althea? Things all going well with the Muggle Excuses?" He asked, pulling off his hat and perching it on his knee. Her job was a bit foreign to him; but, of course, his was likely just as foreign to her.

The waitress finally stepped away from the crowd and he waved her over, raising an eyebrow at Althea to let her order first.

She couldn't resist laughing about his little embarrassed smile. Oh, so sensitive. When he asked her about his dates, she looked askance at him, but still with a funny smile. “First, I should buy you a mirror. Second, you should date more; I bet you know a plenty of beautiful women and keep knowing a new one everyday at Mungo's... it's good, Simon, doesn't hurt having fun with someone sometimes.” She shrugged before hanging her cloak on the back of the chair.

“And third, where's the waitress of this place?” She raised her arm, looking for the girl in the middle of the chaos that place was. Alethea would probably stand and shout for her, but she thought it would make Simon wants to disappear.

She dropped the arm and turned to him when he asked about her work, though. “Oh, dear, it will be well only when the Aurors learn to do their goddamn work right!” Thea said, then suddenly made a silence sign with her hand. “I mean... I shouldn't talk this way... they do great and all, but there's a little little thing called Statute of Secrecy they keep forgetting. We're not alone in this world...”

She paused when he finally found the waitress and waved. “Finally, darling! Tough night, ahn?” She greeted the girl when she stood beside her. Thea looked at Simon, considering. It was good to take easy with him. “I'll be fine with a beer... and you?” She asked to him before the waitress had the chance, but slightly leaned so he could make his order better with the girl.

It did hurt to date - but, in ways that Alethea wasn't aware of and Simon had no intention of making clearer. Still..."Ah, but most women aren't too keen to see me afterwards," he said with a soft laugh. "Right after they've been given a clean bill of health, yes; after they get their medical bill, no." It tended to scare them off considerably.

"A gin and tonic, if you please," he told the waitress, when she'd arrived at last. A little bit of alcohol wouldn't hurt; he couldn't say never, with his medical knowledge, but statistically speaking...

"From seeing the aftermaths of their current issues, I have to say that the Statute likely isn't foremost on their minds when they're in combat," Simon said, once the waitress had left their their orders. "One of them - we got his eye back together," he said, frowning - and feeling guilty. There was only so much you could do...but it never felt like enough. "But it won't work as well as it did ever again."

He shook his head and smiled. "I could spend all night telling you horror stories, but that's not why we're here. How are things going? Personally, I mean."

Before the waitress could left, Alethea reached her arm. “Honey, could you please bring me an ashtray?” she whispered, even knowing that there wasn't any sense in keep secret. Soon enough she would be hearing about how she doesn't love her lungs along with her liver but, well, if she could postpone that...

The truth was that she was already dying for a cigarette and that was evident by the way she started to drum her fingers on the table. Still she listened to his point about the Aurors with interest. “Yes, unfortunately I know all that...” a long sigh, that almost took away any hint of cheer from her face, and she continued. “It's my duty to protect the Statute and if they couldn't do any better, it's the bloody criminal's fault. I know, I know, I know...” besides the childish repetition, she really meant that.

“But don't tell them I know. They still should try to do their best.” Alethea shrugged, and suddenly returned to smile.

“My personal things? Well...” she laughed. “Let's just say they're pretty much the same since I leaved Hogwarts, you know... Work, parties, boys, then men, then boys again because you older guys are getting boring. But I've always been happy this way; always will be!” She blinked, before lifting her chin up, smiling confident. “I guess this is who I am.”

“And you, dear Simon? I hardly never get the chance of hear you actually talking about your life. Why don't you try to make different tonight?” she suggested, with a sincere friendly tone.

Simon patted her on the shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, we have to patch the criminals up too, sometimes." The fact they didn't always come back was a tad annoying to Simon, who preferred to not have anyone die unless it couldn't be avoided. However, he had a definite conflict of interest when it came to murderers, so maybe he was lucking out...

"Hah! Good to hear you're having fun, then," he said, laughing. "Don't swing too young, though. There might be talk." He said that with an exaggerated tone, knowing full well Alethea didn't really care too much about gossip. He envied that; his own position was so tenuous that any gossip could hurt him considerably. If he hadn't fought so hard to put the label of 'old school mates' on his relationship to Alethea he might have had a considerable set back just from meeting her for beer.

"My own life? Hrm. Dull, I suppose. One of my fish died." He was being extremely sarcastic; the hint of a grin gave that away completely. "Had a little funeral and everything. Buried him at sea." He looked at the ceiling in thought. "Other than that - not much, no. Gabe is still an ass, but beyond that, it's all St. Mungos." He gave in and grinned. "That's been interesting. Healers hexing patients, patients fighting, trainees panicking..."

“I don't do anything illegal, Simon, relax! Maybe immoral, but it's a secret I'm telling you now.” She whispered low as a confession. Kinda exaggerated too, but even a distant, odd friend as Simon was should know enough of her manners to not get so scared.

Alethea laughed at his way of telling news. Nothing even close of being committal, for sure; she always thought that the mediwizard was too shy and wary to trust any personal matter to her. But his sarcastic mood was something, at least, and if she wasn't fond of that, she wouldn't be there that night.

“Oh, if Gabe wasn't so hopelessly Slytherin I would offer to give him a treatment. But no, honestly, no. It's a pity but I think he's always going to be an ass.” She shrugged, looking around for a second, already getting nervous for waiting the waitress but aware that she should take a few more minutes yet. Tough night indeed, poor girl.

“As for the fish – God rest his soul – buy another one! It's sad to keep an empty aquarium.” She smiled, simply, at him. “But tell about Mungo's, then. Are you making any medical research at the moment?”

"Hmph! Gabe wouldn't do anything with you anyway - negative or positive or anything. He might not even be seen with you. He's too wrapped up in what Father thinks of him, and far too desperate for a pureblood lady to woo." That was a worry constantly at Simon's mind; if Gabriel married pure before Simon even showed a hint of interest in doing so, his position as sole heir was on very shaky ground. All it would take was one push, and Gabriel'd have everything he wanted.

Simon wasn't about to let that happen - and hadn't been unprepared when Gabe had tried it, two years ago. He smiled slightly at Alethea, his smile both nasty and joking. "If and when he does date, however, I have nothing to say in his defense when an incensed young lady approaches and slaps him - and makes a scene about him cheating on her," he said, and laughed. "Wish I had a photograph of his face! It was rather classic."

Sitting back as the waitress arrived, he shrugged. "I've been struggling to find a pet I can keep at the hospital, to be honest. I like fish, but they're rather...dull, to tell the truth. Maybe I should get an octopus." It'd probably keep the more squeamish people out of his office, though.

"Mungos...hah. New Healers left and right. Foley being...Foley," he said that with a carefully neutral tone. "Aurors showing up with half their stomach gone and demanding to be out in 15 minutes because they have work to do. Oh, and werewolves." That was a much grimmer topic. "Werewolves everywhere. Creature Injuries couldn't handle everyone, on the 11th. It was crazy."

“Oh, but my blood is as pure as a newborn baby... you haven't noticed by the way I sparkle?” She commented joking, blinking at him with a naïve expression that just doesn't fit on her. That changed when his smile turned into a nasty one, still talking about his brother. His dates, actually. Alethea laughed. “Have the chance to see this kind of scene should be worthy by itself! Poor Gabe... or poor ladies, more likely...”

She gladly made room when the waitress arrived; she was just dying for the ashtray and for her beer, and didn't mind take a sip directly from the bottle. Alethea watched as the girl served Simon with his gin and bottle of tonic. “She's a cute, don't you think?” She asked when the girl leaved; quite suggestive, but not saying anything else about it. Simon knew her thoughts about him having more fun; and she was almost sure that he wasn't really fond of them.

“Well, I don't know a thing about animals... not in these cases. Maybe an octopus could be fun.” She shrugged while opening her clutch to take her pack of cigarettes. “I can't handle taking care of animals or plants... cactus die dry on my hands, you know.”

When he told about Mungo's, Alethea raised her eyebrows, automatically pulling a cigarette from the pack. “Werewolves give me a lot of trouble too, you know... but at least it's already stated between Muggles that their existence is a myth.” She shook her head. “Centuries and centuries and we still doesn't know what to do with these creatures... may I?” She asked, showing him her cigarette with a much-so-sweet smile.

Simon laughed. "Hah! I think your blood is more likely to be some degree of proof than it is pure," he said with a smirk, picking up his drink when the waitress dropped it off. He had it halfway to his lips when Alethea made her comment, and he looked at her over the top of the glass with deadly seriousness.

"Don't try to match make me," he said, when he'd finished taking a sip. "It might actually work," he added, with a snort of amusement and a self-deprecating smirk, placing his glass delicately back down. "But in all seriousness, she looks half my age. Cute, yes, but I prefer women closer to my age range." There was still a hint of sarcasm in his tone, though he was telling the truth. He had, and still, worked with too many girls fresh out of Hogwarts to let himself be attached or attracted to them. "Besides," he added with a glance at the waitress as she left, "Not too into blondes, myself. Brunettes are a bit more my speed."

He nodded as she started to light her cigarette. "I could lecture you about what those do to your lungs," he said, smirk still firmly in place, "And show you pictures. But I don't really feel like getting a beer splashed in my face tonight..."

“Blasphemy! I've never splashed beer on your face... and that time at Hogsmeade doesn't count!” She stated before he got the chance of accusing her for that. “We were too young and you were bossing me around.” And she was too drunk to remember exactly what happened, too. But she remember that it took a long, long time – an entire year, maybe – to Simon speak with her again in a normal way.

She swallowed the cigarette, calmly. “That other time doesn't count too. That was vodka, not beer.” Alethea released the smoke at the other side, away from Simon. “Speaking of... Hogsmeade and youth, not drinks on your face,” she smirked and took a sip of her beer before continue. “Have you heard any news about our old mates? I know that many got married and all...” she rolled her eyes. Only a few people knew how to be married and have a social life at the same time. “But I miss them. I miss the good old times.” She sounded like a nostalgic old woman admitting that.

"We can make history tonight, then. Perhaps next time, you can hit me with a margarita; but I'd rather you wait til summer for that," he said, laughing. "And I was only so angry because it took three showers to unstick my hair! Oh, and that you were making a scene." He tutted. "My sister thought we were together, you know. Wouldn't let me hear the end of it." He sipped his drink again before he added, in a falsetto tone clearly an imitation of his sisters', "'She'd probably give birth to a beer keg, Simon.'" His smile turned a bit apologetic. "Not the kindest person, Judy," he said, which was an understatement.

"Not much, to be honest with you. Thompson's still in America," he said, with a shrug. "Most of them seem to be fine. Just...different." Simon knew the truly different one was him; he'd grown considerably more stuffy over the years, and had certainly stopped writing as much as he ought to.

"Have you heard anything?" He asked. "Or are we both resigned to having to make new ones?"

“Family of blasphemers…” she muttered in a serious, almost convincing tone. “I’ve never been so fat in my entire life for her to say that.” Alethea frowned on an exaggerated way before taking a long sip of the beer. She could have commented anything about Judy - she certainly thought and remembered many things about her, and she wasn’t even close to be her friend. But talking about those who already gone, either good or bad things, wasn’t her favorite topic in any occasion.

“Well, Mary is pretty fine, or so it seems. I think she’s pregnant again… I lived with that bit- beautiful person and she writes to me, like, once a year.” She took a drag of the cigarette before tapping the ash on the ashtray. “I’m supposed to meet Isaac next week. It seems he stepped down as professor… but I have no idea why.” Alethea shrugged.

“Yeah, most of my actual friends are new. I love them all; I love you all; I’m a huge keg of love but… Wait. Did you make new friends?” She looked at him, wary. “How, working twenty-four per seven?”

"Again? " Simon sounded disbelieving and he sort of was. A man who wanted children in general, he felt he'd never understand why people had child after child after child - especially women. Maybe it came from actually seeing so many births. It wasn't exactly a pleasant process.

"Each to our own, I suppose," he said, in the tone used by people everywhere to indicate non-agreement. "Isaac quit? Hm. Well, you can ask him why; maybe well find out why the turnover rate is so high," he said, thinking of all the articles and discussion on Hogwart's tumultuous state. "How did he seem? Upset or happy?"

He suddenly found his drink very interesting at her last question. "Not as such," he said, finally. "There are coworkers I get along with, if that counts." He sipped his drink. "I like my fish, too. They're cheerful."