May 1st, in the Great Hall, late afternoon.

Margaret stood by one of the buffet tables in the Great Hall, piling her plate high with food. She was hungry, stressed, and getting really tired of smiling at people. If she seemed intent on stuffing her face, maybe no one would talk to her, she thought irritably, picking up another bread roll.

“Maggie?” Her younger sister said, smiling at her hopefully.

Margaret knew that tone and gave her a wary look. “What?” She better not ask what she thought she was going to ask.

“Can we go on that tour thingy again?”

Plop went the mashed potatoes. She set the spoon down before turning to her and shaking her head. “No.”

Lexie opened her mouth to protest and Margaret lifted up her index finger at her, feeling some satisfaction when she waited for her to speak. Ah, the powers of being a big sister.

“Look, I went with Brandon once, I went with you once, and then I had to go with the both of you pushing at each other. If I never see that passageway again for the rest of my life, I will be very, very happy.” Margaret paused. Well, maybe not happy… but she wouldn’t be tempted to murder her siblings at least.

Unfortunately, the pause gave Lexie time to interject, and she started talking about how cool it was that the passage went all the way to the Hog’s Head, how she wondered what it had really been like during the battle, and finally, why did Maggie get to go through it and not her?

Maggie, meanwhile, was losing her temper. “Lexie…” she growled, clenching the plate. “I know you’re a kid- well, you are,” she said, when her sister looked affronted. “And I know you don’t think before you talk most of the time, but you’re really grating on my last nerve. Go sit with Dad,” she ordered, jerking her head in his direction.

“I’ll catch up with you… later.” Margaret took a deep breath as her sister stormed off, probably to complain about the unfair treatment to their parents. She shook her head, reached the end of the line and hesitated, unwilling to face her family at the moment, but unsure of where else she could sit.

The Great Hall was buzzing with activity.  It was so hard to believe that it had been over ten years since she had sat in this very room, wearing her pleated skirt and sweater with the little tie and Mary-Jane shoes.  How strange, to look around and see the banners flying, the whole hall filled with people – not just students, but families and the like.  During all of this, she had gotten separated from Frank and the others they came with, but she didn’t find that to be too much of a problem. She knew where she was – even after all this time – and could most assuredly find her way out. 

Deciding that the best thing to do would be getting out of the way, she moved toward one of the tables covered in sweets (she’d had a rather hearty breakfast that morning and just wanted a snack), she thought that every time she went on the tour, though it was the same, she got a distinct feeling.  It was so very strange.  She felt like she remembered them all and even though she wasn’t there – rather at home in London, she knew them all by name and what they did.

Thankfully, when she grabbed a cookie, she was able to concentrate on something other than the idea that her friends were surrounding her in a very strange way.  The nibbling on the cookie was a good way to start.  It was a double chocolate chip, one of her favorite kinds, and grabbing a plate, she took a white chocolate chip (she just like chip cookies) and a small pastry.  She didn’t want to eat too much, but she was craving a bit of sugar, and needed to distract herself, looking for her friends.

Breaking off another piece of the double chocolate chip, she was a little surprised when she felt someone bump into her.  Looking up, she realized she didn’t see anyone there, and then looked down.  A girl seemed to be going in the direction of an older man, and apparently didn’t notice she had bumped into her.  Akiva wasn’t too concerned about it, but following the path she had been coming from, Akiva saw Margaret Groust. 

They had met at the dinner Frank had, which he needed her help with, and although Akiva felt like the other woman didn’t like her too much, she thought the way Frank looked at her and got embarrassed around her was a sure sign that maybe something was there she didn’t know about – and wanted to know about.  She loved Frank like a brother and wanted him to be happy – so that meant she had to get along with Maggie, just in case.  Thankfully the woman was alone, and Akiva took a deep breath before deciding that she was truly going over.

Setting forward, she put on as bright a smile she could, “Hi!” she called out when she was a few yards away, bridging the gap without too many steps (long legs), “I’m glad I found someone I knew,” she smiled at Maggie, hoping she felt the same way, “how are you?”

Margaret watched her sister with a frown as she flounced to the table where their parents sat and started gesturing wildly in her direction. Her Dad turned to look at her, shrugged a little, and took a nonchalant bite of his meal. Good. So he wasn’t falling for it. Or, he was just too worn out to care.

Maggie heard someone say hello, and was surprised to see it directed at her. She raised her eyebrows at the blonde woman cheerfully stepping her way through the crowd. Akiva, Frank’s friend. Maggie’s eyes strayed towards the table where Lexie sat. Should she make a break for it? Deal with her sister, or make small talk with Frank’s friend? Margaret hesitated, which was her downfall. The woman reached her and Maggie was caught between the buffet table and a chipper librarian.

“Hi,” she replied warily, struggling to smile. She’d smiled so much today that her facial muscles now hated her. “Uh yeah, good to see you too.”

She glanced at the table again and saw Lexie making faces at her. Maggie shook her head. Her sister was starting Hogwarts in the fall, and she was acting like a five year old. Shameful! Maggie had to tell herself not to stick out her tongue in retaliation.

“I’m all right, my family’s driving me crazy,” she admitted, gesturing so Akiva could see Brandon’s game of ‘do you like seafood’ from afar.

“Do you want to sit somewhere?” She asked, already making her way to an empty table. “I’m starving and- are those chocolate chip cookies?” Maggie raised her eyebrows, her mood lifting when she noticed Akiva's plate of treats. How had she missed those?

Alright, well, Akiva wasn’t deterred by Maggie’s somewhat hard exterior.  She was seldom deterred by anyone’s bad mood, as it came to be part of her job – dealing with the frustrated and weary just looking for a quick answer to their complicated bureaucratic problems in the books of the ministry library.  She smiled despite this, even if she was a little weary from the day’s activities and having worked quite a late night only to get up rather early this morning.  Sometimes she just could not sleep in!

Chuckling softly, her eyes followed Maggie’s gesture and the blonde covered her mouth with her hand, suppressing the urge to laugh at the young man’s antics.  She thought it was charming, but perhaps it was because she was not related to them and had not been dealing with them all day – that always seemed to be the case.  “It happens,” Akiva agreed with a curt nod, “But, at least you can take a few minutes away and eat something,” she chuckled softly, looking down at her own plate of treats.

Her family didn’t come to this, of course, because they were Muggles and didn’t really understand, and she knew she had been with Frank earlier, but they got separated for some reason or another – sometimes they both had the tendency to wander wherever fancy took them.  It was not a particularly good habit, but it was one, nonetheless. 

She was a little surprised with Maggie and her offer to find somewhere to sit, though she supposed holding a plate of food and wanting to eat it made the most sense at an empty table.  There were a few and they seemed far between, so Akiva nodded eagerly and started to follow her. 

A little ‘o’ formed on her lips when Maggie asked about the cookies. “Oh yes!” she smiled, “right on the end of the table,” she motioned to the dessert selection, it was kind of covered by a curtain of people and not as numerous as the real foods, but sometimes, one just needed something sweet.  “If they’re anything like they were when we were in school – they’re fabulous too,” she grinned, breaking off a small piece and popping the warm, gooey cookie into her mouth.  Nodding eagerly as she swallowed, Akiva affirmed, “Just as good – if not better than I remember.”

Akiva seemed on the verge of laughing at Maggie’s siblings and their antics, which was a pretty common reaction all things considered. Maggie cracked a smile. “Oh no, don’t do that. You’ll only encourage them. The proper response, of course, is this.”

She made a mock face of horror at her brother and the food in his mouth, complete with a hand to her heart and a dramatic eye-roll. The responding peals of laugher could be heard from across the Great Hall, and this time, her father turned around in his seat and frowned at Maggie for stirring them up.

“What can I say? I’m a natural with the drama,” she told Akiva, taking a seat across from her and nodding as she affirmed the quality of the cookies. Maggie glanced over her shoulder at the dessert section on the end, and then looked back at her plate. Would she have room for dessert? Oh, who was she kidding. There was always room for dessert.

“Good to know the cooking here is still just as tasty.” She took a bite of her mashed potatoes and cursed the day she was forced to make her own food. It just wasn’t fair- to her, or to anyone who had to eat it!

“Are you here with friends, or family?” Margaret asked, curious. She attempted to glance around the Great Hall discreetly but was pretty obvious about it. Her face fell when she couldn’t find the person she was looking for. Oh well, Maggie thought as she turned her attention back to Akiva. She wanted to like the woman, she really did, but she didn’t understand what was going on between her and Frank. Maggie barely knew Akiva, so perhaps now was the time to remedy that. She did show up to her 'welcome back' party. And she did pitch in to give her a very nice journal.

Margaret looked at her and tried to give what she hoped was a friendly smile.

Covering her mouth to avoid laughing too loudly, Akiva shook her head.  “I always thought that horror was an equal incentive for that kind of behavior – at least at Bar and Bat Mitzvahs it was…” Akiva chuckled remembering going to who knew how many over the summers of her pubescent years.  Her parents always made excuses for her during the year and went anyway out of respect for the members of Temple, but during the summer, Akiva had no such excuse and more often than not, the pre-teens would be engaging in all sorts of terrible behaviors to shock and appall the older people at the event.  She had partaken a few times…

Of course, she supposed both would produce the same effect.  “I believe my father has always said ignoring them was the best option.”  She glanced back and figured that the man who looked so apathetic about the display was probably of the same mind.  They would tire of it soon without eliciting a reaction and go back to good behavior. 

Breaking off another piece of cookie, Akiva nodded at her sentiment about the food situation.  “I remember wanting to come back after everything… It took me what seemed like forever to be able to make something decent, but you eventually get the hang of it – you even get good at it if you practice enough.”  She knew at first she hadn’t been the best cook in the world… frequently burning things or adding extra ingredients – forgetting some too… she just worked at it – and had to remind herself that she was quite a bit older than Maggie – she was older than almost all of her friends, actually, with a few exceptions.  How odd!   

She didn’t have much to say on who she had come with, considering a lot of them had just known they would see one another and she shrugged just a little. “My parents are Muggle, so they don’t really… get the experience,” she thought about how she could delicately put that they just didn’t get it… even if they felt badly and understood how it made their daughter feel, they just… weren’t as attached as they could have been.  “But, I was with Frank earlier, but sometimes we both just… wander,” she chuckled softly and returned the smile, glancing around to see if she could spot him.  But, no such luck.

“He’s really absentminded,” Akiva pointed out with a small chuckle – thinking that this moment might have been the best one to rectify the situation that she perceived manifested itself at the welcome back party.  She didn’t want her to think there was anything between them, especially because of the way Frank smiled and acted around her.  “I bet he even forgot to offer you that tour of the new things in London he was thinking about…”  It had been Akiva's idea, but... Maggie didn't need to know that.

“Hmmm, ignoring them…” Maggie looked over Akiva’s shoulder and watched her darling little brother and sister kick each other underneath the table. Her Dad turned around and Maggie glanced away quickly, worried that he would beckon her over, but instead he tried to catch her Mom’s eye. It wasn’t working. She chatted in line to some of her friends, oblivious to her children fighting a few tables away and the hold-up she caused at the buffet table. Margaret snickered. So typical.

“Wait for it… see!” Maggie exclaimed proudly, as her Dad turned his attention back to the kids, discreetly took out his wand, and jelly-jinxed their legs. “That’s where I get it from. The hexing away my problems, I mean. No one ever believes me,” she rolled her eyes and chuckled. Everyone who knew her Dad said that Daniel was the most mild-mannered man they’d ever met. Which was true, to a point. He happily took a bite of his pie and just as happily ignored Brandon’s wailing.

Margaret tuned in as Akiva talked about how she’d had to practice a lot to cook something decent. If that was true, Maggie would need years of practice. She’d learned how to make a few simple meals while she’d traveled around, because eating out every night was just too expensive, but the only meal she’d actually serve- no, inflict- on other people was pasta. Adding in a bit of fresh basil and good tomato sauce helped mask the taste of the lumpy noodles she’d managed to boil. Maggie shook her head. She was hopeless.

“I’ll take your word for it, about the practicing thing,” Maggie replied vaguely, her eyebrows knitting together as she realized something. Was the way to a man’s heart really through his stomach? Oh Merlin, she hoped not. A pout formed on her lips. Akiva was probably a decent cook, at least better than Maggie was, and if Frank ever compared-

Margaret shook her head and tried to refocus. She was being absolutely ridiculous. And she’d missed part of what Akiva said about her muggle parents.

“My mom’s a muggle,” she offered, understanding where she was coming from somewhat. “But because she’s married to a wizard, well, she’s more integrated into wizarding culture than most muggles.”

“But, I was with Frank earlier, but sometimes we both just… wander.”

Margaret perked up immediately at Frank’s name, the mashed potatoes slowly escaping from her fork and onto her plate.

“He’s really absentminded,” Akiva pointed out with a small chuckle.  “I bet he even forgot to offer you that tour of the new things in London he was thinking about…”

“Oh,” Maggie said, glancing down at her plate and smiling slowly. When she realized her fork was dripping food she set it down and looked up again.

“Yeah, he forgot about that. But that’s okay. I’ll remind him,” she grinned. Maggie was sure she’d pay more attention to Frank than to the new sights in London, but it was a fun excuse to see him. She studied Akiva for a moment. If the woman liked Frank as more than a friend, bringing up the possibility of a tour-date didn’t make any sense. Either Akiva had some grand scheme in mind that Margaret couldn’t follow, or she was being genuine.

The corner of Maggie’s mouth quirked up, and she felt it safe to pick up her fork again. “Did he say that before, or after I spilled a drink on him?”

It was an important thing to know. The free drinks they’d been given during her welcoming party had made Maggie clumsier than normal- and more willing to make a fool out of herself. She’d heard she had actually danced!

Watching Maggie’s father jinx her sibling’s legs, Akiva let out a little laugh.  She didn’t want them to think she was laughing at them, of course, even if they weren’t even paying attention, so she covered her mouth and shook her head- though anyone who saw her closely enough would even see that her eyes were laughing.  How absolutely hilarious!  Giggling softly at Margaret, she nodded understandingly. 

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” she replied with a warm smile, “though I wouldn’t hex all problems…” she shrugged her shoulders, “I sincerely doubt you do either,” she added with a bit of a smile.  Though Maggie was a bit rough, she figured that it couldn’t permeate every part of her existence.  Really, she could probably be a very pleasant person once one got to know her, which was what Akiva intended to do.

She wanted to make sure that she was going to get along with her, first because she didn’t like having a problem with anyone for no particular reason.  Secondly, she wanted to make sure if Frank decided anything regarding her, that they wouldn’t be enemies.  She didn’t want her best friend to date someone who hated her, and she wouldn’t want that for him either – it would just stress them both out.

There was that point where it became a decision about who to pick and why – and the friendship was longstanding, but at the same time, if there was an obstacle, no one could really be sure of what would happen.  She’d prefer to make friends with Maggie and show her that she didn’t have to worry about her.  In the back of her mind, she hoped she would find some more concrete to convince the woman with at some point.

She didn’t have anyone in particular, really – well, she might have, but it didn’t matter.  It was just a simple intrigue, a fancy that she found herself daydreaming about every once and a while, but nothing that would suggest anything more than a simple little crush.  Really, it was absurd to think otherwise. 

Picking up her glass, she took a drink to distract herself and smiled at Maggie, giggling softly at her comment.  “I believe it was actually after,” she happily announced to her friend – she knew Maggie had indulged a little more than she had probably planned to, but really, it wasn’t that much of a problem.  Frank had understood (at least Akiva thought he did), and no one really minded.  She didn’t, anyway. Whatever made things less awkward for her had been quite welcome that evening.

“I think he was convinced to ask when you were dancing,” she teased softly, “I had figured he was a sucker for that sort of thing,” she commented casually, nibbling on her cookie.  She was just trying to help her friend along a bit, and really, it couldn’t hurt too much.  “You should really go. It might be helpful to get reacquainted with the city – and I know Frank knows his way around, constantly looking for books and things,” she added, trying to give him some accredited points in the other woman’s mind. 

She glanced toward her family again and smiled easily, “It’d give you an opportunity to escape a family food fight too,” she winked, motioning to the two children throwing scraps of food at one another as discreetly as they could manage with their father sitting right there.  Apparently the jelly-leg jinx had worked well enough. 

This little lunch meeting wasn’t so bad, Maggie thought, watching Akiva try to hold back her laughter as she witnessed the family fiasco unfold a couple of tables away. Her mother had finally finished chatting up the entire buffet line and was now heading back to the kids, who promptly sat up straight and smiled angelically. Maggie knew their good behavior would only last as long as her mum was watching, but at least her poor Dad didn’t have to worry about them for now. He made a motion with his wand underneath the table and un-jinxed their legs. It was a clever peace offering.

“…Though I wouldn’t hex all problems…” she shrugged her shoulders, “I sincerely doubt you do either,” she added with a bit of a smile.

“I try not to,” Maggie said with a smirk. “Especially when there are children or small animals involved.” Like yesterday, when she and Mairead had accidentally unleashed a horde of puffskeins on Diagon Alley. She wondered what the young girl was doing now, and if she was having a good time. Most likely she was having a grand time creating some sort of ruckus.

As Maggie finished up her meal she raised her eyebrows at Akiva, who seemed to be making a real effort to be nice to her. Margaret wasn’t used to people doing that. They either liked her or they didn’t, and responded accordingly. She wasn’t entirely sure what Akiva thought of her, but still, she was encouraging her to go on that tour date with Frank, and if she wasn’t completely dense, it almost seemed like she was trying to set her up with him.

“A book tour does sound fun,” she smiled. Watch out world, two books geeks out on the town. Maggie snickered at the thought. “Nerdiest date ever. But fun.”

She glanced toward her family again and smiled easily, “It’d give you an opportunity to escape a family food fight too.”

“Escape is desperately needed,” she replied dryly, glancing at the table and shaking her head. “Actually, Kia and I are trying to find an apartment so we can get away from our families. Maybe we’ll drag her brother Kale into it as well, or River. Who knows,” she shrugged. “I’m looking forward to it. I think my parents are too,” she joked. Maggie had been on her own for so long that coming back to a curfew, chores, and the other family rules had not been easy. They tended to treat her more like a teenager than an adult, and she didn’t like that at all.

Maggie looked at Akiva, curious. “Do you like where you’re living? Are you close by to all the bookstores and important places?”

She paused and quirked an eyebrow. “Got any ‘tour dates’ lined up for yourself?” Margaret grinned. She couldn’t resist asking.

“Those are certainly the best situations to avoid hexes with,” Akiva laughed softly at her friend’s remark about small animals and children.  Well, at least she hoped they were friends.  Granted, they were going to be having girls’ nights anytime soon or dishing about certain things, but really, it could have been going a lot worse.  She just wanted to be on a good page with Margaret and leave things open for them to become better friends if the occasion ever came up.  The situation had to be favorable to both of them.

It seemed to her that her efforts were at least making some headway with Maggie.  She smiled and actually made a sound that was akin to a laugh – something of a snicker.  “Nerdy is okay!” Akiva insisted with a bright smile, “I always find the nerdier the better, actually.  It means they’re genuine and really trying,” she laughed softly.  The dates she had been on that were too suave, too planned, she didn’t like them.  Perhaps she was jaded by charm at this point in her life, but she preferred things that were a little out there.

When Maggie mentioned the search for an apartment, Akiva wasn’t sure whether or not to offer up the name of the landlord to her building.  Granted it was farther away from everything, and when she mentioned Kia and perhaps some of the other friends that had been at the welcome back party, she wasn’t sure how she would feel about that.  Not that she didn’t like them, of course, but it seemed a bit removed for them – and a majority were very deeply rooted in the wizarding world, probably not best to throw them into an almost completely muggle area. 

Smiling though, she nibbled on a cookie before she began to speak, “Oh, I love my flat.  I don’t really live centrally located though, more near King’s College, if you know where that is – kind of near London Bridge,” she explained. “My parents live nearby because my dad teaches there, so I like to be nearby.  It’s a really nice area though – highly muggle though,” she added.  It was probably not a brilliant option for Maggie, but wished she could help.  “The Prophet probably has a fantastic advertising section for rooms,” she thought out loud.

“And far more centrally located in the wizarding world than I am.  I know a few friends in a building actually,” she smiled, “maybe I can find out about that?”  She just wanted to be friendly, and thought this might be the best way – of course, now it seemed it was Maggie’s turn to open up and be the friendly one to initiate a conversation – one that made Akiva’s cheeks light up.

She shook her head, “Oh goodness no!” she responded with an awkward laugh, “I don’t have time for that,” she rubbed the back of her neck with a bit of an embarrassed smile, “It’s been a bit hectic at work with everything going on and I’m sure you know how it is – always on the go and doing things.  I’m hard pressed to find time for myself and my pets, let alone a date.”  She was making far too much effort of debunking any thoughts, but in truth, she was just protecting herself, even if she didn’t want to admit it. 

“Speaking of work,” she leaned forward on the table, looking to Maggie, “what is it that you do?  I don’t think anyone asked when we were at dinner.”  She was very curious to see what kind of work Maggie did - she seemed like the sort who would have an interesting job that required a strong personality and grit - something like a reporter.  Perhaps that's why she traveled?  Akiva's thoughts were running quite wild... interesting.

As Akiva talked about the flat she lived in and suggested a building that she knew of, Maggie perked up and nodded.

“That would be great, if you could let us know about that. I’m pretty sure Kia is more interested in living nearby Diagon Alley and the clinic she works at.”

Maggie raised her eyebrows in amusement when Akiva protested that she didn’t have the time to date. Margaret sat back in her chair, shook her head, and gave her a skeptical look.

“Uh-huh. Suuuuure,” she teased. “You just don’t have the time,” Maggie shook her head again and tried not to smile. “If that’s the case then they’re working you too hard at the library. Everyone needs a break once in a while,” she shrugged, deciding not to say anything else about it. She’d probably embarrassed Akiva enough for one afternoon.

When Akiva turned the tables and asked her the dreaded question of the year, Maggie nearly choked on her drink and gave her a mock look of horror. “Okay, truce,” she held up her hands. “I won’t pester you anymore about potential dates.” Maggie paused and set down her glass. “At least not today.”

She hesitated for a moment before answering. Whenever people asked her questions she never felt quite comfortable talking about herself, assuming they just asked to be polite, and that they couldn’t possibly be interested in hearing it. Of course, that didn’t stop Maggie from spouting off her opinions when she felt strongly about something, but the art of small talk evaded her.

Yet Akiva looked so genuinely curious! Unlike most people (and Maggie included herself in that category), she didn’t glance around the room answering ‘mm-hmm’ to everything, all the while thinking about getting more cookies from the dessert platter. Not that Maggie would blame her if she was, because those chocolate chip ones looked like heaven.

Then Maggie realized, or she thought she did, that Akiva must be sizing her up for Frank. Merlin’s moldy socks! She hoped her answer was decent enough.

“Well, I want to be a writer,” she admitted. “I’ve finally figured it out. And I’ve only been writing since I could pick up a quill,” Maggie smirked. It was true what people said about following childhood hobbies and dreams, as long as she could make a living from it.

“When I graduated a few years ago I decided to go traveling, rather than, you know, getting a real job. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I just didn’t like the idea of being stuck at home- no offense to my family- but yeah, basically stuck, trying to figure it out.” Maggie smiled slowly, “I figured, hey, I can figure it out just as easily backpacking in Europe.”

She leaned forward as if letting her in on a secret. “So, I discovered pretty quickly that uh, waitressing and bartending and all those odd jobs I worked were definitely not for me. No surprise there. Those things require serious people skills. But then I started writing little blurbs and such for the small town local newspapers, which was… fun. Even if it was about something stupid, like a new potions shop or whatever, it was fun.”

Maggie shrugged and gave her a lopsided smile. “There you have it.” It wasn’t the full story, but it let Akiva know the gist of it, at least. “I have to sort out how to settle into everything here and get started.” She sighed a little. Honestly, she was nervous and unsure about doing this, especially since everyone knew her here, and she couldn’t just pack up and leave if she messed up. Well, she could, but she didn’t want to. It was simply a matter of bucking up the courage, asking around, and applying for jobs. Maggie had been home for a few weeks now so she had no more excuses.

 “I will definitely get the information from them,” Akiva smiled genuinely.  She liked to help and wanted Frank’s friends to like her.  She would never stop him from going out with them by himself, but he usually asked if she wanted to go along and when he did, she never really wanted to say no – especially if it was just for the reason that they didn’t like her.  She wanted to be on good terms. 

It seemed that things were looking up though – Maggie was even teasing her about her personal life.  Of course, Akiva wasn’t sure where she would locate herself on the readiness scale for anything of what Maggie suggested, but the way she was talking – it didn’t even matter the content.  She was being nice and friendly, even joking a bit – a semi-threat at the end with the ‘at least not today.’  That indicated to Akiva that they would be in each other’s company again.  This was quite promising.

She giggled softly, feeling that she had struck the same sort of nerve that Maggie had when asking about her personal life.  She felt bad instantly, though not bad enough to retract her question. It was very standard and she had meant nothing by it – she just wanted to know.  It was something that interested her, considering the possibilities that Maggie offered to her best friend.  She wasn’t going to make any snap judgments, she just wanted to know. 

After spending so much time abroad, Maggie had to have some interesting stories under her belt and probably some valuable things to share.  She was surprised at her own accuracy when Maggie said she wanted to be a writer.  How perfect! Frank collected books for a living, he searched for that sort of thing and devoted himself quite fully to the pursuit of literature, if she produced literature, well – she could be exactly what he was looking for.  This silly little romantic thought was enough to make even Akiva scrunch her nose at herself, however, since she knew things were not always quite so simple, and she suppressed the urge to start planning their wedding and focused on listening instead.

Her story, though vague, was captivating enough for Akiva who had never thought to travel without her family or to go much of anywhere.  She never had the urge to roam and never thought she needed to go find herself or anything of the sort, but now that she was getting older regretted the fact she never took advantage of the flexibility of youth and the lack of responsibilities that allowed one to do something like that.  It had to be quite the adventure. 

She wasn’t surprised by the details – waitressing and bartending not being for Maggie.  She honestly couldn’t see herself doing either bits of work either, so Maggie was not alone.  She suspected she had more people skills than the other woman, but she didn’t feel she would be able to be graceful enough to handle food – or remember enough.  She was probably just underestimating her own abilities, but whatever the case, it sounded like it couldn’t have been very pleasant work – obviously Maggie had a niche in writing. 

“Have you checked the Prophet Classifieds?” Akiva asked, very eager to help Maggie with what she needed – she naturally liked to help people and it seemed Maggie could use the boost.  It wasn’t that Akiva didn’t think she could do it herself; she just seemed to need someone to help – or the push for someone to say she could.  “They might have a spot open for even an intern.  The pay wouldn’t be the most wonderful, but it would be a foot in the door,” she shrugged and smiled, “Or you could check out Obscurus books, they might need a new blurb writer.” 

“I must say though,” Akiva smiled, “that’s pretty impressive – that you took the initiative to just go and travel, relying on yourself.  I lived with my parents for quite a few years after I gradu- after I left Hogwarts, and even when I was working.  You’re obviously very independent,” she leaned back to look at her and nibbled on a chocolate chip cookie, pushing the plate forward, gesturing to the plate to offer Maggie one off her plate.  She had certainly taken one or two too many - they were so delicious.  "I don't think I'm even that independent now," she laughed, "I still live a few streets away from my parents.  Where was your favorite spot along the way?"

Maggie’s mouth twitched in amusement when Akiva started offering suggestions for her job situation. She might have been slightly offended if anyone else had suggested that she check the Prophet Classifieds- of course she’d done that!- but this was Akiva, and the woman liked to help. As a librarian Akiva was probably used to pointing people in the right direction and Maggie didn’t mind it. She was actually amused and even a pinch grateful.

“I’ve been checking the ads, but there doesn’t seem to be anything open right now,” Maggie explained. “Then again, a job isn’t just going to land into my lap. I’ll have to stop by the Prophet and the bookstores and start asking around. Pestering people,” she grinned. “I’m good at that.”

Maggie happily took the offered cookie and smiled slightly at the compliment Akiva  paid her. She listened to her talk about living close to her parents, but shrugged at the comment about independence. People were different and some could stand their family more than others. Akiva was apparently one of those people!

The chocolate chip cookie was just as delicious as it looked, and Maggie chewed for a minute while thinking. “It’s good to be around if your parents ever need you for anything though,” she smirked. “Most of the time it’s running errands for them, but at least you get a home-cooked meal in return. At least, you should,” Maggie raised her eyebrows and gestured with her cookie in the air to make her point.

“I did ask to see if any friends wanted to come travel with me, but they had specific plans after Hogwarts, so it made sense that they stayed here. I moped around for a whole summer before I finally decided I was going to go, anyway,” she admitted. By that point her family was more comfortable with her traveling alone, or at least, they were so tired of hearing her complain that they didn’t protest as much as before.

“My favorite place was definitely Italy,” Maggie answered, brushing the crumbs off her fingers. “I spent the most time there. There’s actually a fair amount of wizards in Florence, which made visiting a lot of fun, but the small towns in Tuscany are great too. They certainly have character.”

Margaret chuckled, and then looked at Akiva, remembering something she’d said earlier about leaving Hogwarts instead of graduating. Unfortunately, many students hadn't been able to finish their education during the time that Akiva had been in school. Leaving Hogwarts must have been very unsettling, to say the least.

“Did you say you had to leave Hogwarts?” She asked bluntly, curious. “How’d you become interested in librarianship?” The profession seemed to fit Akiva to a tee. Maggie just added it to the growing lists of jobs that she’d be terrible at, since it involved helping people, answering questions, and the real cincher- being pleasant during all of it. Of course, she realized that any type of journalism required some semblance of people skills, but at least she could develop articles and write alone. Akiva had to be surrounded by people all day, and Maggie couldn’t help but admire her and think she was crazy for it at the same time.

Akiva laughed at her assertion that she was good at pestering and rolled her eyes.  “In your interview, you might want to coin that skill as persistence,” she teased, still chuckling at the remark.  She didn’t know if she saw it as pestering either, it was just knowing what she wanted and now going after it.  Some people were like that, they just knew what they wanted and could go and ask about it.  Akiva hadn’t been like that until two years ago, and even still, she was working on knowing what she wanted and going after it.

Her parents were even helping her, and Akiva smiled at Maggie’s assertion that she got a free meal out of it.  “Oh, of course!” she breathed, absolutely positive that she got that out of everything she did for her parents.  They also did a lot for her in return, being an only child had its perks sometimes, even if had been a little lonely for a long time.  “I’m Jewish,” she informed her, “so I have dinner with them every Friday night.  It’s a tradition,” she didn’t want to get too much into the whole thing as it would probably take a while to explain, but that was certainly enough for anyone to understand.

She was thinking about starting to return to Temple with them too, whenever she had the time.  She couldn’t go during the week, but she would have to try to go on a Saturday.  It would just be something good to do with them, if she wasn’t exhausted.  Sometimes things got in the way, and though she didn’t want to say she didn’t have enough time for religion, sometimes, it really felt like that. A conscious effort, she decided, needed to be made.

Listening to Maggie’s talk of Italy, Akiva grinned.  That sounded fun.  She could only imagine the kind of wizarding life that existed in Italy.  It had to be ancient, she thought, which was pretty cool.  “That sounds fantastic,” she nodded eagerly, “Are Italians as charming as they say they are?” she smirked, figuring Maggie had to have some sort of funny little story to share about it. 

Her own story was a little less funny and Akiva swallowed the last bit of cookie hard.  She coughed a little – there had not been enough saliva to swallow that.  Rubbing her throat for a moment, she forced a smile and chuckled somewhat awkwardly. “Yea, at the end of my sixth year,” she informed her.  She wrung her hands under the table, a typical nervous reaction. 

“I actually continually wrote to Madame Pince,” she laughed softly, “it’s odd who you end up making friends with, but we’d exchange books – my muggle for her magic, and we kept in contact.  When the Battle occurred, I came back to help with the books and the library, and by that time, I had gotten a job at Flourish & Blott’s, where I actually got to be manager after a few years.  I was able to use my position to help replace some of the damaged materials and usually did the deliveries myself.”  She sighed, “I loved the job, but I always felt like I could be doing something different.”

“About two and a half years ago, I was having a lot of personal problems and finally needed a change.  Madame Pince knew of the opening at the ministry and told me to apply,” the memory was pleasant and her face reflected that, “I thought there was absolutely no change I would get it, but she told me to anyway.  She had written me the most wonderful recommendation and I guess they saw something they liked, because I was hired.  It was sort of by accident,” she laughed softly, “as most of the best things are, I think.”

That was quite the narrative, she thought as she finished, playing with the little plate in front of her, to distract her for a moment.  “I love it though,” she smiled, “Not the most glamorous position, but you get to be a small part of everything that needs to be researched.  Sometimes bigger, depending on who you’re working with.”  Her thoughts drifted to the upcoming plans she had.