| Details for Last Meal of the Year |
| Summary: | Gabby treats Jackson to a New Years Eve date at Rosie's Caff, with mixed results. |
| Date: | Dec 31, 1937 |
| Location: | Rosie's Caff, Hogsmeade |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
  |
As soon as one enters the restaurant, the warm, damp air and savory smell of baking bread fills the nose. Scattered about the room are eight tables with four chairs each, all hand-crafted from thick, heavy-looking wood painted maroon. The room is dimly lit by sconces on the walls and a heavy circular chandelier hanging on thick chains above the center of the room made of the same materials, color and craftsmanship as the tables. The windows are all covered with a thick muslin drapery, keeping all of the natural light out, lending a distinctly shadowy, but not unwelcoming, atmosphere to the place. The walls are a textured plaster in a pale grey, the wide, rough wooden trim painted the same maroon as the outside trim. The only paintings or decoration on the wall is a portrait of a young woman with dark hair that hangs beside the door leading to the kitchen and to the upstairs flat. Beneath the painting is a rather plain, upright piano.
The caff is quiet. Everyone is out at parties, apparently. Lionel however is expecting a couple, and at the table in the center of the room, two place settings have been made. Several thick candles burn at the center of the table. Lionel is leaning against the doorframe that leads to the kitchen, just sort of waiting.
Jackson opens the door of the Caff, stepping and taking a quick look around while he holds the door open. Lionel gets a quick grin and a nod, "Hello." The door is held until Gabrielle follows him in. He is dressed decently if not awesomely in his dressier clothing, minus robes or anything like that. That he got into a shirt and tie outside of school hours can be considered victory enough.
Gabrielle follows in behind Jack, dressed in a version of a school outfit as well. It looks like she's charmed the skirt to be a bit longer and a warm brown color, and the blouse to be a soft pink. The biggest difference is she's charmed her hair blonde, and is wearing it in soft curls. She /may/ even have a bit of make up on…maybe. Her cheeks are flushed, but that's most likely from the walk outside. She'll glance around, eyes a bit wide, as she expected there to be other people at the cafe. She'll give a nervous smile to Lionel, but her eyes to flicker(pun intended) to the candles for a moment, "Hello Lionel. Happy New Year."
Lionel doesn't smile, he just nods, "Welcome." He stands up straight, and walks over to pull out her seat. "Happy New Year, Miss Evans." He looks at Jackson, just sort of judging him.
Jackson tilts his head, peering towards Lionel for a moment before he adds, "Happy New Year, sir." He then offers his hand, "Jackson Potter, Junior. Thank you for making your cafe available to us tonight." He looks towards the table, "I do have a problem seeing by firelight, though." He mulls over this for a moment, then removes his wand from his back pocket. He leans forward as he pulls his seat from under the table, blowing out the candles one by one. He lifts his wand, "Lumos" and places the lit wand just off-center of the table, but within easy reach. He looks across the table to Gabrielle, "This is wonderful." He then tilts his head slightly, "There is something different about you, but I can't place my finger on it. Did you grow an inch?"
Gabrielle looks to Jackson for a moment, then back to Lionel, "Thank you," She'll sit down and inhales like she's going to say something, but smiles when Jackson blows out the candles. Some of the tension that was evident dissipates with the flames. She'll give Jackson a bit of a playful hurt expression, "Yes, I've grown since you've seen me last. 2 inches actually." She'll look to Lionel, "I hope you didn't stay open just for us, we could have come back another time."
Lionel shakes Jackson's hand, his grip firm and strong. "Mr. Potter. Junior." He watches as the boy puts the candles out, and then looks at Gabrielle. "You've paid me for this arrangement, Miss Evans. Don't make nonsense of it." He then moves behind her chair, offering for her to sit, so he can push her chair in. "Will you be having tea? Coffee? I also have some soda water, if you'd prefer."
Jackson's eyebrows raise, "Is it two inches? I'm as horrible with measurements as I am with hair coloring charms. I like the color, by the way. It suits you." He considers it for a moment, then asks, "Coffee, tea or soda water? I'm personally not a fan of arabica bean soup…"
Gabrielle lets Lionel push the chair in. She'll smile at Jackson's compliment, "I wasn't sure….Ria told me I looked better as a blonde…but I never know with her what she really means." She'll give Jackson a weird look, not exactly sure what the hell he's talking about and she'll turn to Lionel, "I'd prefer coffee actually.Thank you."
Lionel nods, "One coffee. One…" He looks at Jackson. "Water." He then heads back to the kitchen.
Jackson blinks, "Water it is, then." He then explains, "Coffee is made from brewing arabica beans. I don't know where it actually started, but it was supposed to be all the rage in Egypt back in ancient times." He then shrugs his shoulders, "Maybe Ria meant you look better as a blond? I prefer to say you look best in whatever hair color makes you happy." He then grins, "I'm no fool."
Gabrielle nods, "Oh..ok.that makes scene." She'll giggle, "I think Ria meant whatever would make /her/ look prettier."she'll shake her head, but is still smiling, "I hope we can talk more this semester…I actually do kinda miss her…more so than even Ophelia or any of the Ravenclaw girls." She'll shrug, "Maybe I'm just setting myself up, but, i think she could be a really good friend." She'll then narrow her eyes, "No…you're supposed to say which one /you/ like best, so I can keep it that way…..and are fool….but you're my fool, so…it's ok."She'll look down at the table cloth and smile, picking at a piece of lint that's not there.
Lionel emerges into the room with a tray. On it is a coffee cup and saucer and a glass of water. He also carries a pot of coffee. He places the drinks in front of each of them, and pours Gabrielle's coffee as he asks, "Have the two of you given any thought to what you'd like to eat?"
Jackson grins, "You might be right, but I like to give people I've never really got to know the benefit of the doubt. To a point." He then shakes his head, "You don't want to leave the hair color choices in my hands. I think you'd look just as good bald, but here's a hint… Keep changing your hair color if it suits you, and that should suit my capricious nature just fine." He blinks, peering up to Lionel, "I'm sorry, sir. I haven't. What's on the menu?"
Gabrielle eyes light up as she sees the coffee, "Oh!thank you!" She'll wrinkle her nose at Jackson, "Bald….huh.ok, maybe I /won't/ ask you then." She'll look to Lionel for an explanation of what's on the menu.
Lionel nods, "Well, I have all the normal pasties. The big seller is the Cornish." He shrugs, "I also have some of the more unique tastes, as well. You aren't a vampire are you?" he asks of Jackson. "I'm told my blood pasty is one of the best in Europe…"
Jackson glances from Lionel to Gabrielle, shooting her a quick grin. He blinks once at the mention of being a vampire, "I'm not sure. I haven't asked such an existential question of myself since I began looking… down below." He then asks, "How does one check?"
Gabrielle is able to shift the surprised look from Lionel to Jackson. Do boys just stay weird? She'll look down into her coffee and try to remember what it is Madame Lunaris always got….
Lionel lifts his brow just slightly, "No… No, I suppose you aren't a vampire." He looks at Gabrielle, "Vampires are never that dumb, are they?" He shrugs, "Two Cornish then?"
Jackson snickers, shaking his head, "I don't know. I seem to recall a few dumb vampires back through the history. More blood than secrecy, as I recall." He then peers towards Gabrielle for a moment and then nods, "That sounds good to me." He looks back to Lionel, "Are they made with actual Cornish? I'm on a restricted diet…"
From afar, Jackson is going to end up ruining this thing completely. :)
Gabrielle eyes staying slightly wide,quickly turns to Lionel, "that sounds wonderful." She'll try to find Jackson's foot under the table with hers, she's not aiming to kick him, she's just trying to get his attention.
Lionel nods at Gabrielle, "I'll get them in the oven." His eyes swoop over to Jackson, there's a little something fearless and ominous in his gaze. "The lady is taking you on a date. Don't screw it up trying to be a funny guy." He lifts his finger at Jackson, "If you hurt her tonight, I'll hurt you." There's something about the way he says it, that it's not quite clear if he's being funny. Or if he is being funny, there's an eerie sense of truth underneath it. Slowly, he lowers his finger, and then he turns, walking back to the kitchen and out of the room.
Startled, Jackson hops slightly in the chair at the soft kick from Gabrielle. His eyebrows creep up his forehead just slightly, his eyes staying on Lionel until he exits into the kitchen. He huhs and looks back to Gabrielle, "Well, I have him fooled, don't I? Little does he know that the lady is taking me on a date because I'm a funny guy, not in spite of it." He then shakes his head, "Anyway, if I hurt you, I'll hurt me. Doesn't it all strike you as just a little bit redundant?"
Gabrielle 's eyes stay a bit wide until Lionel is completely out of the room. She'll turn to Jackson, "I…look, he's ….When I read his cards…I don't think he's joking." She'll shallow, "I mean, I know you wouldn't ever do anything, but he had a lot of …violence…in his reading….so…" she'll give JAck a pleading look, "Be careful…please?" she'll keep her foot next to his, and will reach across the table with her left hand.
Jackson peers towards Gabrielle, then nods his head, "It's alright, I'll be fine." He then shakes his head, "I'm not sure you should be telling me what came up in his reading. Isn't that a violation of the Diviner-Client relationship? Or is that only applicable at trial?" He reaches out to take her hand as well, "At any rate, it's the New Year in a little bit of time here. Do you have any special plans?"
She'll smile some, happy that Jackson /gets/ it. "I'm not telling you what it said…just that there was a lot of…violence."she'll keep her voice low. She'll giggle, "I was thinking of going to Paris, you know, normal stuff." Gabby'll squeeze his hand. "Or, you know, spend it with you…which ever struck my fancy."
Lionel steps out of the kitchen. As the smell of baking bread fills the room, he just quietly sits at the old upright piano. With a wiggle of his fingers, he then begins playing. It's a soft kind of tune, an old wizarding song of some type, but it fills the room and makes it almost, dare it be, romantic.
Jackson nods his head, "I understand…" He then asks, "Why not do both? I've heard sketches and rumors of France being a notable place to bury Knight-Templars. I would love to go grave robbing there." He adds quickly, "Figuratively, of course." Of course. He then adds, "You should come with me."
Gabrielle laughs, "Just go to Paris."She'll shake her head, "I wish I could make my head work like yours.You make it sound so easy….could you imagine me? In Paris?" She'll glance over to Lionel, smile and then turn back to Jackson. "I just want to spend tonight with you, I don't care where we are."
Lionel continues to just quietly play music for them, not paying much attention to the kids or their conversation.
Jackson raises an eyebrow, "Do you mean can I see you on the second level of the Eifel Tower, watching me pop a lock so we can ascend the other sixteen hundred steps or so to get all the way to the top? Can I see you at the top of the stairs of the Louvre, or in a cafe drinking coffee and eating crepes? Yes, yes I can." He then shakes his head with a grin, "The thing I can't get is why can't you?" He gives her hand a squeeze, his eyes coming 'back to reality', "Where we are tonight is a quaint little cafe in Hogsmeade, the proprietor of which is pretty damned good on the piano if I say so myself. Tomorrow is up to you."
Gabrielle smile drops some, and she'll look down at the table cloth, "Jackson, "I've never been…anywhere. Hogwarts really is the furthest I've ever been . I've never even been to see a picture movie….it's hard to imagine anything like Paris or the Eifel tower." She'll shrug, "I mean, you…I can see you doing just about anything. I have no doubt you'll go around the world…and most likely leave you mark." She'll smile, still not looking up at him, "I'd love to go…I just can't see it…."
Lionel keeps playing the piano, though he glances over his shoulder to make sure they're alright.
Jackson shrugs and gives her hand a squeeze, "You just need to learn to live life at all costs, Gabby… I don't recommend it as a life's work. It's hard, and you delve into places that haven't seen the light of day in at least a few hundred years." He looks up and rolls his eyes, "And the smell!" He then shakes his head, "But it has ancillary benefits as well. You sure see the best of the modern world as well. Did you know Cairo is a fairly modern city? She's not quite London, but she's still the city of a thousand minarets." He then chuckles, "Leave my mark… Like a cocker spaniel." He then adds, "Anyway, I have to say… You look absolutely delicious tonight, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle smiles, "Maybe I'll come with you….one day." It's a little sad, like she doesn't quiet believe it. But then she'll tug on his hand slightly, "Not like that!"She'll laugh, "I mean, you change everything, wherever you go. It's a good thing." Still smiling, she'll tilt her head at his odd verbiage, "Thanks?"
Lionel's tune comes to an end, so he rises, glancing at the two students. He looks at Gabrielle, however, when he dryly notes, "Follow your heart. Do what you want. Accept no limitations. You never know when things will change and keep you from that feeling of freedom, Miss Evans." Then he looks at Jackson, "I'll get your blood pasty, it should be ready." Then he turns and walks into the kitchen.
Jackson's eyebrows raise, and he utters the two words which bubble up to the top of the broth which is the things he'd like say, "Oh, shit." He stands quickly, grabbing his wand, "Hang tight, my dear." He begins walking towards the kitchen, stopping in his tracks and walking back just to add, "And he's right. I'm going around the world while I still can because in ten years, I'll probably be a janitor at the Ministry because my dad can get me the job." He turns quickly again, moving towards the kitchen and peeking his head in the door, "I'm not a vampire, damn it! Look!" He points his wand in the door, "I have a wand."
Gabrielle immediately sits up straighter when Lionel says the comment about the blood pasty and she'll start to ask, but Jackson's already at the door to the kitchen yelling about not being a vampire. she should really stick to picnics and not having anyone else around for dates…Gabby's shoulders will slump, but she does make sure her wands with in reach, at this point, not really trusting either male to be smart.
Just as Jackson peeks his head into the kitchen, he's met by Lionel, holding a rather giant butcher knife and pointing it rather directly at the boy's face. "Get out of my kitchen," Lionel says, flatly. "You both are getting Cornish Pasties. Go. Sit. Down."
Using said wand as an intermediary between himself and the rather large knife, Jackson peers from Lionel's face to the butcher knife, then back up to Lionel with a rather large grin, "You were having a bad day until I showed up, weren't you mate?" He then nods his head, "Looking forward to the pasties." He straightens his back out so where his head is no longer in the kitchen, allowing the door to close. He walks back to his seat, glancing back towards the kitchen door only once. He sits down, looks across the table to Gabrielle and shrugs, "Well, he seems like a nice bloke all told. Strange predilection for knives, but I think he was having a laugh about the blood pastry."
Gabrielle 's right hand twitches some, as she's still not sure she shouldn't be going for her wand. She seems a bit paler than she was when she walked into the cafe and will just give Jackson a pleading face. she will glance at the door. Lionel didn't lock it, right?
Lionel emerges from the kitchen carrying a tray with two plates atop it. Each plate has a large, flaky pasty, steaming. He walks them to the table, and sits one in front of each of them. Once he's done that, he looks at the two plates, and then mumbles, "No no… this was HIS…" And he switches the two plates, putting Gabby's in front of Jackson's and vice versa. He nods, then turns and heads back to the kitchen. "Enjoy."
Jackson glances up towards Lionel, shaking his head and replying sardonically, "Oh, that's not obvious at all." He glances towards Gabrielle for a moment, continuing to shake his head as he picks up the fork. He glances towards the door for a moment, then gives a reassuring shake of his head to her, adding, "It's alright." He then takes a bite of the pastry, chews and nods his head, "It's good."
Gabrielle will just close her eyes for a moment, realizing that while she's pretty sure this isn't normal date behavior…it /may/ be while she dates Jack. She'll bite her lower lip for a moment then pick up her fork. She'll start to cut open her pastie and takes a bite. ok….maybe some of this stress was worth it. It /is/ good. She'll smile some and start to eat a little more normally. "I thought, maybe, if you wanted, we could go walking afterwards?…unless you wanted to stay inside?" She'll look up to see what Jacks thinks.
Jackson digs into the pasty now, finding it both flavorful and safe, if you don't count the spiking cholesterol. He looks up to Gabby, smiling, "This was a well thought out idea." He takes another bite of the pasty, shrugging his shoulders, "It's a beautiful night, tonight. What would we do if we stayed inside?" Once he asks his question, he bites into the pastry once again with a slice of his fork and a bite. His wand is still in his hand, casting a subdued wandlight over the meal. He sets his fork down, taking a sip of the soda water.
Gabrielle will laugh softly, "Well, as much as the Sorting Hat didn't want me to be, I /am/ Ravenclaw. I can plan things pretty well." After eating a few more bites of her own, "I thought maybe we could go down by the beach? or, I heard there's going to be fireworks…somewhere…." She'll make a bit of a face…where did she hear that from again? She'll shrug, "Or, you know, whatever. I just want to ring in the New Year with you. So much better than what I usually do." She'll laugh again, and pick up her coffee.
Lionel walks out into the dining room with the pot of coffee. He moves to refill Gabrielle. "I hope it's to your liking…" He pours the coffee. "I'll be in the back cleaning up for the night. If you need anything else, just give a shout." And with that, he returns to the kitchen.
Jackson looks up towards Lionel, smiling, "Thank you. The pasties are really delicious." Hardly any poison at all! He looks back to Gabrielle, tilting his head slightly, "How about we go back to the castle, get my gear, and we'll have a night to ourselves on the beach?" He then adds, "I'm pretty sure I can arrange warm accommodations for you in my tent." That was not a metaphor. He takes the last bite of his pasty, setting the fork and the dish aside.
Gabrielle will smile and thank Lionel as well. She then blush about as much as Jackson has ever seen her and sputter when Jackson offers ….a night."I…uhh…how about /not/ for the night?" She'll kinda squeak the last part out.
Jackson blinks, his face falling slightly, "Oh, umm, y'know what? Let's forget that and spend the rest of the evening up on top of the astronomy tower." He then adds, "Wherever the fireworks are, we'd be sure to spot them. What do you say to that?"
Gabrielle will look down and then take a deep breath, "You know what….ok….I've never camped, so….I'm doing something new right? Year of new things… "She'll look up and give him a smile, it's timid, but it's there. She'll move some of her curls behind her ear, "Do I need to grab anything?"
Jackson's expression brightens, and he nods his head, "Something new, yes." He then nods again, "You'll need some pants and a heavier coat. I'll have everything else we need in by gear bag." He looks across the table, takes another sip of his water then says, "Ready?"
Gabrielle will nod, but picks up her coffee cup and will drain it. She gets coffee so rarely…"Ok…Guess we're off?" She'll walk towards the kitchen and while she won't open the door, she does yell her goodbyes and thanks to Lionel. She'll then smile and take Jackson's hand.