Hog's Head ~ Summer 2028

Viper entered the Hog's Head in a rather trance-like manner, not quite paying attention to her surroundings, keen on only one thing: vodka. Normally she'd just kick back at some deserted part of Hogwarts with an unending goblet, but it seemed as though someone had felt the need to hide all of them away from Viper. Either that or she no longer had the ability to summon objects. Regardless of the situation, both possibilities were equally grim and the witch didn't feel the need to look into either possibility for further details, for both lead to her being deprieved of vodka.

"Finlandia." she ordered the bartender as she sat down on one of the bar stools.

The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Finlandia..." he trailed off, waiting to hear the magic word.

Viper glared at the smart-alec reply, definately not in the mood for cheek. "Finlandia, now."

With decades of experience under his belt, the Bartender was quite aware of who and how much to press someone, and this certainly wasn't someone who fit that criteria. Not wanting to start any additional conflict, especially as he had just gotten the pub to a rare state of cleanliness, he felt it best to just hand her the bottle and leave her to wallow in her own misery. "15 galleons." he demanded gruffly, extending his hand, demanding payment.

Viper fumbled for a moment, taking a few more seconds than she would have normally would have searching for her Gringotts Card, as Huntington's was now beginning to impair her coordination. "Here," she replied, sliding her credit card towards the bartender, cracking open the bottle and pouring herself a cup.

The bartender shook his head. "Uh-uh. We take gold, not plastic. I want galleons." he replied as he slid the card back to Viper.

Viper rolled her eyes and scowled. "That's stupid. What kind of bar doesn't take GCs?"

The bartender glared at the attitude demonstrated. "One where you won't be drinking anytime soon..." he retorted, pulling back the bottle.

"Hey! Look, I don't have any galleons on me at the moment, ok? Just hand over the bottle, and you'll get the money tomorrow. I swear." Viper replied as she reached for the bottle.

"Well, till then you can take your drinking elsewhere."

"Screw you! What the hell? I told you you'd get your damn money! Hand over the bottle!" she hissed.

"No! Look, either you cough up the galleons or you can get the hell out. I know who you are, Miss. Viper, and of your reputation with local bars. I'd hate to have you banned from yet another pub." he smirked. "I daresay the alcohol industry would suffer from your lack of contributions..."

"It's Professor Viper." she replied, an icy hatred freezing her core.

The bartender smirked, holding up the latest issue of Potioneering Pioneer, aka: the final nail, crucifying Viper's career and dignity: an exposee of the real reasons behind her resignation and termination of her license. Her personal medical information, exposed to all. Every single detail. "Not according to this you aren't..." he snickered.

Before he could add more to his cadence of insults, a fist made its way right to his nose, shattering it and splattering blood all over as she clambored over her the counter to tackle him straight to the ground, striking him as hard and often as she could. It was only because five nearby bystanders who weren't intoxicated as much as the rest, hopped over the counter as well to pry Viper off the bartender, preventing her from murdering him as she greatly desired to.

"You crazy bitch!" he gasped, clutching his oozing nose. "Get the hell out of my pub!"

"Gladly!" Viper glared as she kicked the two men grasping her arms away and stormed out of the bar, taking care to grab the bottle as she did so, swearing as she exited.

"Bloody bastard..." she hissed as she leaned forward against a nearby wall, allowing the bottle to leviate beside her as she withdrew a cigarette, igniting it and taking a long drag.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Amaranth Viper... Still getting into bar brawls even after all these years?" a male voice from behind her inquired light-heartedly, following with a soft snicker.

Viper rolled her eyes, assuming it was yet another random wizard feeling the need to rub in her fate. "Hey, look, buddy, I'm already having a rather shitty day, so if you could just get the hell away from me, otherwise you'll get this little cigarette here, shoved up- " Viper froze in her sentece as she noticed the face before her. Unlike her original judgement, it wasn't at all a sneering wizard, but rather a wizard she knew very well. And, to be quite honest, one that at one point in her life, was number one to her...

"Victor..." she breathed out, a soft smile playing on her lips.

"It's lovely to see you again, love." he replied with a smile, stepping closer to the witch.

"Likewise..." she managed, giving him a full fledged smile. "I didn't know you were back in Britain. Last I looked, you were still in Stockholm."

"Nah. Got too tired of Sweden. Lovely place, but gets quite dull after a while. Not to mention I... got rather lonely." he admitted. "Sweden's gorgeous, but nothing compared to the U.K., especially since everyone else I know is here." he added with a grin. "What about you? How've you been? I, uh, read the article..."

Viper winced, taking a gulp of her vodka. "I didn't realize they had the Pioneer over at Sweden..." she muttered darkly, before taking another long drag.

Victor nodded sympathetically. "They're just worried..."

"Ah, lovely. Pitying me instead of mocking me. Don't I feel special..." Viper replied dryly, inhaling more of her cigarette. "Look, can we just drop it? I deal with it, thinking about it every damn day. For once, I'd like to drink in peace without those bloody thoughts..."

The wizard nodded eagerly. He hadn't approached her just so he could hear firsthand which of the rumours were true. "Yes, of course." He wanted to see her because he genuinely missed her company, and wanted to make sure she was alright. Victor took a moment, pondering how to take the conversation into a different course. "So... have you heard about our dear old Hufflepuff schoolmate Chastity Clyde. Or should I say... Chase Clyde?" he asked with a mischevious glint in his eyes.

Raven eyebrows raised in interest as relief crossed her features at the change in topics. "No, I haven't. Do tell..." she requested with a smirk, looking at Victor with interest as to what he had to say.

Victor mirrored her smirk, pleased that he managed to change the course into a lighter one. "Very well then..." he agreed as he began to tell her all he had learned of the rather amusing tale.


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Hours had passed until it was early hours of the next day, though time was an unknown factor to the witch and wizard who now sat on top of a table at the picnic tables, sharing various amusing anecdotes and memories the two shared.

"Bloody hell, I can't believe I actually said that to her!" Viper managed between laughter. It had been months since she had smiled genuinely, or laughed at all for that matter.

"Oh, come now! Amaranth, you were many things in the past, but never innocent!" Victor managed, in the same state as Viper, choking with laughter. When he finally managed to control himself, he gazed into her emerald orbs for a good long while. Far longer than one should spend, gazing into the eyes of a woman known to be married. "You always were a handful. Can't complain though. Those years at Hogwarts were some of the best of my life... Those years between tthe teenage-era and adulthood. With our friends. With you..." he confessed softly, one hand reaching upwards to gently caress her features.

Viper's mind screamed that what she was doing was wrong. She was married, for Merlin's sake! With children! But yet... not even her own thoughts and conscience could pull her away from Victor.

Being with Victor was like... a breath of fresh air for the witch. They had known each other since they were small children, dated in Hogwarts, and were even engaged at one point. Though it had been years since they had seen each other, it was clear that he still knew Viper as well as ever.

Not to mention the fact that being with Victor helped serve as a reminder of happier times, in the golden era of her teen years. Back when she felt as though she was on top of the world, seizing the day, not caring about tomorrow.

It was rather difficult to explain why exactly it was so easy for Viper to get close to Victor and open to him, but so difficult for her to even look at Sevastyan and the children. Actually, scratch that. Viper knew exactly why the atmosphere was so different.

She was supposed to be a wife and mother to her husband and children, and yet she was leaving them, betraying them by growing more and more ill, defaulting on her promises. With Victor, she owed him nothing. He was just an old friend who came to be with her, no strings attached.

Ok, ok. Old flame. Same thing though, isn't it?

As a wife and mother, she was meant to take nothing, and give everything. A task she could no longer carry out.

With Victor, she could take everything and give nothing...

"Victor..." she whispered softly, intending it to be a warning, thought her "warning" came out far too breathily to be taken seriously, instead sounding more like an invitation. The fact that she leaned into his caresses, closing her emerald orbs didn't help anything.

"Amaranth..." he replied just as breathily, before closing the distance between them, with a tentative kiss on Viper's lips, in case she rejected his advances.

But yet, to both the witch's and the wizard's astonishment, Viper didn't pull away from his kiss at all. She deepened it, immediately initiating another...