Dull to Pause [|John|]

[Professor Adam Greene]

Fridays. Adam loved them; not to the point that he looked forward to them all week, but enough that he would let out a relieved sigh at the realization that he had a few days away from work. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy his job either. In fact, he was very pleased with his job. It wasn’t the Ministry of Magic, like he’d always dreamed of working at, but it was a job he had learned to love, and, as time went on, he realized he didn’t want to be anywhere else.

Tonight though, he was happy to have the opportunity to just relax, stopping in at the Three Broomsticks before heading to his cottage in Hogsmeade. Deciding to live outside of the castle was a decision he had never regretted, even if his initial reason was so that he could be with Dixie more often. Now, he simply enjoyed the alone time, happy to have the option of escaping the busy Hogwarts castle. While he loved working with the students, he could only take it in small doses. They were, after all, only a few years younger than him, that age where teenage hormones and immaturity seems to be an incurable disease.

Finding a stool at the somewhat empty bar, he scanned the surroundings, somewhat surprised to see such a small crowd on a Friday night. Perhaps it was a bit early, but then again, shouldn’t there be a dinner rush? Shrugging it off, Adam didn’t really care that it was quiet in the pub. Perhaps it was more relaxing that way anyways.

He ordered his drink: a firewhiskey (heated, of course). The weather was still cold enough outside to make a warm drink his beverage of choice. Perhaps when the springtime weather finally took over the cold winter winds, he’d go back to his normal chilled butterbeer.

For a while, Adam made small talk with the waitress who was working the bar. She was new to the Three Broomsticks, or at least this had been the first time he’d seen her. Then again, that wasn’t saying much, seeing that it had been a while since his last visit. He had spent the holidays with Sierra, travelling around France. It was a Christmas gift that he knew she would enjoy. But now, it was back to his original routine, school had started up again, which meant more trips to the Three Broomsticks (he hated cooking for just himself).

When the bell on the door jingled, indicating another customer, Adam turned out of instinct, noticing the familiar face of a dark-haired man that was his age, if not a bit older. It was John Wesley, the new professor who had been hired over the Christmas holiday to replace Hagrid as the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Adam had yet to formally meet the guy, which probably seemed quite rude, considering they had been co-workers for at least a few weeks now. It just showed how chaotic the return of the school term could be.

“Hey John!” Adam shouted, trying to get his attention. Adam was almost certain that John would at least know who he was, even if they hadn’t officially met. Then again, he couldn’t be sure.

[Professor John Wesley]

The idea of going home, having to cook a meal, and then being left with the mess to clean up didn’t appeal to John at all, which made stopping at the Three Broomsticks for dinner seem like a great idea. He was new in Hogsmeade, but he’d quickly learned that the best and most convenient meals in the village could be found here. Not to mention, it seemed to be the center of town, the place where everyone gathered, including the Hogwarts students when they made their occasional trips to the village.

For the past two weeks, John had been making the transition into his new life. A new job. A new home. And most importantly, a whole new set of co-workers. Not to mention, he had the daunting task of making new friends. Everyone seemed kind for the most part, but things like that took time. He could hardly expect to just snap his fingers and have a group of people that he called friends. Lucky for him though, there seemed to be a lot of other professors at Hogwarts who were younger and recently hired in the past year or so. That would make his job of fitting in a bit easier.

As he entered the pub, he was somewhat surprised to hear his name shouted from the bar. His eyes landed on Adam Greene, one of the other professors at Hogwarts, and John couldn’t help but grin. Call it irony, or perhaps fate, but it seemed that making friends might not be as hard as he thought.

John made his way to the bar, taking the stool next to Adam. “Professor Greene,” he nodded in acknowledgement.

“Please… call me Adam.”

John laughed, happy to not have to continue with the formalities, and relieved that Adam seemed comfortable enough to use first names. That was a good sign, right?

“How are you doing?” John asked, before making his order from the bar. “Are you having dinner, or just a drink?” he questioned, seeing that there was no food in front of Adam yet. Either he had just ordered, or he wasn’t having dinner.

[Professor Adam Greene]

While Adam appreciated the polite greeting, he much rather preferred to be called his first name by his peers. Professor Greene sounded so formal that he didn’t even like the students calling him that. Still, while at the castle, it was the name he went by, just because he didn’t want to lose the respect of the students if they used his first name. His age made it hard to gain their respect in the first place, and he couldn’t afford to lose any that he had gained, even if it meant using the formal greeting rather than his first name.

“I’m fine. Happy for Friday,” Adam replied. “How about you?”

He watched John scan over the menu, appearing interested in a few of the entrees as his gaze would occasionally stop as he pondered some of the food options. "No, I'm just having a drink," Adam answered. He wasn't very hungry, for a change, but that just meant he'd likely go home and raid the cupboards later, regretting that he passed on some of Hogsmeades' best cooked meals. "Or two," he shrugged, knowing that he might have a couple drinks. It was Friday night after all, and he had nowhere he needed to be. "But don't let that stop you from getting something to eat. I recommend the soups myself. Not sure what today's special is. I could ask the waitress if you want." John still seemed hesitant on whether he would get food or not.

"So how are you liking Hogwarts?" Adam asked, somewhat relieved to not be the new guy anymore. Well, even without John coming to Hogwarts, Adam wasn't the newest professor, but he often felt like it. It had been over a year since he had been teaching, but sometimes he felt so overshadowed by some of the professors who had taught him when he was a student. That was slowly starting to change though, the inevitable transitioning of generations. Soon, it might be just the opposite, rare for Adam to have the chance to work alongside those professors who were once his superiors and now his peers. "Students giving you a hard time?" Adam figured that John had an advantage, being new all together. None of the students would remember him from when he was a student like they could for Adam. It was definitely weird having to teach people who you had played Quidditch against or eaten dinner with in the Great Hall just years prior.