you had a little faith -- hannah

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@jill11

house hunting was harder than he thought. he didn't even know what he wanted besides a bed and a bath. he sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he leaned over the paper he was reading well come to think of it he'd need two. three at a stretch. he sighed as he looked over the listings again. what he was earning didn't seem like it would be enough for what he was needing. well that sucked. he was starting to hate his job less so he was thinking of sticking around for longer than he had thought. he glanced up at the empty cauldron, it was only ten in the morning so the people staying had filtered out and back up to their rooms and the people who came in for drinks and lunch weren't due to start filing in for about an hour so he figured he had some time to bury his head in the paper and try and sort out his dilemma.

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@leigh
<3

Hannah had quite the week, especially after the first task of the tournament. The Beauxbatons champion seemed to make it out quite fine, with only a bit of frost bite to his hand, while the other two needed a bit more recuperation, especially the Durmstrang boy. He had stayed overnight in the Hospital Wing a few nights, just so they could keep a monitor on him and see how well his skin was doing. Hannah decided to take a trip to The Cauldron, hoping there might be something she'd need to clean or organize to keep her anxiety at bay.

As she opened the door, she saw Raleigh at the bar counter, head deep in a Newspaper. Hannah grinned brightly at the sight of him and turned the corner behind the bar and took a quick look over his shoulder. "Buying a house, Mr. Flint?"

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@jill11

"Buying a house, Mr. Flint?" raleigh jumped as hannah appeared and read the paper over his shoulder. he'd been so caught up in what he'd been reading that he hadn't heard her come over to his side. that was bad of him, it could have been anyone though he knew that he was pretty safe in the cauldron, neville had told them it was spelled to protect the people inside it so there was that. "yeah .. if i can find one i can afford" it was weird for him. he'd never had to worry about money before. his parents had been happy enough to throw it at their children in an effort to keep them out of their way a lot of the time and raleigh had saved a bit of it but not enough apparently. "the bar's quiet so i thought i'd have a look" he said as he moved to straighten and close the paper, not wanting to do nothing while his boss was there.

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@leigh
<3

Hannah saw Raleigh jump and she smiled. She hadn't meant to scare him but she supposed it was a good thing. Maybe next time he was alone in the bar he'd make sure not to be not paying attention. Yes, there were protection spells and such but to be cautious is best. "I understand. But you must also be watching. You aren't paid to read." Hannah's voice was gentle, but she knew Raleigh would know she was serious. Hannah did not mind him looking for a house as long as the Cauldron was being taken care of correctly. "What type of house are you looking for?"

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@jill11

"I understand. But you must also be watching. You aren't paid to read." he simply nodded his head. he could say that he was paid to keep the bar clean and serve drinks and anything else was the responsibility of the other people in the bar but he didn't think it would go over well with his boss. besides it wasn't like she had chewed him out for taking his eyes off the bar. "What type of house are you looking for?" a better one than he could afford if he was being honest with himself. he could go try and take money out of the family vault, merlin knew his parents wouldn't miss it but he didn't want to sink to that level. "anything at the moment" he could handle living in something tiny but he didn't really want to. if he was going to pay money for a place for the rest of his life he wanted to be able to live in it.

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@leigh
<3

Hannah smiled at Raleigh. She was a tad bit surprised to say the least that he didn't retort back, but she was also glad. It was a big step for Hannah to allow anyone to watch the Cauldron, let alone run it without her there. And the two boys she hired had so far shown her the best respect and done everything she asked, which she was very thankful for. Hannah rose an eyebrow at Raleigh's comment on the house situation, and her eyebrow went up as she looked at which houses he was looking for. "Have you tried different towns? Some towns have nice and large houses for cheaper than you'd expect."

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@jill11

"Have you tried different towns? Some towns have nice and large houses for cheaper than you'd expect." he had started to branch out of where he wanted to buy a house but he wasn't willing to branch out too much. there were reasons he wanted somewhere close to hogsmeade, well at least those reasons would be there for another year. he taped his pen against the paper and nodded slightly. "i'd like to stay around hogsmeade .. my brother will still be in school next year" he said as he closed the paper and folded it to tuck under the bar so he could get back to work. "i'll keep looking later" he relented and moved to start grabbing some of the glasses that had been cleaning in the sink behind him. "taking a break from hogwarts?" he asked her over his shoulder as he stacked the glasses up so they were easier to carry. it would be simple enough to use magic to move them but he was finding he liked the manual labor part of his job more than the customer service part of the bar.

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@raleigh
<3

Hannah nodded her head at his comment about his brother. She knew this and was glad that he wanted to stay close to his brother, strong siblings bonds and relationships is what she always tried to bestow upon her own children. Seeing Raleigh trying to buy a house around his brother's needs was very sweet of him. "I'm sure your brother will really appreciate that." Raleigh was incredibly quiet, and Hannah wanted to eventually be able to get him to open up to her. It was quite difficult, but it was a goal she would love to accomplish. He put away the newspaper and began drying dishes, and she walked over and started to wash some more of them that were in the sink. "Yes, just a small break. I miss coming here every morning, if you can believe it."

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@jill11

I'm sure your brother will really appreciate that." he was starting to wonder if river really would. his brother seemed to want to spend more time around their father these days and the thought scared raleigh. he had spent years learning from his father, being taught the lessons that marcus flint had assumed that he'd need to know and he was no better for them. he didn't want river to be changed by the words his father told him. "i hope so.. but he's been-" he cut off as he realized that would be saying too much. they didn't need to know what was happening. he'd protect his own siblings. he didn't need to whine about what was going on with his family to his boss. "Yes, just a small break. I miss coming here every morning, if you can believe it." he shrugged a little and glanced at her as he put some of the dishes away. "it's your home. so i can believe it" he said as he moved to pick up the towel and he started to dry the dishes she was washing by hand.

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@leigh
<3

Hannah watched as Raleigh seemed to be in his own thoughts. She wasn't too aware of much of Raleigh's family and home life, but Hannah was the type of person to help in any way possible. So when he began speaking and then suddenly stopped, not looking at her, Hannah took a pause with the dishes and set them down, her wet hands resting on the edge of the sink, her head tilted towards him. "He's been...? Raleigh, you know...I don't want you to ever feel uncomfortable speaking with me. Or coming to me if you need help or advice. I'd love to help, in any way." She didn't want to push him too far, so she turned and continued the dishes again, allowing that silent area to become a new conversation if he felt the need. "It is my home, but I have many homes. This is different though, it's something I've put a lot of work into."

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@jill11

"He's been...? Raleigh, you know...I don't want you to ever feel uncomfortable speaking with me. Or coming to me if you need help or advice. I'd love to help, in any way." she wanted him to open up to her? he couldn't do that. first she was his boss and second he didn't know how to. he'd never done it. the only person he'd come close to spilling his guts to was neville and that had been after a difficult evening at work. though he had managed to keep himself from sharing too much without thinking about it. "noted, thanks" he said. he tried not to sound ungreatful but he couldn't just take her up on her offer like that, so many people had taught him they couldn't be trusted, he just couldn't trust someone so easily. "It is my home, but I have many homes. This is different though, it's something I've put a lot of work into." he nodded slightly and waved his hand to open one of the cupboards so the dishes could start stacking themselves. "i understand that. must be quiet though .. without your kids?" he said, chewing the inside of his lip discreetly as he tried to make small talk. he wasn't all that comfortable with small talk but he was getting there slowly, starting to come around to how things worked in inter work relationships.

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@leigh
<3

Hannah wasn't one to push. As long as her feelings and thoughts were out there and noted, as Raleigh had said, she felt fine with that. This way, he knew she'd be there even if he didn't want her to be. Or, if he needed her to be, she would be. That is what was important to her. And while Raleigh currently didn't want to talk to her, but maybe someday he would. But for now, she would let it be. He questioned her on the quietness and she nodded, laughing quietly. "It is extremely quiet. It's nice, but at the same time, it's a sound I miss as well."

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@jill11

"It is extremely quiet. It's nice, but at the same time, it's a sound I miss as well." he could understand that. he didn't miss hogwarts, well he missed parts of it and the constant hum of noise was one of them. he wasn't a fan of total quiet although he didn't like loud either. a nice in between was what he preferred. "are they coming back for the holidays?" they were coming up and raleigh would have to find some way to spend time with river while working and avoiding his parents.

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@leigh
<3

Hannah shook her head, a small smile on her face. "I don't think so, not with the Yule Ball happening. But we will be having them all and their significant others over for a large dinner, so that will be nice to have everyone in the same house again." Her and Neville's children were all growing up, and very fast. Soon they'd all be out on their own, living in their own places, not wanting to see their parents everyday. It was bittersweet, but Hannah would never keep them from living their lives and growing up. That is what they raised them to do, and they would both be proud of all of their children no matter what.

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@jill11

"I don't think so, not with the Yule Ball happening. But we will be having them all and their significant others over for a large dinner, so that will be nice to have everyone in the same house again." family. he wondered in that moment what it would be like to get excited about family gatherings. they had been dreaded times in his family. in his house holidays hadn't been something one looked forward too. his mother was often drunk for them, like she usually was. his father was either absent or his usual self and that was almost as bad as their mother being drunk. the only thing was the food but it was no different than anything they could ask the house elves to make them on a regular day. sure there had been gifts but no joy on his parents faces while they'd opened them. mostly the gifts had been tools to keep the kids quiet and out of the parents way though it often didn't work resulting in them usually being punished by their mother. he snapped himself out of the thoughts when he realised he'd been cleaning the same circle of the bar for the whole time he'd been thinking about it. "sounds like it'll be fun for you all" he said as he busied his hands with sorting out he bottles behind the counter. they'd become a little messy during the rush hour and he'd not taken the time to sort them out.