Empty Streets [Adelaide]

[blaise leo zabini]

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February 15th, 2026

With a large portion of the older students outside of the castle and having traveled to the island of Hy-Brasil for the weekend, Blaise realized exactly how empty the castle really was. There had only been one other time where he could even think of it being the same, and that was during his seventh year of school. The eerie silence in the hallways brought back unwanted memories of the entire ordeal and had driven him to take care of personal business for the majority of the weekend, outside and away from Hogwarts. He preferred to not sulk in the corridors and this was one of his only chances to escape before the flood of children came back sporting druid trinkets and stories of the wild things they saw on the island. It was surely going to halt classes for the next week at the very least, though he had planned for that ahead of time. While he had never personally been to the island, he had met delegates of the community throughout his years in the Ministry, so he sort of had an idea of what the community was like. The students were in good hands there, and he was sure there would be a few that wouldn’t want to return back to school at the end of it. Their loss, because he had a history lesson on dark creatures and the relationship they had with druids. It seemed like the perfect time for it, after all.

This short break was the best time for a catch up though, and he had owled his daughter, Adelaide, a few days prior to see if she wanted to catch up over lunch. Unfortunately the most distance he was allowed to go from the school was Hogsmeade, but that was only because the school needed to find him quickly if something happened with a Slytherin. Why he chose to take the Head of house position was still beyond him. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

While Hogsmeade lacked any serious places to eat, the Three Broomsticks was better than it had been during his school years, and was a guaranteed decent meal if one arrived at the right time of day. During trip weekends, it definitely lacked in quality, but it was bound to be quieter than normal, and he chose to arrive well before what would be considered the pub’s lunch rush. Even that on a regular weekend was just a group of wizened warlocks that were well beyond their years, typically reminiscing on how potion development used to be an art, and how the new-fangled way of doing things was preposterous. On three separate Sundays now, he had heard this same debate. As he took a seat deep into the bar, he hoped he wouldn’t be privy to another one whilst he waited for his daughter to arrive.

@adelaide ● 482 ● Idolatrine by Ghost

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

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[attr="class","nuggettitle"]you better bow down on your knees

[attr="class","nuggetsubtitle"]can i get a yes, your majesty?

[attr="class","nuggetwords"]Adelaide does not begrudge her father his position at Hogwarts nor the limitations of his job and the gravity with which he takes it; it is, after all, his choice to remain close to the school in case of any Slytherin-related incidents and to not bend that limitation. More than any other emotion, she respects him for his solemn approach and the way in which he can better future generations’ knowledge and, hopefully, their attitudes if any of them fall out of line. (Hogwarts, she believes, made a wonderful choice in both a Professor and a Head of House.)

This does not mean she praises the Three Broomsticks as his choice as an eating establishment. Understand? Yes. Celebrate? Not in the least.

She doesn’t dislike the pub specifically, but Hogsmeade had never been her favorite location as a student - not with the oft unpleasant noise level, hormones of too many teens and not enough supervision, and the stupid bigots who saw the trips as a chance to demonstrate superiority, especially in her later years with the murders, the Purifiers, and the tension prior to their reveal. She does possess good memories made in the location, but overall? It is not her preferred place.

(It is, of course, her choice to agree to the location, but she sees no reason to pick otherwise, especially when other eatery options are still within the same area and of relatively equal opinion. Why she spent so much time in the Three Broomsticks specifically as a student when she doesn’t even like butterbeer is entirely due to her companions and their choices. There and Honeyduke’s, mostly.)

Which is why, striding into the establishment, Adelaide is pleasantly surprised.

It does not, in contrast to her musings, give Adelaide a sense of nostalgia. She’s used to the pub bustling with students and adults alike until every chair is taken and then some, having to shout to be heard even from adjacent seats. The smell of butterbeer in the air is weaker than she expects, covered by the more savory scents of other patrons’ meals. In combination with the natural sunlight streaming through the windows and brightening the room visually rather than by fervor and laughter, Adelaide relaxes slightly, shoulders falling half an inch with relief.

(Of course, she muses, her father knows her too well.)

She spots her father with ease, eyes lighting up as she walks to his table and slides into the seat across from him.

“Father,” she greets. “Have you ordered?”

[attr="class","nuggetnotes"]15 february 2026 ♕ blaise leo zabini ♕ 417 words

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[blaise leo zabini]

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In the time before Adelaide arrived, which wasn’t long from when he took his own seat, the same potion conversationalists made their way into the pub and sat almost an uncomfortably close distance to him for the place being as empty as it was. Blaise glared at the group as one made eye contact upon sitting down, but it did little. He had figured that if they were to show up, they would go for their usual table, as regulars were prone to do, and which was also empty for the time being. It was almost like they enjoyed having others be unwilling participants in their debate. He cared very little about potions outside of veritaserum back when he utilized it for work, and the things these gentlemen were discussing were all purely hypothetical what-ifs. Any real potioneers, and he knew plenty, would scoff at some of the drivel coming out of their mouths. It was bound to become interesting if they got into their usual row once Adelaide arrived, since that was her area of practice now. Sending his daughter onto them to correct their idiotic talking would certainly be a highlight of the day for him.

As he continued his glare at one of the poor potions guys, he saw the door to the Broomsticks open again and Adelaide step in. She made eye contact with him immediately, probably knowing to look as far into the pub as possible, since that was usually his thing. “Not yet,” he responded as she came over to the table and took the seat across from him. “But we can if you’re ready?” he waved his hand at the bartender, who seemed to be the only one working the main floor. It was almost eerie without students screaming as loud as possible and barmaids struggling through the crowds. “I’ve caught our neighbors over here-” he motioned with his head at the table of ‘potioneers’, “-discussing at length over the last few weeks about the utilization of pepper-up potions as a coffee replacement every morning, among other things.” Blaise rolled his eyes as he leaned back into his seat. “I suppose there are worse things to be addicted to, but that seems completely preposterous to me, in my opinion.”

@adelaide ● 376 ● THNKS FR TH MMRS by The Maine

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

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[attr="class","nuggettitle"]you better bow down on your knees

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[attr="class","nuggetwords"]“I am,” she agrees as her father waves the bartender over, knowing she will have her usual order - the roast chicken salad with cider.

Adelaide notices the group closer to her father’s table a second later than she usually would have, and she barely stops herself from rolling her eyes. All the empty tables in the room, and they pick that one? Since it‘ll be much too easy to eavesdrop even without the intention to do so, she hopes their conversation is either quiet or entertaining.

This hope dies a sad and swift death when her father speaks.

It takes her a second to register the words. She blinks at him with incredulity and happens to overhear the table neighbors speak on the subject he mentioned with a volume louder than would be considered polite in a public setting.

She inwardly reminds herself that proximity to imbeciles does not actually kill her brain cells no matter how much it feels like it. As it is, she barely stops herself from shooting the entire table a venomous glare for cursing her ears with their drivel. Instead, she looks to her father, one eyebrow raised to clearly express her disdain at the “debate.”

Pepper-up potions - the potion used to cure or alleviate symptoms for the common cold and to warm the recipient up from within, addressing the potential chills accompanying the cold - as a substitute for coffee?

“A few weeks,” she repeats flatly, keeping her voice at a normal volume as she was raised with manners. She does not snort, but there is a part of her that wishes to. “That is quite the time to spend on a hypothetical that not only has neither a logical nor realistic basis but also should have ended as soon as it was brought up.”

She allows herself to roll her eyes, hoping the table beside her is more talented at listening than they are at speaking - though her expectations are low.

“I don’t suppose we could increase the proximity between us and the...others,” she adds, flicking her eyes to the other table without fear.

[attr="class","nuggetnotes"]15 february 2026 ♕ blaise leo zabini ♕ 351 words

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[blaise leo zabini]

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Blaise was neither a potions master nor a healer, and although he was quite knowledgeable in both areas due to his prior careers, it didn’t take anyone past a third year level of potions classes to know that their neighbors were incredibly wrong with their theories. Any witch or wizard worth their salt knew that a pepper-up potion at best could instantly cure the common cold (and in some instances the early signs of influenza), but repurposing it as a morning pick-me-up was absurd. He couldn’t even begin to think of the addictiveness that consuming a potion regularly for the improper reasons could cause, not to mention how many resources that it would drain. One of the key ingredients in it was mandrake root, and having a few dozen potion junkies hooked on popping pepper-up potions would make a difference in the supply chain. It wasn’t like mandrakes could be mass produced.

To add to that, it seem so convoluted to have to constantly buy the stuff, drink it, and then cast the associated spell every morning, when all coffee took was a machine that could basically do it all on its own these days. “I have half the mind to introduce them to one of those muggle coffee machines that uses pods. It would solve all of their problems instantly,” he grumbled as he shot a dirty look at the group from over his shoulder. Whatever their deal was, they probably would never follow through with it. That was sort of a known thing amongst the older, grizzled warlock population. They were all talk, their best days decades behind them.

“I doubt it will help much. There’s no one in here. We’d hear their dealings no matter where we sat,” Blaise explained. He knew from personal experience, only because a few weeks prior he had been sitting at the bar, and they at their usual spot. It was almost like having front row seats then as it was now.

The bartender must have seen the Zabini death stare that was radiating from their booth though, and quickly made his way over to their table, blocking Blaise’s gaze long enough that it seemed like the man got the point. “I’ll take an ale and whatever the lunch of the day is,” he ordered, not caring too much about the particulars of his meal. Years of eating at the pub meant he had gone through the whole menu two or three times by now, and there wasn’t too much that he disliked on it. Basic pub food was good enough for him these days. It was a nice divergence from the overzealous meals at Hogwarts.

@adelaide ● 444 ● Elizabeth by Ghost

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0