Champagne problems ¦ OPEN

[Lyra Horváth]

Early Jan 2028

Since the deal had gone through, Lyra had been spending a lot more time at her new business. There was worries of course, she had had to go to the bank to back the money that she had counted on from EPKE ROBERTUS OPPEDYK , but still, she prefered it that way now. As hanna horváth had pointed out, the tour of the States would bring in enough to cover the majority of it once it kicked off so it would be mostly fully hers soon enough, but until then there was some unease about it all. It didn't stop her from hanging about there and charging things to her tab though.

It was easier to be here and be alone than it was to be in the Hotel bar. There she got looks from other travellers. Mostly men looking for a companion for the night. That made her skin crawl more than it should have. She was single now and in theory, she could have all the one-night stands she wanted; but truthfully it hadn't sparked any interest in her anymore. It was like the once very prominent side of her was now boxed away and nobody really held any attention for her. Nor did she care for any unwanted attention either.

Signalling to one of the barmen, she tipped her head towards the wine fridge, and just as easily as she had taken a seat, there was a magnificent-sized glass in front of her. Glancing around, she was pleased to see that for a Tuesday night, the place was actually fairly busy. It was a promising sign.

With a sip from her glass, she sighed quietly and checked her phone notifications; unsure of what she was even looking for.

[jimbo brian blishwick vi]

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Despite being busier than every between his multiple businesses, Jimbo still managed to find time for himself in the evening. Locating other magical owned restaurants and bars had become his passion as of late - a way to check out how his peers were doing things. From a business perspective it was smart to place himself in public areas frequently. Aside from his matchmaking services, he didn't frequently lord over the pizza parlor or the Spellbucks nearly as much as he did when they both opened. There were competent managers for that. Plus no one really wanted him pouring coffee or making pizzas. That defeated the purpose of hiring all of those employees. The self-promotion via both had greatly boosted his first career in a way that he hadn't known possible. He felt like he had reached movie star status at times too, and carrying around his cartoonish wand-cane definitely added to that whole perception.

Tonight he had 'dressed down', which in Jimbo terms meant not wearing his typical brightly colored suits and opting for something more meant for a cocktail bar. He was still overdressed for the place as he reached the 96th floor that was reserved for magical kind. Unfortunately his closet didn't know the meaning of casual wear, and even his least formal of jackets still came across as a tad pretentious for some people.

But at the bar, no one would really care. He was just here to check the place out and see what the atmosphere was all about. If he was going to be sending couples on blind dates here, he needed a feel for it. Just by the exclusivity of it, that alone worked well in his favor. The tables seemed intimate and the bar he was seated at had a classy vibe. Their world needed something like this. Pubs were great and all, but there came a point where one needed something a tad nicer. And for a Tuesday, it was quite busy.

Motioning to the bartender, Jimbo ordered another glass of the top shelf scotch he had been sipping on. He never dared to buy a bottle of it, knowing that he'd go through it far faster than one reasonably should. Keeping it as just a treat suited him just fine. As he waited he glanced down the bar to see if there was anyone he might know. That usually happened to him. Then again, more people knew who he was now than ever before. It sort of helped when his face was plastered on Daily Prophet ads, pizza boxes, and WitchTV commercials. Not even Bertie Bott had managed to monetize himself to this degree. Though at this bar, it seemed the young woman who had just taken a seat near him was more well-known, not even needing to tell the bartender what she wanted before wine was provided. Now that was excellent service! Or maybe the bartender was merely a Legillimens. He couldn't stop himself from making an impressed face while looking back and forth between the two as his scotch was being fetched.

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[Lyra Horváth]

Since taking over 96th at the Shard, Lyra had made sure some things had changed about the place. While it still held an air of exclusivity, it was slightly less so. Her plan had worked and it had in fact begun to cater to a more diverse set of clientele from across the wizarding world, and not just Werewolves. Glancing around this evening she spotted a pair of House Elves on a date, a centaur smoking out on the balcony, and a good mix of Wixen alike. Shooting a weak smile of gratitude to the bar staff as a glass of her favourite wine was set in front of her, she sat back and sipped it; unsure of whether it was a good thing or not that the staff already knew her so well.

Setting the thin stemmed glass down on the counter in front of her, she looked to the side of her. The next seat over there was a well-dressed, slightly older man. He held her interest for likely longer than she should have stared at him. He seemed to be fairly impressed with the place. Which made a small shard of happiness break through in her heart.

"Not bad is it?" raising an eyebrow slightly, she cast her gaze around, before settling back on him. She decided to play stupid for a few moments, wondering if she could twist the situation in her favour and gather some feedback. She wasn't feeling at all well tonight (physically or mentally), and yet, maybe something positive could come from the night if she put some work into it.

jimbo brian blishwick vi

[jimbo brian blishwick vi]

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To say that he didn't expect another patron to talk to him would be a lie. It almost always happened, mainly because of his reputation, but also because Jimbo liked casual conversation and knew he gave off that vibe. With the wine woman directing a question at him, he carefully took a sip of his drink before addressing it. "Its certainly nice to have a little more exclusivity than a converted back room of a muggle pub," he commented. There was enough money in the Gringotts safes of magical philanthropists now that they could do whatever they wanted. Jimbo knew because he was a prime example of it. Obviously this sat within muggle premises, and yet it had its own floor and altogether feel. He could do with more of this. Then again, he also enjoyed the dives, like the Hog's Head, and Potter's place in Godric's Hollow. Calling the Hounds and Harriers a dive wasn't exactly correct, but it was definitely more of that vibe than this place he was currently at.

"I'm a bit of a connoisseur of magical owned businesses," Jimbo further explained. Knowing that there was very little 'competition' to this place meant that he'd have no problem sending couples here on dates. Though at the same time, that would probably pose problems. If there was only the 96th at the Shard, the special feel of it would definitely wane the longer it was open. That meant that the lucky arranged dates would have to be over the next several months and then he'd have to start thinning it out. There was no reason to run a place like this to death when there were muggle equivalents. Jimbo took another sip of his drink as he thought about the debacle he had just found himself in. No one ever said this was an easy job. "And the quality of the drinks is superb," he quickly added.

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[Lyra Horváth]

With a coy smile, she nodded in agreement. "That's true. Especially somewhere so nice and welcoming to Lupinites" with a quick flash of her gleaming teeth, she raised an eyebrow and lifted her drink again. She had some idea of who he was, of course. Her staff had been chittering about the people who had been coming and going, and someone with such a reputation as a mogul like Jimbo Blishwick didn't exactly go under the radar. But still, it was unlikely she was known to him. Just another dark-haired woman, possibly Lycanthrope in a sea of finely dressed people at the upscale new bar.

Trying to dull the ache in her chest for her mate as quickly as possible, she motioned to the bar staff for a top-up. When they obliged she gave them a curt nod of thanks before turning back to Jimbo. Mulling over a thought for a moment she paused; should she let the wolf out of the bag, or should she keep him in mystery for another few moments? Pursing her lips, she decided on the latter and she flashed her teeth at him again.

"I'm Lyra by the way. Nice to meet you" leaning forward she raised her glass towards him in a fashion as if to pledge a toast. "They are pretty nice alright. Here's to many more" For now it was easier to ignore the feeling that had been burning away at her for too long, easier to distract herself with this new friend.

jimbo brian blishwick vi

[jimbo brian blishwick vi]

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"You don't say?" Jimbo responded to the implication that the establishment was a preferred spot for werewolves. If someone had told him that twenty years ago, he would have been confused as lycanthropes were still struggling to make ends meet and this bar wasn't exactly for a light coin purse. "I'm glad to see that there are more inclusive spaces to go to nowadays. Considering how it used to be..." They didn't need to get into that whilst drinking. It was a sour subject and he disliked bringing it up unless necessary. History, while denoting the past, also was not meant to be ignored as many seemed to like to do. The last few years should have been a lesson for all. He still didn't know what to think of this relative peace that had popped up. The only thing he could do is make sure his work continued to make his customers happy. That seemed to be working as intended.

Jimbo raised his glass to the young woman, Lyra, in a toast. "Jimbo Blishwick. And it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Lyra." There were times where he almost felt silly for having to introduce himself. It was good manners to do so, of course, though he rarely saw the need to anymore. His name and face were plastered across everything from Horizont to Hogsmeade, and anywhere the Daily Prophet went. Luckily for him, he lacked the ability to be embarrassed. Somehow, and it was really quite amazing, he had almost managed to keep his ego in check. Nearly impossible to do after the success of the pizza parlor, yet he pulled it off. The other Jimbos had warned him of putting himself in too many places at the same time, mostly to keep him from spreading himself thin. But it seemed to be working alright so far.

"So what do you do Miss Lyra? I have a...let's call it a presence in the Alleys and Hogsmeade, and I don't recall ever seeing you around either," Jimbo took a nice sip of his scotch. Merlin, this was a good glass! Really what he was trying to do was inquire why he'd never seen her at his businesses. Then again, Jimbo was only one man. If he could duplicate himself, well, he was pretty sure the world wouldn't be able to handle more than one of his shenanigans at the same time.

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[Lyra Horváth]

Sipping from her drink again, she paused and watched him, drinking Jimbo in. After a moment she eventually offered him a half smirk "Maybe people finally realised how ridiculous it was to turn away our Gold..." with a quite laugh she shrugged but pointedly watched him still.

Half of it was to work him out, again, she knew of him and he was influential. He didn't seem a bad sort of person to have on her team. However she wouldn't full decide on that just yet. No, there was more observing to be done just now. Once upon a time Lyra was a much more open and friendly person, that part of her had been burned and bitten too many times. Now she was always much more careful about things. About everything really. Even if she could still be hot headed at times, she always at least tried to suss out situations before throwing herself fully in. Tried.

No, even having Jimbo Blishwick just as an acquaintance would be helpful for now, hopefully. And then, in time, maybe a closer friend, if she could trust him. For now though, this would be enough.

A small laugh escaped her as she listened to him explain himself, and she repositioned herself to be just a little closer to him. "Of course, it's hard to miss you I'd agree. A presence, that's a good way to describe it I'd guess. A successful presence all the same, nothing to be ashamed of or to shy away from anyway..." an almost rueful smile started on her lips; maybe some day, if she could settle down in the same way she could be half as successful. Big if. She paused long enough to turn to the bar staff to top up both of their drinks once again. Long enough to ruminate and choose her words carefully enough. "Well I've only been back in the UK for a little while I suppose. Even then I've been somewhat unsettled. I'm a Professional Duellist, so I travel a lot. But here and there I'm trying to develop ties to a place, settle down in some ways perhaps..." trailing off, she pursed her lips before sipping from her glass again. For a second it seemed like she was internally debating with herself whether to let him in on a little secret of hers. Her gaze dropped away from him, but then with a slightly replenished sense of bravado she looked back to him, as if puffing herself back up. "Although I've been less than successful on some more personal fronts, some things have gone my way. Like this place for example, it's mine..."

jimbo brian blishwick vi

[jimbo brian blishwick vi]

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Jimbo could drink to that! He had always viewed the restrictive laws as absurd and old fashioned, especially when it came to werewolves. The fact that vampires and full-blooded veela (who were infinitely more dangerous around the clock than a werewolf ever was) were viewed as normal and allowed while werewolves weren't? Absolutely silly. Maybe it was because his main business up until recently was love, and solely love. Those sorts of things, while they did matter, were all surface level. He had known plenty of demihumans over the years and if the government ever took the time to sit down and listen, they'd figure it out too. He assumed there was some sort of deal behind closed doors to keep at least one group semi-oppressed though. It always worked that way. But compared to how lycanthropes were treated while he was a young lad, things had changed drastically.

He knew that his presence (and face) were a staple of the shopping districts. It had always been that way, since the moment he'd taken over the matchmaking business from his father. A dying art, Jimbo's practice had needed to adapt, and quickly at that. He thought he'd done well for himself on that front though, and having the other businesses now helped supplement any slack that the matchmaking had. Eventually, there wouldn't be a need for it any longer...

"Ah! A professional duelist! It's been a while since I've bumped into one of you!" Years even. They were rare, most stuck on the world circuit or underground from what he understood. The magical community's dirty little secret. What was more interesting was what Lyra said at the end. That this bar was hers. Jimbo's eyebrows raised jovially as he took another sip of his drink. It was still exquisite after the ice had started to melt. "It certainly looks to be doing well," he commented as he looked around at the other patrons again. "Do you know much about my matchmaking business? I was thinking that I would like to potentially send some of the blind dates that I help with here. The atmosphere is definitely intimate enough for it..."

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[Lyra Horváth]

Reaching for her now fresh glass, Lyra pursed her lips and pondered for a moment. She didn't know what would come of this evening with Jimbo; just a friendly chat, or a to be signed-off business. If nothing else if was a pleasant even, and she was enjoying his company. Probably the most, sincere, human interaction she had had in a little while.

Sipping from her drink she listened to him, before a small coy smile began to spread on her face. "We tend to keep a low profile for the most part. Well..." pausing to correct herself she took a breath. "If we're not on the international stage anyway, we're found in more....discreet establishments I suppose" Smirking, she was sure he would get her meaning. Although she had left the underground scene behind for the most part, it was an unspoken secret of the wizarding world. Everyone who was anyone knew about it; they just didn't talk about it on account of the illegalities of it all.

Glancing away from Jimbo and around, her smile dimmed somewhat. "It's not doing too bad anyway. I'm proud of how it's going, but I suppose that does harken back to being other-being friendly." With another sip of her drink, she listened some more, and let her head fall to the side in semi-confusion "Match-making? No, I don't know a lot about that. But you have peaked my interested, so why don't you tell me more?" She was always looking for some extra ways to make money these days, every little helped towards buying those initial investors out. Another step towards independence that didn't mean selling herself in the European underground duelling scene. That was always appealing.

jimbo brian blishwick vi

[jimbo brian blishwick vi]

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Lyra didn’t have to explain to him what she actually meant. He had been around long enough to know that certain professions had less than legal options available to them. The lucrativeness of said underground organizations was far greater than anything that was professionally sanctioned. Jimbo was no fool to know that the same witches and wizards on the pro circuit were also dabbling in fight rings all over the world. Personally, he had never had any interest in going to any of those, finding much more enjoyment in Quidditch on a sunny afternoon. Dueling, while relatively gentlemanly in a weird way, simply didn’t tickle him the same way as the fast-paced broom sport.

There was definitely a hint of optimism in the woman’s voice. And why shouldn’t there have been? He knew exactly how difficult it was to run a business, let alone sink all of your own time and money into it. Jimbo tried to not let the inherited matchmaking business get to his head, that being one of the reasons why he opened the pizza parlor in Hogsmeade. Almost as a way to prove that he was capable of more than owning the Blishwick name. And also because he knew that after him, there wouldn’t be another to take over. Jimmie, despite her newfound inheritance of the Blishwick magic, would never follow in his footsteps. He was surprisingly fine with that, mostly because he had come to terms with it the moment she was born. Having the power appear now was quite entertaining though.

”Ah, well this will make it quite the business pitch then,” Jimbo said as he placed his drink down. He would need both hands as he talked, and that drink well out of the way in case he moved too fast near it. ”My family has a knack for being able to magically pair people together once we’re provided enough details. Quite the extraordinary business, really, and for almost two centuries now we’ve helped make sure the magical community here hasn’t gotten too…how do I say it? Muddled? Pureblooded families like to keep things close, but sometimes a bit too close, and we can’t really have that for health reasons.” That had been more of an issue with the previous two Jimbos, though he had grown up hearing all sorts of stories of cousins marrying cousins who were also the product of cousins. All of the non-pureblooded classmates of his had found that hilarious during school. Fortunately for him now, inbreeding was not in season.

”Anyways, not a lot of young folks like the traditional arranged marriages that we help set-up, and I can’t really blame them. So, I started a blind dating program of sorts. And I’m always looking for more magical owned establishments and experiences to send them to.” He had an entire binder full of bars, restaurants, and magical locations that were perfect for dates. All tested out and visited by him personally, just to make sure they were up to par. If he wouldn’t go, why should anyone using his services?

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