Some things stick with you forever. For me, it's May 2, 1998. The Battle of Hogwarts. The day I lost some good friends. The day my second home became a war zone. The day a man I once trusted showed his true colors.
The biggest thing then was survivi...
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I was back to work the following night. Rosmerta was happy to see me. I acted as if nothing happened, though I did get some looks from some of the customers. They must know.
As the week went on, there were no updates. The Prophet had been pretty quiet about the attack aside from the initial story in the paper. At least the Death Eaters weren't doing any harm, but I wanted to see that more were captured and thrown in Azkaban. They could join the other Death Eaters that got put in there after the Battle of Hogwarts.
Now I wondered if my ex was there, rotting in a cell. I hoped he was, the bastard.
It was a Saturday October night. When I Apparated into Hogsmeade, I could hear chatter inside the Three Broomsticks. I entered the warm pub. I expected to see Rosmerta behind the bar, but instead I found a girl whom I'd never seen before.
She looked to be my age just about. Her brown eyes were shifting anxiously, her dark brown hair that was once in a ponytail now looked as if a bird had just gone through it. Brows furrowed in confusion, I strolled over to the bar.
"There you are!" the girl breathed. "I was beginning to worry! Oh, I'm so behind! I have no idea what I'm doing!"
I wondered if she was a new girl as my temporary replacement for that one day I was out."Easy, easy," I said calmly. "Take orders, let me do the rest."
"O-okay."
As the girl got the orders, I filled the drinks. The tips I got I split with her.
As the bar was currently empty, we wiped it down.
"I haven't seen you around," I noted as I scrubbed one spot hard. "Then again, I'm still fairly new here myself."
"Oh, I'm new," she said. "I'm Anita. You must be Jenelle."
"Where's Rosmerta at?"
"She said she wasn't feeling well. She was here earlier, had to leave."
"So she left you to tend to the bar, someone who doesn't have experience?" I didn't see Rosmerta as someone who would leave something so big as her pub to someone who was new. Maybe she was feeling so sick that she didn't know what she was thinking or saying.
"Yes, I know, shocking," Anita said sourly. "Some of the others have been helping as well as a few of the customers. Rosmerta told me you'd be here to help."
"Well, I haven't been at this very long, but I think I know enough. After all, it's not like you're waiting tables," I reminded her. "We'll keep this system going for now until you're ready."
"I'm sorry," she whimpered.
"Don't apologize, the first day is always the scariest."
