Nathan Lee
Hogwarts Staff
Groundskeeper
Posts: 105
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Post by Nathan Lee on Jan 2, 2009 16:15:02 GMT -5
Nathan nodded as she spoke; working at the school after graduation seemed to be the trend. He knew a couple other members of the staff had once been students at the school, including Allegra. Brittany seemed to be around the same age as Allegra, so they had probably attended at the same time. Nathan was just about to ask if they had known each other when he heard Cooper ask it for him. It shocked Nathan how observant the boy was sometimes. That was definitely his mother in him.
"Do you know Allegra and Drew?" Cooper piped up, hoping she did. Cooper loved Drew and he missed having him around school all the time; there was hardly anyone to play basketball with now.
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 2, 2009 17:27:48 GMT -5
"I do!" Brittany answered excitedly at the mention of the Thorntons. "Allegra and I graduated at the same time and we used to live together. And Drew, he always had the funnest games to play."
The thought of living with Allegra came back easily since it was so recent. They had been roomies with Shay and the three had been close friends for a number of years. It had been fun while it lasted, but then Allegra became more and more wrapped up at Hogwarts and the other two barely saw her. Not long after that, Brittany made the move to Hogwarts. She had never been particularly close to Drew, sometimes even getting into a disagreement every so often. However, she had always loved and admired how much creativity and bravery the boy guy had.
She sat reminiscing for only a moment and then spoke again to Cooper. "How did you meet them?" Brittany figured that he would enjoy talking about them because he sounded so happy just mentioning their names. Also, she liked to hear him tell his little stories. His enthusiasm was infectious.
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Nathan Lee
Hogwarts Staff
Groundskeeper
Posts: 105
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Post by Nathan Lee on Jan 2, 2009 17:57:52 GMT -5
"Allegra lost her earring. I found it for her," Cooper told Brittany, grinning as he remembered the first time they met. It wasn't until after that that he met Drew, though. "And then Daddy and I were playing basketball in the courtyard," Cooper explained, "Drew and Allegra came and played too. I like Drew, he's cool." As Cooper thought about him, he realized how much he did miss the boy. He hoped he could hang out and play ball with Drew again sometime, but his dad had told him he was busy with his work now.
Nathan watched as Cooper talked about their meetings with the Thorntons and he grinned too. He loved to see Cooper so excited, but he knew he missed the boy. Nathan would make a point of getting a hold of Drew one of these days so Cooper could see him. Just as Nathan sat back, the waiter had come around again and passed out their drinks. Cooper eyed the chocolate milk excitedly as it was placed in front of him and he snatched up his straw. He sipped it slowly but then giggled and blew it back into his glass. The bubbled formed and worked their way up the cup.
"What did I say about bubbles?" Nathan warned, setting his class down. In defiance, Cooper blew one more bubble and then sipped politely. He pushed his glass out of the way and crawled under the table again, reaching into one of the bags and pulling out his new pad of paper and crayons. He scurried back to his side of the table and proceeded to draw.
"So you and Allegra were close, huh?" Nathan continued, watching Cooper out of the corner of his eye.
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 2, 2009 21:07:03 GMT -5
"Well that was very nice of you," Brittany said after he told her that he found Allegra's earring. Brittany listened to Cooper as he told her about playing basketball with Allegra and Drew. She had watched basketball before, but had never played it. Quidditch and soccer were more her type of sports. He looked a bit sad when he finished speaking about Drew and she concluded that it was probably because Drew had graduated now. Another weird thought. She had known Drew since he was a first year and now he was training to be an auror.
Brittany laughed at Cooper's milk bubbles, but quickly stopped when Nathan got on to him. She didn't want to encourage him and get him into trouble. Instead she took a drink of her water and looked up at Nathan when he asked her about Allegra. The woman had to think over her answer for a moment. She hadn't spoken to Allegra since Beni's wedding. The thought saddened her and she made a mental note to try and get lunch with her some time soon.
"Yes, Allegra is one of my best friends. She's undoubtedly one of the most dedicated and caring people that I know." Brittany spoke of her fondly. Although she wasn't completely positive what was in the job description, she was sure that he took care of the quidditch pitch. "So groundskeeper right? What does that exactly entail?"
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Nathan Lee
Hogwarts Staff
Groundskeeper
Posts: 105
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Post by Nathan Lee on Jan 8, 2009 8:21:06 GMT -5
"Yeah, I noticed that too," Nathan mentioned absent-mindedly as Brittany spoke of Allegra. He took a sip of his water as well and almost choked on it when he began to chuckle after her question about his job. He couldn't remember ever actually explaining what he did to anyone; he didn't think it was exciting enough that someone might actually ask. "Sorry," he apologized quickly, wiping the dribble off his mouth with a smile, "It's actually nothing too glamorous. I look after the Quidditch pitch and the grounds, make sure everything in the greenhouses are intact and aren't chomping on a student's missing finger."
Cooper made a disgusted noise from across the table.
"It gets pretty messy sometimes," he continued, glancing sideways at his son and chuckling, "Which reminds me that somebody needs to go wash their hands before they eat." Cooper rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically, but stopped colouring and crawled under the table. He scurried out from the bottom and brushed the dirt off his knees when he stood up. Nathan frowned. "You think you can do it alone?" he asked him. "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!" Cooper groaned in response and took off before Nathan had a chance to get up. The groundskeeper just watched his son go, rolling his eyes in return.
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 8, 2009 13:27:24 GMT -5
Brittany bit back a laugh as Nathan choked on his water. As he explained what exactly he did, she couldn't help but be interested. She loved being outdoors, yet she had basically condemned herself to being inside for the rest of her life. Plus the fact that he was able to work out on the quidditch pitch anytime that he liked. She was officially jealous. Although the part about keeping up the greenhouses did not intrigue her. Brittany's nose scrunched at the thought of having a re-enactment of one of her herbology classes. Not pretty.
"I used to play quidditch all the time. Officially my favorite sport ever." Brittany told him and then added, "But taking care of plants, probably not the best idea for me. You know the saying that someone has a green thumb because they are so good with plants? Well I've got a black thumb"
It was sad but true. Plants didn't seem to stay alive around her very long. It was something she had discovered around her third year of school and the effects had just been downhill from there. Stupid plants.
Looking up from her thoughts, she watched as Cooper stomped off to the bathroom to wash his hands. Smiling, her eyes met Nathan's across the table as he finished making sure Cooper got into the bathroom. Fingers picking at the edge of the table unconciously, her mind thought to ask how old Nathan was. However she ended up filtering and indicated towards Cooper when she asked, "How old is he?"
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Nathan Lee
Hogwarts Staff
Groundskeeper
Posts: 105
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Post by Nathan Lee on Jan 8, 2009 16:32:22 GMT -5
The man couldn't help but laugh as the black thumb joke. Herbology had always fascinated him and he'd actually loved working in the garden with his mom when he had been younger so it just seemed natural to him now. He wouldn't call himself as expert per say, but he did know what he was doing. Hogwarts had yet to surprise him in the plant department, but Nathan knew he'd curse himself if he said that. In his head, he knocked on wood.
"Too old," Nathan joked about Cooper's age. He seemed to grow over night and Nathan didn't like it. He wanted Coop to stay little forever and he silently hated himself for sounding just like his mother. "He's five, turning 6 in March," he answered more seriously, "We were...young when he had him."
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 8, 2009 20:52:04 GMT -5
Brittany smiled as Nathan explained that Cooper was too old. It was sweet how he didn't want the little boy to grow up fast. Very parentlike. She listened as he partly explained for Cooper's age. She understood, but didn't at the same time. Never had a thought occurred to her to have a child. But it wasn't like she was close enough to anyone to even begin thinking about it. It wasn't that hard to imagine she guessed. After all, Beni was pregnant and about to pop anytime soon.
She simply nodded in reply to his comment. There were questions that she wanted to ask but knew that it would be extremely rude to do so. Plus, just the mention of Cooper's mother earlier had seemed to really shake Nathan. She didn't want to upset him or overstep her boundaries.
"I can't even imagine how you do it," She paused then continued, "I can't come up with anything to say either." Brittany admitted with a sorrowful laugh.
Looking out towards the restaurant, she watched the other people around them. Watched families get up and leave, waiters rush to fill orders, and men drink at the bar it was a fairly busy day at the pub. When her eyes wondered back up, she smiled kindly at Nathan. "Did the two of you move here just after it happened?" Brittany asked then pointed out, "Neither of you have an accent."
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Nathan Lee
Hogwarts Staff
Groundskeeper
Posts: 105
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Post by Nathan Lee on Jan 10, 2009 19:40:33 GMT -5
"Well, actually...we were on our way here, when it happened," Nathan told her quietly, looking down at the table as he spoke, "I was looking for a job here when I got...the call...and as soon as Cooper was out of the hospital, I brought him here. I couldn't be there anymore." Nathan sat back in his seat, looking at the table still. He reached for his glass, lifting it slowly and taking a sip before he allowed himself to glance up at Brittany. He had to chuckle about the accents, though. Cooper was still young and considering Nathan planned on being in the UK for a long time, he figured Coop might start to pick up the accent.
"Coop likes to pretend he can speak with an accent," he told her with a light smile, "And he'll probably pick up a slight one, being around the students and everything." Out of the corner of his eye, Nathan saw the little blond head weaving through the tables. He smiled at Cooper when he reached the table and looked down at his hands. "Lemme see them," he told his son who lifted up his hands and showed they were clean. Nathan nodded and began to stand so Cooper could slide into the seat, but he immediately protested. "I wanna sit with Brittany," Cooper complained, his little features scrunching up in a frown. "Ask nicely, then," Nathan warned his son. Coop turned to Brittany and smiled sweetly. That was his way of asking for things.
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 12, 2009 0:24:57 GMT -5
Brittany felt her jaw fall a few degrees and quickly pressed her small lips back together. She could hardly believe that such an awful tragedy had struck the young family and just as they were all so happy. Exhaling, she watched Nathan with sadness cloaking her dark brown eyes. Her mind was closed off. She did not want to ask anymore questions. Just the thought of the little, happy, giggling boy that had just ran off to the bathroom in a hospital bed made her sick to her stomach. It was not a subject that she wanted to continue and at his sudden light tone and quip about Cooper's attempt at making an accent she felt relief.
A smile graced her lips as she thought of the little boy trying to imitate the accent. Brittany chimed in, "I'm from the United States, came over to Englad when I was eleven. I remember trying so hard to make the accent that everyone else had. My friends even tried to teach me once or twice." She laughed at the memory of her old friends Ada and Cleo trying to teach her to 'speak like a the Brit that she was'.
As Cooper appeared back from the bathroom and went through his inspection, her mind flashed back to her mental image of him from before. The thought was quickly melted away however by his sweet smile and batting eyelashes that he had just unleashed on her. Sliding out of the booth, she cleared a path for Cooper to sit next to her.
"Slide right in!" Brittany exclaimed motioning for the boy towards the booth.
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Nathan Lee
Hogwarts Staff
Groundskeeper
Posts: 105
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Post by Nathan Lee on Jan 13, 2009 8:31:42 GMT -5
Cooper excitedly crawled across the seats and into the corner of the booth. He swung his legs under the table and kicked them excitedly. He returned to his colouring, completely unaware of the serious conversation that had taken place in his absence.
Nathan slid back into his seat, his eyes watching Cooper draw. As cheesy and painfully corny as it sounded, sometimes Nathan couldn't take his eyes off his son. Whenever he looked at him, a million things always ran through the groundskeeper's mind. He had grown slightly paranoid now about Cooper and hated letting him out of his sight, scared that something might happen to him. He wasn't as concerned when they were at Hogwarts and Cooper roamed free because he usually found a student somewhere or somebody else. But that wasn't always the case. Still, the castle offered some protection when Nathan himself couldn't.
Cooper giggled slightly to himself as he finished his drawing and held it up. "Look, Daddy!" he exclaimed excitedly, waving the paper. Nathan reached other the table and took it from him for a look. It was stick people labeled 'Cooper', 'Daddy' and 'Brittany' in printing that looked rather neat for a 5-year-old. Nathan noticed that the stick him and Brittany were holding hands and he shot a playful glare at his son. "That's very good, Coop," he complimented, handing the paper back. Cooper took it but then turned to Brittany. "This is for you," he told her with a big grin. Nathan just rolled his eyes and grinned. It was just then that the waiter returned their food. Nathan and Cooper's stomachs growled almost in unison.
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 13, 2009 8:54:10 GMT -5
Brittany had only seen a glance of what was drawn on the paper Cooper handed Nathan. She noticed the look Nathan gave Coop before complimenting him on the drawing. As Cooper turned and announced that Brittany could keep it, she gratefully took the drawing from the boys hands. "Thank you Cooper," She told him and looked over what he had drawn. The stick figures were all in a row, with just the distinction of hair and height to seperate them. At first she couldn't see anything that would make Nathan glance up at Cooper but then she spotted what it might have been. Stick 'Nathan' seemed to be holding stick 'Brittanys' hand. She couldn't help but laugh a little and raise her eyebrow slightly at Nathan teasingly.
"That is a terrific drawing. Look's just like you too," Brittany told Cooper, giving her attention back to him.
As the food arrived, she felt exactly how hungry she had been. She placed Cooper's drawing safely in her bag before she could drop anything on it. The young woman fixed her sandwich around and began to eat, alternating between the sandwich and fries. A quiet tone set over the table as all three of them paid more attention to their food than to each other. All except Nathan's watchful eye that seemed to never leave Cooper for more than five minutes.
Looking up to her company she asked conversationally, "How are the both of you liking Hogwarts?" Brittany looked back and forth between Nathan and Cooper as she absent-mindedly began nibbling on a fry.
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Nathan Lee
Hogwarts Staff
Groundskeeper
Posts: 105
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Post by Nathan Lee on Jan 14, 2009 20:56:47 GMT -5
The groundskeeper looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of Brittany's teasing glance. Nathan smirked back at her in a playful manner. Before he got a chance to say anything, Cooper had piped up with his response. "I love Hogwarts!" he told Brittany excitedly, munching happily on the French fries in front of him, "There's lots to explore and I like Drew's old basketball net." Nathan smiled slightly as he listened to his boy and took a big bite of his sandwich. He was so hungry, it was unbelievable.
"The castle is definitely growing on me," Nathan added once he'd swallowed and taken a drink of water, "And my fellow staff is...you know, pretty great." He glanced up and winked cheekily.
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Post by Brittany Garland on Jan 15, 2009 7:54:50 GMT -5
Brittany smiled at Cooper's sudden enthusiasm. She was especially happy that he had taken such a liking to the school. In her youth, it had been her favorite place in the entire world. It had been her home and her shelter for seven years. Now it was once again her home. She had to agree with him about the endless places to explore. The castle was full of nooks and crannies that begged students and visitors to come and discover them. Plus the fact that the castle seemed to have a life of it's own was forever fascinating to her.
"Well there are a lot of secret passage ways that are hidden all over the castle," Brittany smiled at the little boy.
She was pretty sure that his father might not be too keen on the idea. The castle was safe though and it took years for anyone to find one secret passage that didn't lead to another place within the castle. Not to mention, the knights or portraits would run and tell any of the closest administrators if they say little Cooper sneaking around. Brittany would make sure to reassure him of that later when Cooper wasn't listenting.
Brittany could feel the pink flood her cheeks at Nathan's comment and his wink. Laughing, she glanced down at her half-eaten plate and then back up at the man across from her. "Glad that I've," Brittany paused realizing her slip up and corrected mid-sentence, "we've made a good impression." She grinned at the man across from her and took a sip of her water to occupy her hands.
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Nathan Lee
Hogwarts Staff
Groundskeeper
Posts: 105
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Post by Nathan Lee on Jan 16, 2009 8:18:41 GMT -5
"I found one when I was exploring with Lu," Cooper told her, remembering the day he'd run into the Slytherin just as he'd discovered the passage. He didn't know where it lead to because they hadn't gotten that far, but it was still cool that he found it. Now if only he could remember what floor it was on, he'd be all set.
Nathan looked up just in time to see Brittany catch herself and correct her statement and then smile. He smirked back at her with a slight chuckle and shoveled the rest of his sandwich into his mouth to keep himself quiet. Cooper looked up at the two adults and snorted. Ew. Nathan's gaze slowly lifted again, his eyes focusing on her face. Mostly her lips. He found himself wanting to kiss her so badly, but he raised his glass to his own lips again and occupied them. Knock it off, he silently scolded himself.
[bahh sorry. this sucks >.<]
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