where the boys are

[Nathan Lee]

This had to be the worst part of Nathan's job. He absolutely hated being in Knockturn Alley, but it was the only place he could get Flesh-Eating Slug repellent and all the other pesticides he used to keep bugs and other things off the plants in the grounds. Why some other store couldn't carry this was beyond him, and he grumbled to himself as he turned the corner from Diagon and into the dark Alley. Nathan's parents were visiting for a week so thankfully he'd been able to leave Cooper with them so he didn't drag his son into this place. Nathan knew he would never let Cooper out of his sight if he was there, but it was much better to just not bring the boy at all. Nathan didn't trust these people.

As he walked into the dodgy little plant shop, Nathan quickly took note of the others in the store. It didn't take him very long to do so, considering there were only two other customers. One, a man who was extremely hunched over and very wobbly on his feet, shot Nathan a look as he passed him. Ignoring it as best he could, the groundskeeper was intent on getting what he needed quickly and getting the hell out of there. Letting the plants get destroyed seemed like a good idea, now that he was actually in this horrid place.

"Will that be all, sir?" the man behind the counter grouched at Nathan when he finally got what he needed and was ready to pay.
"Yeah," he answered gruffly, Thank God. He didn't dare say that second part out loud. As he waited for his change, Nathan just happened to glance out the window just in time to see a familiar face. The man had to do a double-take, but he was positive it was the boy he knew. What he was doing in the Alley, Nathan had no idea. Taking his change without looking at the man again, Nathan left the shop and headed into the street to search for the face that had disappeared in the crowd again.

"Drew?" the man called out when he spotted the familiar face again.

[closed]

[Drew Thornton]

Auror training was wearing him down and not really in a good way. His first month in the program and all Drew had done was run pointless errands, wade his way through manuals, and fill out tons of paperwork. He knew it would get better, but for now it really didn't feel like he was doing anything important.

Every so often, just in the hopes of finding something major going down, he would spend some free time in Knockturn Alley. He never did and was pretty sure that even if he came across something important, he'd get busted for trying to handle it on his own. It had to be better than playing errand boy though.

Keeping his head down, he roamed the walkways, occasionally looking into the shop windows to look for anything interesting. It seemed to be a slow day and while there were a few people loitering around, hardly anyone was actually shopping with very little was actually happening. It wasn't until he heard his name that he got worried, having a brief flashback to his first year and his first trip to Knockturn. Who would recognize him in this place?

Gripping his wand , he turned carefully towards the man's voice, relaxing when he recognized the caretaker from school. His face broke out in a wide grin and he moved towards the familiar face with his hand outstretched in greeting. "Mr. Lee! What are you doing here? How's Cooper doing?" he asked, surprised to see the man outside of Hogwarts.

[Nathan Lee]

Nathan cringed when the boy called him 'Mr.Lee' but he chuckled and grinned anyways. Reaching his hand out, he clasped Drew's and shook it.
"Oh man, please," Nathan begged with a laugh, "Call me Nathan." He lifted up the containers in his hand that he'd just purchased from the shop.
"Just picking up some stuff for the plants in the grounds, nothing too exciting," he told Drew. He grimaced slightly as Drew mentioned Cooper, knowing full well his son was going to be upset that he'd missed Drew. Cooper had taken quite a liking to the boy and missed him now that he wasn't at Hogwarts anymore. Nathan had promised they would see him again sometime and was now regretting leaving Coop at the hotel with his dad.

"Coop's pretty good. He'll be sorry he missed you but I didn't feel like dragging him through this place, you know?" the groundskeeper told the former student, "How about you, man? How's everything going?"

[Drew Thornton]

Drew laughed back figuring that now he was out of school, he could probably call they guy by his first name. Nathan wasn't all that much older than he was anyway and played a mean game of b-ball.

"Yeah, Knockturn isn't really the place for a little dude like Cooper," Drew agreed with a sigh. He really liked the kid and it would have been good to see him again, but no... it was way too dangerous to bring him down to a place full of shady characters and shops full of dark items.

"But things are going pretty decent," he said, not sure if Nathan had heard what he was doing. Drew hoped so. He really didn't want to announce he was with the Minsitry in the middle of Knockturn. "But I miss my hoop back at school. You guys still making good use of it?"

[Nathan Lee]

"Yeah, I heard about the...training," Nathan said, making sure to say the last word quietly, especially in such a dodgy place, "Sounds like a pretty awesome deal." He chuckled softly when he asked about the basketball net. It was still there, of course, anchored in a bit more than it had been before. And it was still in plenty of use.

"Cooper loves it," he told the boy with a smile, "He was out there every day over the summer, he's getting pretty good. I haven't been out there in a while." Glancing around him, Nathan noticed a rather sketchy being standing a little too close to them. Instinctively, Nathan moved over to block their view of Drew. he crossed his arms over his chest, subconsciously making himself bigger in an attempt to be protective. It wasn't that he didn't think Drew couldn't look after himself, he was just fond of the boy and wasn't a fan of having him in such a dodgy place.

"Are you down here for...work or anything?" he asked Drew, "Cause if it's not...maybe we should move out of here."

[Drew Thornton]

Drew appreciated the descretion and gave a small shrug in answer. He still knew this was what he wanted to do, and was sure he wasn't always going to be low man on the totem pole, but right at that moment, the deal was anything but pretty awesome.

"I'm glad it's getting some good use," Drew answered about the hoop. He had stuck it up there during his first year and thought it was pretty neat that it was still there after he left. He kind of hoped it would get many years of use even though he was no longer there. He hoped that one day, he'd get back there to use it again.

A hooded figure slipped from the shadows and edged closer to where they were standing and Drew slipped his hands into his pockets... checking for wand as well as wallet. Nathan moved protectively in front of him, but Drew was already staring the suspicious character down. He knew his baby-smooth face was hardly intimidating, but his height could be... and neither were truely indicitive of his skills with a wand. Let this guy underestimate the kid with the peach-fuzzed face. Drew almost dared him.

"Just hanging out really," the Ravenclaw answered casually enough and while his smile was easy going, his eyes never left the hooded figure nearby. "Did you get all you needed... because we don't have to leave."

[Nathan Lee]

"Yeah, I got everything," Nathan answered him, his voice sounding wary. He glanced just over his shoulder, keeping the figure in his sight. He noticed Drew checking his pockets and Nathan was just about to follow suit when he felt it. Turning to check his back pocket, he felt his wand being lifted from it.

"Hey!" Nathan yelled, reaching quickly and dropping his purchases onto the cobblestone. He grabbed the pickpocketer's wrist, giving it a slight twist as he pushed back the hood covering the culprit's face. It revealed a kid that couldn't have been older than 16. Nathan grabbed the front of the kid's shirt and pulled him in close.
"Shouldn't you have something better to do with your time?" the groundskeeper snapped at the boy, snatching his wand back, "Go to school. Learn something." He shoved the boy back, watching him stumbled over his own feet and look genuinely scared. Nathan just rolled his eyes and moved his wand and wallet into his front pocket as he bent over to pick up his things.
"Stupid kids," he grumbled, looking up at Drew as he rose to his feet again, "Good thing I didn't bring Coop."

[Drew Thornton]

Drew's wand was out and ready as soon as Nathan yelled and while the pickpocket was being restrained by the older man, the younger had his wand pointed at the culprit's neck. Nathan pulled back the hood to reveal a kid that probably wasn't much younger than Drew himself. The kid looked scared out of his wits and Drew figured the kid wasn't much of a threat. The guy had probably come to Knockturn on a whim to see what he could get away with. If he had really been the shady type, he would have put up a much bigger fight.

The good thing was, that in Knockturn, no one really cared when you made a scene. Drew figured everyone thought all the better for keeping the focus off of them. As he pocketed his wand again, he noticed a few people shrinking back into the shadows and avoiding his eye. "Yeah, not the best place for a littledude," Drew agreed, brushing his hands off on the back of his robes. "I suppose we could find somewhere else to be too, huh?"

[Nathan Lee]

"Sounds good," Nathan answered gruffly. He hated seeing kids who thought it was cool to steal or liked to cause trouble. As a parent, he knew how he'd feel if he found out it was his kid sulking around Knockturn Alley like that and how furious he would be about it. Nathan knew Cooper was a good kid and hopefully he was doing his job of teaching his boy right from wrong. Shaking his head once more, Nathan looked around the ground to make sure he hadn't missed anything he dropped. It looked like he had everything with him, so he turned back to Drew.

"You wanna stop in the pub for a drink?" he offered the boy, already heading in the direction of Diagon.

[Drew Thornton]

"I could go for that," Drew answered agreeably. He wasn't one for the harder stuff, but he was always up for a cold butterbeer. Besides, it was kind of cool to have the opportunity to hang out with Nathan. Drew figured that the groundskeeper was probably more Allegra's friend than his, but he didn't think that meant they couldn't as well.

"So where is Cooper anyway?" Drew asked as they reached the pub. If the little guy was close, they could swing by and pick him up now that they were out of Knockturn.

[Nathan Lee]

Nathan pulled open the pub door for the younger man and waited for him to step inside.
"My dad's in London for business and my mom came along with him," the groundskeeper explained, "Cooper hasn't seen his grandparents much since...the accident so, I figured I could leave him with them for an hour or so while I was down there." Nathan jerked his head back in the direction of the dark alley. He hoped Drew wouldn't pick up on his pause before he mentioned the accident and he tried his best to continue the conversation.

"We could probably go pick him up," he suggested, "But you'll have to pry him out of my mom's ninja grip."

[Drew Thornton]

Drew gave a small laugh in response as he stepped through the door and led the way to an empty table. He didn't want to downplay the mention of the accident, which he assumed was what happened to Cooper's mom, but he understood the whole grandparent thing. He was well accostumed to his own grandmum doting on him when he made it home for a few days. Nana on the other hand... Drew did everything he could to avoid his mom's mother.

"I'll catch him another time," Drew answered. I wouldn't want to take away his time with his grandmum."

[Nathan Lee]

"Actually, I think he'd be thanking you for saving him," Nathan confessed. He knew how much Cooper enjoyed being with his grandparents, especially when Royal played basketball with him, but it was a different story when Kim got a hold of him. Cooper loved his grandmother, but he loved her more when she allowed him to breathe.

Taking a seat on the bar stool, Nathan set his things beside him and flagged down the bartender.
"I'll just have a beer and uhh..." he turned to Drew and waited for him to order.

[Drew Thornton]

"Butterbeer," Drew finished with a crooked smile as he took a seat on the next stool. He knew he was old enough for an ale, but after a couple of bad experiences, he really prefered to stick with the tamer beverages. Franco ripped on him when they hung out together, but Drew had a feeling Felicity appreciated the non-alcoholic choices he made.

"His grandmother can't be that bad," Drew said, sure he would prefer a ninja-grip grandmum over his nana any day. It sounded like the woman at least liked Coop.

[Nathan Lee]

Nathan watched the bartender take off and return quickly with the two drinks. Before Drew had a chance to do anything, the groundskeeper placed the money on the counter. He winked at Drew as he took a swig of his beer.
"She's great with him and he loves her," Nathan confessed, "But shooting hoops with Daddy and Grandpa is more fun than hugs and kisses from Grandma." He chuckled softly, envisioning Cooper struggling in his grandmother's grip, trying to wriggle free as she peppered kisses all over his cheek. Coop hadn't minded it so much when it had been his mom doing it. A sigh escaped Nathan.

"It's good to have them around though," he continued, taking another swig and trying to act nonchalant, "It's hard sometimes up at the school with just me."