meeting over coffee -meleny-

[Nikolai Viktor Amsel]

Niko wasn't the biggest fan of hospitals. Admittedly, Muggle ones were worse. He still tried to make it a habit not to spend too much time around anything so sterile. He sipped his coffee, enjoying the hazelnut and caramel flavors from the fancy cream at the coffee shop. Nikolai tended to be a bit of a coffee snob, but that was just because he enjoyed it so much. His left hand held a coffee for his good friend Meleny Aldridge. He met her a few months prior when they were both Aurors and both left the Ministry. She was helping him gather support for the new Order and just spending time with her was nice. He smiled at the witch in the lobby and asked for Healer Aldridge to come down.

He sipped his coffee and took a seat in the lobby, waiting for Meleny. He smiled thinking about her chestnut brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was gorgeous. He smiled slightly to himself and knew that he was developing feelings for her. She was passionate and firey. Everything he wanted from a woman. He smiled and waited for her to come down, it would take some time to figure out if she wanted him in return, but he would find out and have her. Nikolai tended to be a bit stubborn when he wanted something and he wanted Meleny.

[Meleny Christina Aldridge]

Meleny was just finishing up with one of her patients when a nurse came by and said someone was waiting for her. She smiled to herself wondering who it could possibly be. No one had ever visited her at work before as far as she knew. Her closest friends worked with her and she shared a flat with them. She was not on speaking terms with her aunt because of the whole Order of the Dragon Leader business. She was fearful everyday of her life that one of her former ministry co-workers would try and stop her and Nikolai from rebelling against them. What they were doing was just madness.

Meleny thought these things as she left the patient's room after telling them Cadence or Carlow would be next to check on them. She went back to the main floor and sure enough there was her old friend Nikolai from the ministry sitting there waiting for her. She smiled. He was the only positive thing she could think of from her time working there. They had gotten to be really close friends after working side by side and they both didn't like what the ministry was up to. How could they even think that what they were doing was right? It was just craziness and Meleny was glad she got out of there when she did. After she left the ministry that was when her relationship with her aunt started to suffer. She remembered recieving a howler from her once while she was at work, calling her a traitor, threatening her and such, and pretty much disowning her as her niece. The only family Meleny had left now was her two friends she worked with and of course Nikolai. They weren't blood family or anything but he was all she had and more family to her than her aunt was. Her mother was dead, her father and sister were locked up in azkaban and she hoped she would never have to see those two again for as long as she lived. Meleny was used to being the black sheep of her family but it still depressed and angered her that her aunt would turn on her because of something so stupid and wrong. She cleared these thoughts from her head and walked over to where Nikolai was sitting. She smiled at him brightly. "Hey Nikolai. I'm guessing you were waiting for me?" she asked trying not to sound as if she knew that all along. No one else visited her so it had to be him.

[Nikolai Viktor Amsel]

Nikolai smiled when he saw her in her Healer's robes. He stood up and held out the coffee for her,
"I thought you could use a mid day pick-me-up." His voice held a slight Russian accent from being born in Moscow. He came to England when he was a teenager and was able to pick up English quick enough but always sounded like he was off the boat.

He sipped his own and adjusted the scarf around his neck, since it was winter, he needed something to help against the cold. He was born and raised in Russia and hated the winter even then. He smiled at his friend and sat back down in the lobby to chat with her before she had to get back to her patients.
"How is the day going so far? Anyone puke on you today?" It was a running joke since he couldn't stand most people and the thought of any of them throwing up on him was much more than he could bare.

[Meleny Christina Aldridge]

Meleny smiled again when he handed her the coffee. "Thanks. That's very sweet of you."she said and took a sip of the coffee. Meleny couldn't help but smile some more when she heard his slight Russian accent. She thought accents were very attractive in men. She was from Italy and came to England when she was around 8 years old because her mother wanted a change of scenery and she felt like it was time for a move. She wondered if she had lived in England long enough for the Italian accent to completely disappear or just sound more English.

Meleny sat down beside him in the lobby still thinking of accents. She wondered how she must of sounded to him since she was from Italy and all. "My day has been fine so far. No one has puked on me yet. Thank Merlin."she said. She couldn't help but giggle at his puking on her joke. She didn't think she would be able to stand it if someone puked on her either but she knew it was part of the job. She started thinking of her Irish muggleborn friends Cadence and Carlow and if that had happened to them or if their days had been uneventful as well. "What about your day? If I remember correctly you're a professor at Hogwarts now, right? What's that like?"she asked.

[Nikolai Viktor Amsel]

Nikolai smiled when she said that no one puked on her,
"Yes, thank Merlin for that." He could remember when he first moved to England he was smitten with all of the accents. He never thought of how he sounded except when compared to his baby sister who had no trace of her Russian heritage in her voice. He sipped his coffee, hoping to make it savor since he loved the taste so much, he would have to get another cup when he left the hospital.

He sighed when she asked about how the school was going.
"It's weird, I love being a professor but it's so strange to be there and not be a student. I keep thinking that I'm going to get called down to the Headmaster's office." He smiled, thinking about the former Headmistress McGonagall who helped him transition when he moved. When she retired it was even weirder.
"Most of the professors are new, I have a few friends, the Charms professor Freya Phillips and I are getting along." He had no interest in Freya, but slightly wanted to see if Meleny would react to him being friends with another woman.
"Other than that, same old same old. Order business is coming along. Keep finding people who are disgruntled with the Ministry."

[Meleny Christina Aldridge]

Meleny laughed at his comment about being sent to the headmaster's office. She hadn't been on Hogwarts' campus since she graduated. It felt like a lifetime ago when things in her life were seemingly on track and her aunt didn't hate her. Of course nothing was the same since her mother died before her sixth year but it still felt like forever since she was at Hogwarts. She was either here at the hospital or at her shared flat with the McKennas. "I know what you mean. I mean I haven't been to Hogwarts in awhile and it seems like a lifetime since my seventh year finished. I just know the feeling. I know if I was a teacher instead of a healer it would feel awkward being on the other side of that Hogwarts life, teaching instead of being taught since I spent most of my time as a student at that school.". Meleny blushed, horrified at how much she was rambling. She meekly took another sip of the coffee. "I'm sorry I rambled so much just then.".

Meleny listened to him talk about the professors. It got her thinking of her own time at Hogwarts. She heard McGonagall had retired and of course she knew the woman had to be getting on in years but still if Hogwarts wasn't the same when Dumbledore had died then it must have been hard getting used to not having McGonagall around either. The mention of the woman called Freya Phillips piqued Meleny's interest. She wasn't sure how to react to that. Meleny had a feeling Nikolai had feelings for her since he was here giving her coffee and was probably trying to see if he could make her jealous. No one had ever gone out of their way to buy coffee for her before. "I can't say I've ever met her before. Um...What's Freya like?"she asked and sipped her coffee again. She wasn't sure how to put how she was feeling into words about him being friends with another woman. She was glad he was getting along with one of his coworkers and she expected something like that would happen with two people that work closely together like with Nikolai and herself at the ministry. However she couldn't help feeling slightly jealous and she felt ridiculous for feeling that way but she couldn't help herself. Besides she was good friends with Carlow but there was nothing between them. The bottom line was she liked Nikolai and she didn't want some other woman coming out of the wordwork and threatening that.

[Nikolai Viktor Amsel]

Niko laughed when she talked about her time back in Hogwarts, she would get into these cute little rants that he loved so much.
"Trust me, it's weird. One of my first days I was leaving my office and saw some students, I forgot I was a professor and couldn't understand why they started to plead for forgiveness." He laughed, he got in so much trouble from the Headmistress for not reporting them. He leaned back against the chair and smiled at her, brushing some of her chestnut hair out of her blue eyes. He wouldn't dare want Freya while he had Meleny in his life.

"Freya is the new Charms professor, she's a book worm, but has a temper. She's popular with the students." he shrugged, not able to think of much other things to mention to Meleny. He knew that she lived with a man, but never worried if she was attracted to him because he knew that he was better. Call it cocky but he knew he would be a better match for Meleny.

[Meleny Christina Aldridge]

Meleny smiled when she heard him laugh at her tirade about when she went to Hogwarts and she couldn't help but giggle once more. Yikes. I sound like such a school girl. I'm thirty-three years old for Merlin's sake but I guess he likes it when I ramble.she thought to herself. She thought it was embarrassing but if he liked it then she didn't care how embarrassing she thought it was.

"I kind of miss being a student there. If I hadn't wanted to be an auror before the ministry went crazy I probably would've become a teacher. But I also like the job I have now even if I will have patients puke on me once in awhile."she said with a lighthearted giggle. She didn't mind it though even if it was disgusting. Some people would say she had the patience of a saint to deal with things of that nature. Her job could be quite demanding at times but she liked it. She thought about what her life would be like if she was a teacher instead of a healer. She probably still would've been friends with Nikolai and she also could've met this Freya person. It's not that she wanted to see if she had an interest in him. He already mentioned they were friends. She just thought that she should get to know one of his friends even though she couldn't remember if he had ever met her's. Besides him her only friends were the McKennas. "I see. I would like to meet her someday. Sometimes I wish I had a job where I could still be at Hogwarts instead of being at st mungos all the time but I really like helping people so this seemed like the natural job for me to take after I couldn't stand to work for the ministry anymore."

[Nikolai Viktor Amsel]

Nikolai smiled and wrapped an arm around her, knowing that she was blushing from her ranting,
"Relax, Mel." He softly kissed her cheek and took another drink from his coffee, even surprising himself with his boldness. He left his arm around her and listened to what she said about missing the school and then what she said about wanting to meet Freya,
"She's nothing really special, just a friend." He really wasn't sure how to get where he wanted with her so he just smiled at her,
"Mel, would you want to go out tonight, um, with me?"

He felt his heart beat out of his chest while he waited for her answer, the worst that would happen would be that she would say no and just want to stay friends. That might kill him a little bit, but it would be for the best that he knew now before he fell any deeper for her.

[Meleny Christina Aldridge]

Meleny smiled and was a little shocked and yet flattered when he kissed her cheek out of nowhere. She was also surprised by his boldness and yet she knew she could never be that bold. She was thinking about how to get to the dating part of their relationship. She didn't want to scare him off or anything so she was afraid of making the first move herself. She was glad when he ended up doing it. "Even if she's not anything special I still would like to meet her. She's your friend and I just want to get to know her. I'd want you to meet my friends at work and if I had anymore friends besides you and the people I work with I'd want you to meet them to. Also I would love to go out with you." she said smiling again and took another sip of her coffee. The smile reached her eyes and she was simply bursting with excitement at the prospect of going on a date with this man.

[Nikolai Viktor Amsel]

He smiled broadly when she said that she would go out on a date with him, he was really happy that she said yes. He finished off his coffee to relax a little bit and keep from dancing around like a fool. Considering he was such a terrible dancer, that would probably lead to her dropping their date.
"Sounds amazing, how about tonight after your shift? We can grab dinner in London?" He wanted to make this into a great date so that there would be plenty more amazing dates in their future. He finished off his coffee and set the empty cup down on the table on the other side of himself.

[Meleny Christina Aldridge]

The smile still touched Meleny's eyes. She also finished her coffee and set her cup down on the table next to Nikolai's own cup. "Tonight is perfect. Dinner in London sounds lovely." she said happily. Now she couldn't wait for her shift to be over and she was a little sad she would have to go back to work in a little bit or until someone comes looking for her. It didn't really leave her that much time to go home and find something to wear before he came to pick her up for their date. Now that she thought about it she didn't know if he was going to pick her up at the hospital or at her apartment. She couldn't very well wear her healer's uniform on a date. It didn't seem right to her and it didn't exactly scream "date ready" or anything like that. It just made her look like a plain jane mediwitch and not like a woman about to go on her first date.

[Nikolai Viktor Amsel]

Nikolai smiled when she said that tonight would be perfect, honestly, he would wait as long as he had to for a date with his dream girl. He smiled and tried to think of all of the amazing places he knew in London to take her to,
"When do you get off of work tonight?" He wanted to try to figure out how long he had to plan everything for them. He was a bit of a romantic and knew that this was going to be a great night. With working hard as a professor and figuring out what to do with the Order. He rarely had time to even look at women, let alone actually ask one out. He had a lot of time to make up for and he knew that sweeping Meleny off her feet would be a perfect night.

[Meleny Christina Aldridge]

"I get off around 7 pm. Where were you going to pick me up? Here or my apartment? I was hoping I would have time to change into something a little more appropriate for a date. I wouldn't feel right wearing my work uniform on a date. It's wrong for that kind of occasion. Would you rather go on a date with a plain jane mediwitch or a mediwitch who looks ready for a date?" she asked. Meleny laughed to herself wondering if she was making any sense. Hopefully he would understand this was her first date and she wanted to look nice and she wanted to try and do her hair and everything. She also had a busy schedule like him since she worked at a hospital and she had never even looked at another man before. Maybe it also could've been due to the fact no one else had interested her until Nikolai came along.

[Nikolai Viktor Amsel]

Nikolai smiled when she asked where he was going to pick her up,
"Well I was going to meet you at your place, would around eight work? Or eight thirty?" He didn't want her to feel rushed after work, and wanted to make sure she had plenty of time to get ready. He always thought that she looked beautiful, but he knew she wouldn't want to be covered in her robes at a nice restaurant. He heard her name over the loud speaker and groaned slightly,
"You're being summoned away from me." He stood up to give her a goodbye hug and maybe another kiss on the cheek. He did not want to leave her side, but he couldn't stomach the sight of blood so being a healer was not an option. He had a night of romance and amazing-ness to plan out for the two of them and he really had to head back to London to figure out a place,
"I'll meet you at your flat."