Her hair was in a tight braid, she had on sunglasses that could work as mirrors with the way they reflected everything, and on top of her head was a low-brimmed hat.

Maggie did not want to be caught seen having this conversation with her brother. They had been in correspondence through owls and journal entries, but meetings like this had been few and far between. Geoff was basically a leper in the quidditch world, and while Maggie knew about the trouble he'd gotten himself into, it would be hard to explain to the league, the players she considered family, her own family...Merlin, her parents were out of their minds with worry, with disappointment, it---it wasn't a good place to be in.

But Geoffrey was her brother and he'd helped her out in more ways than she could remember. Maggie was sure she would be dead if it wasn't for his quick thinking and vase smashing on Braith Selwyn's head. She owed him, so she would meet up for him at the dank Hog's Head pub, even if she was deep in disguise.

"You couldn't have found a cleaner establishment?" Maggie said lowly as she wiped down the seat of her stool before sitting upon it. She frowned at Geoffrey, who looked worse for wear. Her expression softened. "How are you?"

To say that Geoff was distracted during the practice would’ve been putting it very nicely. It had been obvious from the get-go that he wasn’t on the top of his game, but halfway through the practice he had missed an easy hit and thrown his bat to the ground in frustration, speeding off the pitch.

His head was throbbing, at least in part from the knocking it had taken the night before from the latest batch of people that he owed money to -- but also because he knew he’d hurt Savannah’s feelings. She had been -- and still was, really -- important to him, but he wasn’t going to drag her into the middle of his own stupid problems when things seemed to be lining up for her. As much as he hated to think it, she might actually be happier with Seth. At least he didn’t owe an inordinate amount of money to people who were perfectly ready and willing to ruin his career by ruining one or several of his body parts.

He grunted hard and threw his jersey into his locker sulkily. He knew it was stupid, keeping this thing a secret and not asking anyone who could possibly have bailed him out for help -- but Maggie had her own problems that had just settled down, and it wasn’t as if anyone had made him do these things, right? What business was it of anyone elses’, anyway? He looked into the mirror of his locker out of the corner of his eye.

Idiot, he thought. Stupid, useless idiot.

He’d been playing like one, at least.

The last few months had been pretty rough for Savannah Davies. For starters, she had turned 30 that year, and while that was extremely young for a witch, it was practically ancient in muggle years. That's how she felt, at least. By the time her mother had turned 30, she was already settled down with a family, and had kids, and was living the life she always hoped she would. Savannah was 30 with a career she hated, living in a one bedroom apartment, and had already been cheated on by one man who was supposed to marry her, and divorced by another man who did marry her.

It was easy to not think about all that for a while, since she had a wonderful man to keep her mind off all that, but that never stopped her from wanting all the things she always thought she would have by the time she was 30. She wanted a family, and even though she had little nieces and nephews roaming around to play with, it wasn't the same as having a child of her own. Leanne was the closest thing she ever had to a daughter once upon a time. She still treated her like family, sending her gifts and cards on birthdays and holidays, but she didn't even see her too often because she didn't know how to be around Seth for a while. She had run into him at games, when the Catapults played the Falcons, and over time she had learned how to put the past behind her and be civil.

Still, she was always reminded of the life she almost had when she was around her ex-husband, and it was just...upsetting. She loved Geoff, she did - there was no denying her feelings for the man, but she was starting to get the impression that he wasn't quite ready to settle down. It wasn't like she wanted to ask, because she was afraid of scaring him away - she did not need another man leaving her because she sounded too clingy or something. Her past relationships had left her tainted, so now she just walked on eggshells in order to make people happy.

But she wasn't happy. And it didn't have anything to do with how Geoff treated her, because he treated her like a damn princess, but she wanted...more. She wanted to have a career she was proud of, and be married, and pop out a million babies with him because damn it, she was already 30. Her biological clock was ticking...or that was how she felt. It was all muggle mentality.

Savannah was sitting cross legged on Geoff's couch as she waited for him to get home, flipping through the classifieds, trying to see who was hiring in her field. A few boxes were circled in red, though when the front door opened, she looked up from what she was doing to acknowledge her boyfriend of 2 years with a small smile.

"Hey," she greeted, rising to her feet, making her way towards him to give him a quick kiss. "I thought you were gonna be home earlier, I kind of made myself at home."

She could have sworn he had told her he would be home at 6, and it had to be at least 7:30 by now.

Savannah was dressed to the nines – her hair pulled to one side, so that gentle curls of auburn were draped over the delicate curve of her exposed shoulder, smiling at the man who was standing in front of her. The smile should have been genuine, since most women were more than thrilled to get all dressed up, and wear suicide heels and bat their lashes at people, but she was just trying not be rude as the older gentleman rambled on about some sort of auction he had attended, where he had been the highest bidder on an old set of peacock quills. She lifted her brows to feign interest, and nodded her head along with what he was saying before she lifted her glass of champagne to her lips, taking a long, much needed sip before she lowered her glass and rolled her lips under, careful not to smudge her lipstick.

She did enjoy getting all dressed up, but…Savannah had always been the type of girl who would much rather be hanging around in jeans and a t-shirt, and had always been the one to be wrestle around in the mud with the guys instead of taking ballet lessons, or doing something else little girls were supposed to do. Having a twin brother definitely had an impact on her hobbies and interests, so standing there in a dress wasn’t really…her. The only reason she had come was because she felt obligated, since it was for a good cause, and because someone in particular had decided to join her.

That person met her eyes the next time she took a glance out to the crowd, and his soft blue eyes held her attention, this time smiling genuinely for the first time since she had been standing there listening to the old man. She would turn to her company, not wanting to appear rude, like she was completely ignoring him. After she realized he wasn’t going to stop talking unless she said something, she reached out to place a hand on his arm.

“I’m so sorry, will you please excuse me?”

A kind smile, and the old man nodded, warranting another smile (thankful, and apologetic this time), finally able to turn away from him to approach the Quidditch star who had been stopped by a few fans – sports writers, who she had tried to warn him again – stopping once she found a place in the small circle he had been standing in, gently clearing her throat to get the group’s attention

“I hope I’m not interrupting….”

Oh, she knew she was, but she didn’t care. Her eyes locked onto Geoff Brand’s, her target, stepping towards him so she could place a hand on his arm.

“Mind if I borrow you?”

Savannah couldn't think of the last time she had been as nervous as she was now, waiting at the bar for her date to arrive. It didn't help that she couldn't think of the last time she had been on a date, either, let alone a blind date. True, she knew whose face she was supposed to be looking for, but that didn't mean she knew anything about the man behind the name; that name being Geoffery Brand. Half of Europe knew who the man was, and how incredibly handsome he was (gah, those eyes...), yet he had absolutely no idea who he was coming to meet. All he knew was that her name was Savannah Davies, and that was all due to the fact that they had been communicating through journals. It wasn't like her picture was ever published with any of the articles she wrote, so how could he know what she looked like?

True, she did used to be married to the at the time captain of the Montrose Magpies, and had gone on a few dates with the captain of Puddlemere United before that, so her picture was floating around in articles here and there, but Geoff hadn't been on either of the teams during those points in time. She couldn't see why he would have paid any attention to who Seth or Finn were seeing a few years ago.

God, had it really been that long? She had gotten her divorce a little over a year ago, January of '81, and hadn't been with anyone since. The thought was incredibly depressing, and just made her all the more antsy, like a school girl who was going on her first date with the cute boy from class - the one who had been in all her classes but didn't even know her name.

It felt sort of like that, as she tapped her neutral colored nails against her glass, her lips rolling under to catch the droplets of white wine that lingered there after her last sip. Her shoulder lifted and fell again with the deep breath that was preceded by a heavy sigh, one of her hands lifting up to self consciously rub at the spot on her forehead were a bump had once been. Thankfully the swelling had gone down with help of some ice and potions, but it felt like there was still a phantom bruise there. Once she was done touching the still sensitive area of her face, she tucked some of her hair behind her ear, and turned to look towards the door as she heard some commotion.

It wasn’t Geoff.

Savannah let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding, turning back to her glass of wine, taking another long, slow sip as her leg bobbed, one crossed over the other, smoothing down the fabric of her dress - another nervous habit as she waited for Geoff to arrive.

WHO: Maggie Brand, Braith Selwyn, and Geoffrey Brand
WHAT: Braith comes to take what is "rightfully" his
WHERE: Maggie's flat
WHEN: Tonight!

( I brought Chinese. )