Who: Ann Shimpling & Otto Bagman
What: A kinda sorta maybe date? Hufflepuff adorbs, basically.
When: Saturday night
Status: Finishing in comments
Ann had felt nervous all week, after they’d set up plans to see each other again. It was a party with a few of his friends; she knew a few of the names, but not well enough to feel totally at ease at first. She found herself perched on a couch, waiting on Otto to return from going to grab drinks, watching a couple nearby flirting and snogging each other before turning her eyes away out of embarrassment. Luckily, at that moment, Otto returned. She offered him a smile before scooting over a little to make room for him. “Welcome back,” she said happily, thanking him as she took her drink from his hand. “Thanks again for inviting me.”
Otto couldn't get over how many of his friends had come up to him since he had arrived with Ann, nudging him and waggling their brows as they asked who she was to him. He just kept smirking at them, informing them that they were just friends. They had been mere acquaintances when she had invited him to go see the drawn movie with her and her niece, but he had enjoyed her company even more than he had anticipated. She was cute, and she was smart and funny, but he had bad experience in the 'dating' department. For the last few years he had been meeting random girls at bars or parties such as these, but whenever he actually had interest in one of them, he tried to do the whole standard date thing; then he turned into a stammering idiot with sweaty palms, and then they never wound up seeing each other again.
He was going to just see where things went, with Ann. There was a lot less pressure, that way - he was able to relax, and be himself.
He returned holding two plastic red cups, holding hers out to her with a smile. "Yeah, no problem. I couldn't let you just sit around doing nothing on a Saturday night." He was about to take a seat beside her when he noticed the couple nearby who had no qualms about public displays of affection. He raised a brow before turning back to her. "Wanna go someplace with better ambiance?" He said with a smirk, trying to make sure she was comfortable, since he knew everyone much better than she did. "Kinda loud in here anyway."
After all the dramatics in Joceline's life, particularly the dating department, Ann had been fairly cautious when it came to dating as well. Being a healer didn't help much, because she was always so busy at the hospital that she never had time to truly go out for the sake of meeting people at parties and pubs and the like.
She smiled before nodding and standing. "I wouldn't mind that at all," she said, shooting a glance at the couple. She was more than happy to go elsewhere, especially if it meant she didn't have to look at that. And that she got to talk a bit more with Otto without having to yell over everything else going on.
She took a small sip from her drink before walking with him out onto the lawn. "How's your week been?" she asked curiously, "Any particularly interesting tales of child scolding?"
He lead her through the house to the back door, letting her step out onto the patio before following suit, shutting the screen behind them. There were still people outside, but the music wasn't blaring into the yard, making it much easier for him to hear her without politely asking her what she had said for what seemed like the millionth time. He liked being in social settings, but he also liked hearing what the person next to him was saying.
Her second question made him snort, lifting a hand to rub at the back of his neck as he tried to think. "Well, there was a 13 year old girl who turned her brother into a toad on Wednesday. It was a first offense so she just got a warning, but then there was the 11 year old in London who made her younger sister's teddy bear come to life for the third time on Friday." He smirked, looking over to her. "She had the best of intentions, I'm sure, but now the poor thing has to come to the ministry with her parents so they can decide what to do about it." He shook his head before taking a sip of his own drink. "What about you? Are women still giving birth to multiple babies at once, or have you been dealing with the standard one per patient?"
Ann shook her head, a worried look on her face. "Eleven is so young for such major reprimands. Surely nothing extreme will happen to the poor girl," she said softly. She remembered wanting to do things out of frustration when she was that age. Not that she ever did, of course, but that was beside the point. Eleven was young, end of story.
She paused before nodding. "Just three this week, all singles. I'm sure the mums are terribly thrilled by that, too. Can't imagine having twins--or
more." She smiled, thinking about the tiny babes that were waiting back at the hospital for her the next day.
"Believe me, I'm with you on this one. I'm sure she's not about to be sent off to Azkaban or anything, but I couldn't tell you what the next step might be. When it comes to kids who are that young, I'm often tempted to just look the other way, y'know? Maybe write them an unofficial letter to be like 'don't do it again' or something that might get through to them." He shrugged his shoulders, letting out a light sigh. "At least there's no breach in the statute of secrecy, right?" He used her own phrasing against her, though there was another one of those smirks on his face as he did so. He was just trying to make light of things.
When she switched the subject back over to her job, which made Otto let out a light laugh. "I can't even imagine
carrying a child, let alone giving birth to more than just one of them at a time. I mean I never
can experience such a thing, but I can't even fathom what it might feel like to have someone kick you from the inside for months at a time."
Ann blushed lightly when he threw her words back at her. She hadn't entirely meant it, but she hadn't wanted him to feel as if what he did didn't have value or matter. Everyone did something important, even if it wasn't helping women through childbirth or educating others, or what have you. "No, but still. Poor girl shouldn't be traumatized and scared to use magic for the rest of her life either."
Ann shook her head in response to his commentary. "Believe me, the women are always going from extreme joy to extreme pain. That's when Joce was at her happiest." She looked down at her drink before turning her eyes up at him. "But it makes what I do worth it, for sure, seeing how happy they are after everything is said and done." Secretly, Ann wanted to experience that for herself, but she wasn't about to share that aloud with Otto.
It was too dark for him to notice the pinkness of her cheeks, but there really wasn't any need for it. He knew she was just too nice to agree that his job was something of a joke - or at the very least she wasn't the type to boast and try and make herself seem more important than anyone else. Not that he knew her all that well, but you weren't sorted into the badger house if you didn't have
some redeeming qualities.
"I don't have any sisters, but my best friend's girl got pregnant while she was still in school. There was apparently a baby epidemic that year, since i'm pretty sure 2 other girls in her house and year were pregnant at the same time. Anyway, getting back to my actual point - I remember her being so anxious the entire time she was carrying, but once their daughter was in her arms, it was like none of it really mattered." He smiled, though it faded shortly after, if only because a wave of nostalgia came over him after talking about the Bones'. He rolled his lips under and took another sip of his drink before turning back to her.
"How long have you been working at Mungo's?"
Ann’s brow furrowed in concern. So young to have children like that--still in school and everything?! But she shook it off quickly. “I’ve been there since I finished at Hogwarts, 76. Did my internship and just fell in love with pediatrics. It was hard at first, though...with the war. Seeing all the young mothers, or the little ones who got caught in the crossfire,” she said slowly, her mind drifting to the likes of Harry Potter. He may have been the most famous, but he certainly wasn’t the only one. “Now it’s just common illnesses and check ups, and they’re always so happy. I love working there, though.”
She took another drink from her cup before turning the tables. “And you? How long have you been at the Ministry?”
“Yeah, I bet…” He was a little solemn with his reply, though the war wasn’t exactly an easy subject for anyone to talk about. He really did commend people who had professions in medical fields, since he knew he wouldn’t have been able to handle it. Otto didn’t consider himself to be dumb, but he knew his limitations. The schooling alone to be a healer was extremely difficult, but he just knew he would form emotional attachments to the patients, making it more difficult to cope with a loss. He knew of so many people during the war who had been brought to Mungo’s with serious injuries, but never left - some of them never even made it to the hospital.
When the subject was turned around on him, he thought about it for a second before answering. “Well I did an internship fresh out of Hogwarts in ‘78, but I was officially hired in ‘79. I can’t really complain about it too much. I mean sometimes it gets a little tedious, but I keep myself entertained by playing paper quidditch when I have time to kill.”
They continued to walk through the back yard, eventually coming across a wooden swing that the homeowner had set up. He gestured down to it, allowing her to take a seat before following suit. It was definitely nicer outside, without all the noise.
“Are you a fan of quidditch?”
Ann nodded, listening to him quietly as they walked before sitting down next to him. She paused to give it some thought; she had never played quidditch herself, but she didn’t mind watching a game or two. She did, however, get extremely nervous when something risky or dangerous occurred. Finally, she decided a nod would be sufficient. “It’s not so bad. I never played in school though, I don’t think I have the personality for it.”
She looked over at him as they casually swung, catching his eye before showing him a kind smile. “Did you play? I seem to remember, but it’s been so long that I’m not quite positive.”
He was glad to know that she wasn’t one of those girls who had no interest whatsoever in the game. He could appreciate her not wanting to play it though - it really wasn’t for everyone. Unlike his brother, Quidditch wasn’t his entire life, but he went to pretty much every Wasps game he could attend, to show his support.
“Yeah, for a few years. I tried out when there was a vacant spot on the team. I still can’t figure out if i made it because I was good enough, or if it was because I just sucked less than everyone else who tried out that year.” He twisted his cup in his hands. “I never went into it thinking I would turn it into a career or anything. I mean it would have been great, but I had
fun playing Quidditch. The pros seem to be under way too much pressure.” He twisted his cup in his hands, looking down into it before taking another sip and turning to look over at her again.
“So what
did you have the personality for when you were in school?”
Ann nodded as she listened. “I feel like there would be far too much pressure in that situation. Not just because of it being a job, but such a
public one.”
She laughed, thinking about his next question. She hadn’t been a prefect, that was all Isobel. And she didn’t have the personality to tell people when they did something wrong, that was for certain. No, most of the time Ann stuck to her books and helping out a few of the much,
much younger students when she got older. She felt as if some of her career at Hogwarts could have been spent better with being involved, but she did well enough in her courses. “You know, most of the time I ended up focusing on school, as unexciting as that sounds.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I always enjoyed Transfiguration class, learned a lot from Professor McGonagall. And she never minded extra assignments for me to try out a few new methods.” She smiled, feeling her cheeks rose up again before looking at him. “What about you? Past the Quidditch, I mean.”
