Figuring Out The Snow [open]

Lilyanya walked into the Leaky Cauldron angry and frustrated, she spent four hours trying to get the snow out of her house. Nothing was working, she tried magic but that made it worse and shoveling it out only to find more was still coming in. So she got dressed in a pair of jeans with a thick sweater with her cloak and headed to the only place she could think of at that moment. She looked around wondering if they were having the same issue that she was. Walking up to someone at the bar that had their back turned to her she sighed. Tapping their shoulder softly remembering her strength was much more than anyone else. "Excuse me? Do you know what going on with the snow?" Anya asked waiting for the person to turn around. She took off her gloves while she waited as she looked around trying to figure out what the heck was going on. "Snow keeps going into my house and nothing I'm doing to get rid of it is working. Is there anything that works best against this?" She asked wanting badly to get rid of it in her house.

Declan was furious. Fuming mad, in fact. Business at the Leaky was all but gone, except for the few people who hoped that they might be able to get a bite to eat from Declan's kitchen since theirs was overrun by piles of snow. Unfortunately, his was just as covered as everyone else's, so the best he could do was to warm up a couple things that didn't actually need to be put in an oven, or perhaps hot drinks, all spelled with warming charms. It kept people happy enough, but it wouldn't do to keep money coming in. If this snow didn't cease, Declan would have to shut the pub down, not to mention the rooms upstairs. Even the beds were going to end up covered with the stuff, and it was going to make Declan explode.

When the door opened and Declan looked up, he saw Anya trudging through the snow that covered the floors of the pub. She tried to get the attention of the person at the bar, but he cut in, sarcasm dripping off of his words. "Have you tried melting it?" he jested, feigning seriousness as he lifted an eyebrow in her direction.

"What can I get you, Anya?" he asked, purposefully using the name she preferred to try and soften the blow of his question. Leaning forward across the bar, he passed another napkin to the person to his left who was shaking from the cold and had sloshed their cocoa around a bit. "I imagine you aren't here to get out of the cold, given that we've got piles of it in here, too. But we do have some warm options available."

Seeing Declan there she smiled softly, "I've tried everything, melting it doesn't work in the least. I've tried using magic to get rid of it nothing and every time i shovel it out more pours in. The shoveling helps to an extent until it decides to go right back in. My house is full of nothing but snow, i had to send my dog to my brother's house." She sighed disgustedly as how all that snow was just building and building in her home. Taking a seat on the stool near the bar, she looked around the pub. There were piles in here and she knew that he would have a heck of a time getting it all out.

Anya looked at him wondering what he thought about what was happening. "Well if you have bagged blood in there somewhere I'll take that. If not I have to find some soon because mine is buried and frozen beneath the snow in my house. Someone has to be causing this because the snow is getting in somehow and it seems like it's magicked. Regular snow would melt and you'd be able to get rid of it without trouble. This snow refuses to budge no matter what and always doubles every time you try to use magic on it." Anya said sighing deeply running her hand through her hair. Then she realized that she forgot to mention to him before that she was a vampire. She looked up at him wanting to gauge his reaction to her confession of being one.

Well Aria had waken up at the morning since she did felt cold a little bit even if she was under her blankests. She opened her eyes and was shocked when she saw in her apartment a snow. She was so confused what was that. She sighed, walked with blanket over her to cupboard and did get dressed so much warmer.

After that she tried to get ride of that snow but nothing didn't seem to work. She decided to go and check what was going one. She likes to solve mysterious but this time she needs help for sure. She wondered where could be best way to get help from at this time of day.

She walked around the streets and when she saw Leaky Couldron she decided to go in and get something warm to drink now. There wasn't that much warmer than it was outside actually. She said hello to people there now.

"Could I get one hot chocolate or something warm to drink?" she asked there now with a smile. She really wanted something warm now there. She smiled and looked around. She didn't see anyone who she really know. "So it seems that everyone have this snow problem now. Snow what doesn't go away what ever we try do now," she said there now and sighed.

Declan's smirk grew as she pointed out that the magic would not help. Of course, he had known that all along. It seemed, as far as he could tell, that there was no getting rid of the snow. At least, not for the time being. He could only hope that someone was smart enough to be looking into it. As a man who probably could find his way into understanding anything he wanted to, given the time, Declan supposed that he could very well be the one to sort it out if he wanted to. But then, he didn't truly care to do so. He had too much to worry about within the confines of his own building.

"I suppose the only good thing is that is seems to stop after a time. It probably won't fill the entirety of our buildings, if we're lucky," he pointed out, trying to keep a light tone given the circumstances.

Declan frowned at her request, but nodded. "I've got some stored in the back, knowing that folks might come in. I'll get it in a second," he promised, turning to the next person who walked in, asking after a drink.

Declan wasn't sure he recognized her, though that was hardly surprising given the number of people who came through his pub. The only ones he truly knew were those that stayed now and again or visited almost daily. "I can do a hot chocolate or a hot coffee if you prefer that," he offered.

He sighed at her comment, agreeing by way of a nod of his head. "Yeah, that's what we were just talking about," Declan explained. "Seems like people have been trying to get at it with magic, but it's not been helping. Have you tried that?"

Once she told his what it was that she wanted to drink and replied to his question, he informed the girls that he would be back in a moment with their requests. Upon making his way behind the bar once more, he frowned down at the piles of snow in his way, kicking the stuff about as he went. Their individual drinks were set before them and he glanced around the pub again.

"It'a wonder that I can do any business at all, what with the roads being blocked and the whole place being near full up with snow. Even the rooms are all chilled up. I've found you can use warming charms on a few things - yourself, your food, things like that - but it won't get rid of the snow and won't fully cover up the chill that the snow seeps into your clothes, you know? It's frustrating. There's got to be a way to get rid of it."

Hallie had been called upon to do some extra shifts at The Leaky Cauldron, not that she was needed to bar tend but simply to shift the snow. The pub was full of it, much like everywhere else in the country. Whatever had happened nobody knew, all that the Prophet reported was that it had reached as far South as the Isle Of Wright although word on the street was that something, or someone was causing it. Who? Hallie had no idea and, for once, that sat nicely with her.

Since returning to Britain, after informing the Lupins Gideon Pierce had purchased a large quantity of polyjuice potion, Hallie had kept herself to herself. It was quite a pleasant lifestyle. No longer was she rushed off her feet being an auror and running the Order. Instead Hallie went to work, she poured drinks, collected glasses, shoveled snow then returned to an equally cold Cooper Cottage. Of course the Cottage wasn't comforting. She may have wanted to keep out of the darker aspects of society but she certainly didn't want to be shut out all together meaning Hallie found herself sitting with customers at tables in The Leaky Cauldron after her shift. Either that or she was somewhere along Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley was her new home.

Funnily enough it was the first place Hallie had initially lived upon moving out of Cooper Cottage to commence study as an auror. Naturally the whole mugging incident had shaken her up (she still hadn't been reunited with her Father's watch) but she was past that. Well, after being tortured, having your leg cut off and losing your baby in a battle with James Blood you could get past pretty much everything.

'I've shoveled the snow from the top rooms again, Declan.' Hallie announced, finding her way down the stairs with a shovel swung over a bundle of scarves that were looped around her neck. 'Mrs Cottonball didn't seem impressed though, it kept landing in her back garden when I flung it from the window.'

Finding her way to the bar Hallie set the shovel against the wall and collapsed onto the nearest stool.

'I tell you though, Declan. I'm exhausted. I wish someone would bloody come forward with a solution to this snow.'

"Well it's getting to be a complete hassle, someone has to be causing this. There's no way that the weather is doing this but who would do this is the question." Anya said looking at him as he frowned at her request. "Thank you." She whispers softly knowing that he probably thinks the worse of her. Seeing the two new people she made sure she listened to what they were saying. "The most I can figure is that it's someone who's doing this. In the mean time just shoveling it out is gonna help. I would love to find out how to get rid of it and soon."

Anya looked around and said, "If you need help shoveling the snow I can. I don't tire very easily and I can help rid at least half or more of what's in here." She wondered if Declan would accept her help or just brush it off like it's nothing. She wanted something to do rather than sitting at home trying to figure out what to do by herself. "We can clear enough of the snow out so we can get the place to heat back up enough to chase the cold away. At the same time we can figure out who is doing it and why." Anya said looking at them wondering if they would agree it was a person doing this.

Aria looked at them and nodded. "I did try to use magic, it made it even worse," she said there and sighed. She didn't like that there was snow in her apartment at all. Other ways she didn't had anything against the snow.

"I'll take hot coffee. I like it more than hot chocolate," she said there now with a smile. "No sugar or milk todat. Just black coffee," she added there now. She usually added milk but not today at all. Soon she had her drink and she did take a zip from there now.

She saw new person to enter. That person even looked a familiar. Aria have seen her someone but couldn't tell at first sight where she have seen her. After few minutes thinking she realized from where she knew her. They used to train and work as Auror together. "Hey Hallie, long time no see," she said there now with a small smile. "Oh and you might right miss, someone is behind it but who I'm not sure right now and why we can figure out if we figure out who is behind it," she said there now back to Anya. She didn't know her name.

Declan turned at Hallie's approach, giving a nod of thanks for her work. "Well, she's not exactly the nicest woman, is she?" he asked in return, shaking his head. "It isn't as though there isn't snow in her garden. It's everywhere! If she's truly upset, she can trudge through the snow in here and complain to me about it herself. No need worry about it for now."

He glanced over at Anya as she offered to help, and as much as he wanted to accept, he felt obligated to remind her that it wasn't as easy as simply pushing the snow out of the building. "It's... nice of you to offer, Anya. But as soon as we shovel it out, it just comes back. It's not a job that ends. And warming charms might work on us, but not on the snow. It's really just a waiting game until we figure out what's going on."

Declan sighed and let his elbows rest on the part of the bar he had brushed off a bit, and dropped his head into his palms. "This is ridiculous. Happy bloody Christmas to us." He took a breath and pushed himself up again, looking over to Hallie. "Do you think the folks at the Order would be willing to look into things?"

"Hi Aria." Hallie replied with a slight smile. The pair had worked together in the auror office, that was until she resigned from her post during her period of grief. Hallie was a confident woman but sometimes seeing people who she once spent time with on a daily basis, people she would meet up with for lunch in the Ministry Munchies Cafe dented her armour with a slight twang. Of course this happened quite often now Hallie worked in the leaky cauldron, the epicentre of Wizarding Britain. Three times she'd been asked why she resigned and, more frequently, when she was going to return. At this moment in time Hallie wasn't ready, she was content and enjoying life away from the drama working at the ministry caused.

Just as Hallie was about to ask Aria how she had been the topic of conversation quickly drifted to the snow. Declan was right. There wasn't much use shovelling it if it was only going to return in a matter of seconds, which was why Hallie had left Cooper Cottage covered in the stuff, no doubt the house was full to the brim with snow by now. Of course the only reason Hallie was shovelling snow from the Leaky Cauldron was because it was still the busiest place on Diagon Alley, even with the snow.

'Oh, Declan.' Hallie sighed, moving towards him to provide some comfort. Although before she could pat her boss warmly on the back her body froze (more than it already had). The order. Hallie had left the Order months ago around the time she had been taken to Azkaban and fled to Spain. Nobody had mentioned the Order, sure Hallie had contemplated the idea upon her return but she'd decided to stick with the decision she'd made in Spain: avoid it at all costs. Now here she was, standing in five inches of snow being asked if 'the folks at the Order' would be able to help solve the situation. Wasn't the reason Hallie had taken the bartending job to avoid getting caught up in the drama of the wizarding world? Wasn't it supposed to be a quite, yet cheery life, being a bartender? Apparently that was just a fantasy painted in the blonde's head.

'I haven't spoken to the Order since I returned to Britain.' Hallie replied solemnly. 'Although I'm sure they'd be up for solving this problem.' That is the sort of thing they'd do. Hallie added alone in her head.

If the Order did manage to reply to her calling and come to the Leaky Cauldron how would they see her? As a traitor? Someone who left when the going got tough? Weak? The idea didn't sit well with Hallie but she couldn't hide from them forever and wouldn't avoid them anymore. The sorting hat had placed her in Gryffindor for a reason.
'Would you like me to contact them, see if they've figured anything out already?'