Tainted Love

The Leaky Cauldron

IRIS

The Leaky Cauldron on a Friday night was truly a sight to behold. An old barman and a scantily clad girl stood behind the bar. Their wands flicked through the air with practiced haste, turning taps on and off, spilling liquids of all different colors into glass chalices and sending them flying across the counter.

Booths lined the walls, and groups of wizards packed into them, yelling and laughing and sloshing their gold and purple drinks all over the floor, where the liquid glowed in little iridescent pools. The hardwood floor creaked and moaned and held everyone up.

Crowds of people milled around on the floor, most dancing, some swaying, others standing awkwardly off to the side. A couple of people pushed through the throng, shouting out their friends' names and trying to levitate their drinks well above the moving bodies.

Hands reached towards the ceiling, which was decorated by little balls of light, twinkling gold and silver, drifting around and bumping into each other. They were timed to the music, strobing in time with some Weird Sisters hit from ten years ago.

It felt special, like walking into a bubble. If Tracey wasn't pulling Iris along the side of the dance floor, she would've stopped and stared for a while, watching people's little worlds colliding with hers.

But apparently, finding an empty booth on a Friday night was something of an anomaly, and Iris's new acquaintances were making a beeline for the opportunity.

Tracey pulled Iris into the booth after her, sighing in contentment and shooting her a smile. Theodore slid in across from them, and Sebastian took off his jacket, setting it down on the empty seat and turning towards the bar.

"I'll get us drinks!" He shot over his shoulder, and Theodore rolled his eyes theatrically.

"We can order drinks from the table," Theodore confided, his feigned annoyance giving way to a sort of brotherly fondness. "Sebastian's just in love with the bartender."

Iris turned to look at the bar. The older man tending it waved his wand, sending three golden chalices flying out over the crowd and into three pairs of outstretched hands at a booth in the corner.

"Not Tom!" Tracey clarified, seeing Iris's eye-line, "Diana. I think she's part Veela."

Iris chuckled as Sebastian wormed his way between two people sitting at the bar and flashed a smile at the female bartender. He took his time ordering, leaning languidly on the counter and throwing in some extra grins and a wink for good measure.

Unfortunately, Diana did not seem to take notice - or, if she did, she didn't care. Once Sebastian was done ordering, she simply nodded and turned around. He looked a bit put out, and Tracey giggled.

"Poor man, he's been throwing himself at her for years," she said, voice rife with exaggerated pity.

Theodore shook his head, making some sort of signal at Sebastian from across the bar. He looked back at Tracey and Iris and shrugged.

"He'll get over it as soon as he gets a drink in him."

That, as it turned out, was true. Sebastian came back to the table with three drinks levitating around him and one held in his hand.

For Theodore, a dark drink whose surface appeared to be on fire. For Tracey, a bright green drink that was sending up little tendrils of steam. For himself, a turquoise drink served in a little cauldron, into which he poured a notable amount of sugar. And for Iris, a lavender drink with a silver sheen that was swirling around by itself.

"What is it?" She asked, looking down into the pearly concoction in front of her.

"Unicorn blood," Sebastian said casually, then upon seeing the horrified expression on Iris's face, quickly added, "It's not really! That's just what they call it. What, you don't have them in America?"