Pac-a-Parker

Ginny headed to the bar of her most regularly visited establishment, wondering if it was something she should be worried about the fact that she seemed to spend so much time at a pub. Though in all fairness, it was almost like spending time with her nephew. Kind of. Not really but almost. It made her feel better about it at least.

She grinned happily as he usual first drink appeared in front of her, thanking her nephew, pleased that she had such wonderful service. It seemed a little too busy tonight to make him stop and talk to her though, so she let him continue with his work. She'd be back soon enough. It wasn't like she never saw him.

Beginning to drink up, Ginny sat in her own thoughts until her drinking buddy arrived. It was nice to be out the house. Her three children together were being a little...insufferable.

The Leaky looked like it was heaving today, and Zach squinted across to see if he could spot Ginny upon arrival. If it was busy and she wasn't there (though he was almost a hundred percent certain she was) he did not want to spend the rest of his evening there.

He set eyes upon her, before returning to face the bar to order a drink from Blond Weasley Boy, only to find it had already been poured, the boy grinning at him as he returned to go help some other customer with some sort of drinking malady. How that child always seemed so chipper disturbed him slightly.

"Well, Weasley Seven, another week or less has passed, and we're back here again," he said as he took a seat next to her. "How's it going? Stayed on your broom alright or have you been done for drunk flying yet?"

Ginny watched people come to the bar, a smile tuging at the corner of her lips as Louis poured Zach a drink, waiting for the man to join her. She rolled her eyes at the name he gave her, wondering if it was actually a week that had passed. It felt like a week. It was probably sometime last week. Ignore the fact that it was early on in this week.

She was thinking too hard about this. "I'll have you know I don't drink while I'm flying. I'm not an idiot," Ginny defended. "I think you're more likely to turn up to work drunk than me, and you have a stupidly long holiday. Which is not fair, I would like to point out. How long do you even get off? Please tell me that you at least have to go back before the children do."

"You're not?" Zach asked, raising his eyebrows, before shrugging. "Oh no, you're just ginger, aren't you? My bad." He gasped in mock indignation, before folding his arms. "Well I haven't been sacked yet so I must be doing something right."

Ah, holidays. The one perk of being a teacher. Well, bar the kids, but Zach would never admit he quite liked teaching them. He didn't want to seem generically Hufflepuff. "I have a lovely wonderful looooong holiday," he said in a teasingly bragging tone. "And yeah, I might have to get there before them but still, paid holiday is the best. But at least you get to do something you like. Do you really want holiday? Or is it worse now it's a job? I fail to see your case."

He grinned and leant back in his chair. "I have to put up with your kids more than you do," he joked. "The older one... oh how I will miss his witicisms. Funny Name'll drop charms to do something more worthwhile. It'll be the brainy one. She's cynical enough for me. We could get on."

(Ooc: yay naff post is naff and Zach OS a real bitch todsy, what's going on? )

Ginny gave a sarcastic laugh at his reply. "Rather be ginger than a prat. And I have wonderful hair, ginger or not. And you haven't been sacked yet, no. Head of House and everything, the model Hufflepuff," she couldn't say it without giggling slightly. "Definitely doing something right."

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," she sniffed at the comment about paid holiday. It was more the amount of time he had that was paid holiday than anything. "Do you not enjoy teaching, then? And maybe when I was younger I would've been happy to not have a holiday, but it's a lot of work, even if I do enjoy it," Ginny grimaced at the fact she just admitted she was getting old. "I'm not sure I'd want a holiday as long as yours. Maybe just...more regular breaks than I have at the moment."

She laughed at how true it was. "I'm not sure if I envy you or not. No, I do, I'd love to spend more time with my kids. When they're not...being awkward. And I could always bring the older one with me next time I come round, he does still live with me. And is now walking in the footsteps of his favourite mother," Ginny couldn't help but grin with pride. "Glad to hear you could get on with my daughter. She is very brainy."

"Each to their own," Zach replied with a grin, before clucking his tongue and forcing his face straight. "Take it back Weasley. Take back that tone you said 'model Hufflepuff' in before you hurt my feelings or I hurt your face."

"Do I enjoy teaching?" Zach said, scratching his chin, before laughing. "Okay. Sometimes. Not always though. Not when there's that little sod who is good at everything and doesn't listen and still manages to get an O. Types like Malfoy. Gosh he was an annoying sod at school."

He grinned at her speak of the children, before his thoughts flashed to their father. Yes, he admitted he had been keeping an eye on the three of them during the terms to make sure they were okay, though he worried about Ginny too, something he wasn't overly keen to admit. "So, how you holding up?" he asked her, trying to maintain the air of arrogance and self-dignity he liked to keep around him, whilst also attempting to be sort of gentle. Oh, he hated this comforting thing. He wanted to say something right, but he didn't want to be a sap or be too nice or just have a complete character transformation. Plus, half the time he wasn't sure what to say.

Ginny found herself beginning to giggle more at the straight face and prospect of what she said hurting Zach's feelings. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, please don't hurt my face! I take it all back," she grinned cheekily. "You're not at all a model Hufflepuff. Don't know what I was saying."

"I can think of a fair few annoying sods at school," she said, giving him a pointed look. "But they are annoying. Those who just sail through school without a care in the world. I remember hours of studying! All that work, and I bet I still got lower than some of those annoying sods. But I'm glad you enjoy it 'sometimes' at least. It's good to enjoy your job. I imagine you would've quit by now if you hadn't, though that might be why you're such a miserable git."

She felt herself beginning to smile at the slightly awkwardly phrased question, though she also found herself beginning to think seriously about it. "How am I holding up?" Ginny repeated, not wanting to make him too uncomfortable. His sympathy river wasn't very deep. "Pretty well, I guess. Getting out the house helps a lot," she bit her lip, finding herself getting a tiny bit embarrassed by the next words she said, flustering slightly. "So, you know, thanks I guess. For helping me get out the house. I think Lily needs to get out the house more, but things are a little...tense at home. What with it being the first summer that it's just us."

"How is living the life of a bachelor?" Ginny asked, hoping to not put too much attention on her own problems. Things weren't always about her. She probably could've come up with a better question though. "Everything you dreamed of?"

Zach smirked, raising his glass. "Good. I'll drink to that. Model Hufflepuff my arse. Only reason I got it was genetics, pretty sure of that. Or maybe it's my hidden depth. I have a lot of hidden depth. I'm like... I'm like the Grand Canyon of hidden depth."

He snorted again and raised his eyebrows. "Seriously, you'd think I came here to be insulted by you. I was not an annoying sod. Or I was, but I didn't sail through school. Oh my gosh, Weasley, you're so horrible to me. And sure, you imagine I would have quit, but then you remember how stubborn I am and it doesn't surprise you in the slightest. I will see this shit through!"

Zach nodded, unsure of what really to say. He knew he wasn't the best at comforting; offering his help might make her laugh. He didn't really know what to do, so he just nodded. Nodding was good.

"The life of a bachelor?" he seized immediately, grinning. "Oh it's great. No-one to tell me off if I'm messy. Not that I am messy. Well I am, but not as messy as I was. So yes, life's a dream. It was more fun when everyone else was single though and we could live in a house of singletons. They just got lured into married life. A terrible mistake on all of your parts, might I add."

Ginny chuckled, raising her own glass before taking a drink, fully willing to use any excuse to drink a little bit more. "Genetics, huh? Come from a line of Hufflepuffs? Think of the scandal there would've been if you'd got sorted into Slytherin!" she nearly choked on her drink as he described himself as the Grand Canyon of hidden depth. "I'm sorry, you? Hidden depth? You mean there's more to you than cynical, mildly offensive bastard? Because I must say, if there is you hide it very well."

"Of course I do, why else would you come here?" she asked with an innocent grin. "And I wasn't insulting exactly, I was just telling the truth! No need to be such a drama queen, really. And hey, stubborness is an..." Ginny falted for a moment, knowing it had to be a positive description. Seeing as she was a tiny bit stubborn. "Admirable quality on occasions? Or something like that?"

She found herself laughing slightly again as he began talking about the life of a bachelor. She'd always kind of imagined him to be messy, though she always kind of imagined most bachelors to be messy in all fairness. There were probably exceptions to the rule though. There always were. "Oh, how dreadful for you to not have lots of single friends to prace around with in your house of singletons, breaking young girl's hearts. And I will one day find an excuse to tell you off for being messy, I promise you that. I'll have you know married life..." she trailed off for a moment, thinking of her married life. Glancing up at Zach quickly reminded her of where she was. "Married life is wonderful. Surely there's some girl somewhere which you would eventually have wanted to settle down with. You know, the 'one that got away'?"

Hesitating for a moment, Ginny couldn't help herself from saying what she did next, a small smile on her face. "You don't need to ask me how I am when we meet up, you know. I mean, it's nice and everything, but I know comforting friend isn't exactly a brilliant skill of yours," she tried to keep her tone relatively light and teasing.