Closed At Least The Drinks Are Alright

[Serenoa Earnshaw]

Sure, Noah might have been a suit now (or, well, whatever the wizarding equivalent was) and he mostly left the pub in James' capable hands. But the pub was still his baby, and he was still heavily invested in making it succeed. He still lived above it, after all.

And sure, the main draw keeping it open was the fact that it made it that bit easier for Aussie kids getting over to Hogwarts. But it was still a place for witches and wizards to hang out in the city, and Noah wanted to give them more reason to have a night out than "well, it's the main wizarding pub in town". So he'd put feelers out for up and coming musicians looking for a Saturday night gig and managed to find at least one guy to play a set, with the offer of a decent paycheque and open bar. Noah took pride in having a decently stocked bar, after all.

Leaning against said bar, Noah nursed his third or fourth beer of the evening, glad he didn't have to get up and go in to the Ministry the next day unless some sort of emergency happened and none of his superiors were available. So, highly unlikely. The guy playing was alright, certainly a little better now he'd had a couple of drinks, and at the very least easy on the eyes. He cheered probably a bit too loudly, in a rather pleasant mood all things considered.

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Since graduating from university, Vivian had decided to focus more seriously on his music. It was a gamble he was pretty sure would turn out to be a terrible idea, but he had been managing to pick up more gigs around the country, playing magical and muggle venues alike. He hadn't had any interest from the industry despite his mum volunteering to be his manager, but for now he was having fun and making the most of the experience. If music ever did take him further, having this experience as a smaller artist would likely serve him well.

Paying gigs were always a big deal, rare as they were, and today was an even bigger milestone than usual. Vivian had never even been overseas outside of Hogwarts field trips, and though Australia wasn't that far away in the grand scheme of things this was still technically his first international show. He had taken a couple of days off from the café he had been working at since graduating from uni, and dedicated himself to rehearsing and preparing a setlist. By the time the show came about, he was as ready as he could ever be.

Hands fluttering across the piano keys as he sang, Vivian tried to stay focused on his performance and not think about how strange this was. He had been approached to perform internationally. Maybe he should be taking his mum up on her offer to manage him. Still, the music flowed easily, and by the end of the show Vivian was fairly sure it had gone well. He thanked the audience for their time with a sheepish smile before slipping off stage and heading to the bar, eager to get a drink and decompress after the show. He was surprised to see the bar's owner by the bar, giving the man a smile he hoped wasn't too flustered, given his internal jitters. "How'd I do?" He asked, signalling the bartender for a drink as he spoke.

 

[Serenoa Earnshaw]

Jim had given Noah a pretty rough time over the whole thing, pointedly stating that they didn't really have the capital to throw gigs like this, but Noah was ever the idealist. It'll be great, he'd said. Gives people somewhere new to play, supports up and comers, reminds the community that we still count over in Australia, and actually makes some wizarding nightlife happen. Everybody wins. 'Except our account books', Jim had reminded him, stiffly. He'd pay up out of his ministry salary for gigs if he had to. It was something positive he could give the community, more than just filling out paperwork behind his desk. At least there was a tangible benefit to this.

It was probably a good thing Lizzie was around to keep him in stern parental type older sibling mode, because if he didn't shoulder that responsibility he'd likely be incredibly reckless. Only she wasn't actually here tonight, and the bartender hadn't twigged to the fact they should probably be giving him water.

"Hey! You did great, man." He wasn't too drunk, at least, just a bit tipsy, feeling pleasantly buzzed. It was what he needed after a dull week at work, he figured. To not shoulder responsibility for a night. "Thanks for coming out to play tonight. Appreciate it." He took another swig of his drink, just imagining the earful he'd get for checking out the entertainment and trying not to. "Hope it wasn't too weird a request. There isn't usually a lot going on around here so I thought we'd liven it up a bit."