But Wise Men Never Fall in Love
Title: But Wise Men Never Fall In Love
Who: Justin and Padma
When: Spring or Summer 1999
Where: St Mungo's, the tea room
What: Back in the day, Justin went to St Mungo's to do interviews and asked Padma out but she denied him. Also Asylum Arcanum backstory.
Rating: G
It wasn’t out of the ordinary for Padma to take her break in the tea room at St Mungo’s, but what made today a bit different was that she was having her lunch with Justin Finch-Fletchley. He had shown up to do an interview for The Daily Prophet, and she invited him to have lunch with her when the interview was through.
“It’s a bit strange that we haven’t really seen each other more often,” Padma commented as she opened the package containing her vanilla tea bag, then dropped it into her cup of hot water to steep.
Justin nodded in agreement and prepared his own tea. “Yeah, it is,” he replied. Padma got the feeling he held eye contact for a bit longer than necessary, and she blushed and looked down at her tea.
Once she realized they had fallen into a bit of a lull, she glanced up and caught him smiling at her. “What?” she asked and removed her teabag from the cup.
“Nothing,” Justin replied with a hint of a smirk.
Padma felt herself start to smile despite the previous awkwardness. “Liar,” she accused and sipped her tea to hide her grin.
“Nope. It’s nothing,” Justin insisted, and Padma blushed again as he grinned. She wondered what it would take to keep that kind of smile on his face.
“I don’t believe you,” she said and waved a finger at him. “I think you’re up to something, you… you trouble-maker.”
Justin placed his hands over his heart and gaped at her. “Trouble-maker? Harsh words, Patil, harsh words,” he said set his untouched tea aside as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m afraid I’ll never be able to tell you now that you’ve insulted me.”
Padma pouted and sipped her tea. “Fine, I didn’t want to know anyway,” she said and tried to look disinterested, but he had that sort of sly grin where he looked like he was up to something and Padma couldn’t resist the urge to keep up the banter.
They went on like that for some time, Padma insisting he was being troublesome and Justin continuously telling her that he was indeed not troublesome at all. She wondered if he really wasn’t up to anything and if he was just trying to make her think he was, but she liked the sort of give and take that was going on, if that was what it was, and she liked the lazily playful air about him.
Unfortunately, her break was nearly over and Padma wished for the first time that she didn’t need to go back to work. “Well, I might see you around,” she said with a small smile. “Unless we don’t bump into each other, then maybe you’ll have to interview me again.”
“I might,” Justin said as he stood and slipped his hands into his pockets, “or I’ll have to take you out for lunch again.”
Padma blushed up at him from her seat. “Why would you want to do that?” she asked.
Justin shrugged and Padma blushed more at the mischievous look he had again. “I like talking to you and I think we’d have fun,” he answered. “We might even be able to make a proper date of it.”
He looked eager and maybe even hopeful and Padma hated that she had to turn him down. “Oh,” she said slowly as she looked down at her lap, then slipped out of her seat to stand as well. She fussed with the hems of her sleeves before looking up at him, biting her lip.
“I would have liked to. Really, I would, it’s just… I’m with someone, and, well, I don’t think he’d fancy having to share me,” she finally answered, trying to keep up a teasing sort of tone, but she noticed his expression fall slightly and was glad that he was trying to hide whatever was going on in his mind.
Justin nodded once and made eye contact with her briefly. “Oh, yeah, he might not like that,” he said after a pause that felt a few seconds too long. “I don’t blame him for being selfish.”
Padma nodded as well and wracked her brain for something to say in response to that, but he was talking again.
“It’s probably for the best.”
“Why is that?” Padma asked, looking up at him.
“Well, the long-distance thing doesn’t usually work out in the end. I’ve heard it pushes people apart,” he explained. “We couldn’t have that, could we?”
“We couldn’t,” Padma agreed, then went on after a moment, “but I could still write to you. If you’d like, that is, since you’re going to be… long-distance, wherever that is.”
Justin stroked his chin a bit as if he were pretending to contemplate this. “All right,” he finally agreed and took a bit of parchment and a quill from his pocket to scrawl an address for her. “It can’t hurt, right? We’re already going to be far apart, a few letters here and there can’t hurt things, can they?”
Padma nodded and read over the parchment, then slipped it into her pocket, being careful not to fold or crinkle it at all.
“Just send anything to that address and I’ll get it when I’m in town,” Justin explained and Padma nodded again, holding out her hand for him to shake. It felt not quite right to be bidding some kind of farewell to him. They were barely even friends, yet on some level they had an undeniable connection and she wasn’t ready for him to go just yet.
“Right, yes, of course,” Padma replied and he took her hand and gave it a firm shake (he had rather strong hands, she observed in the few seconds his hand was in hers), but she held on and drew him to her for a tight hug. “Good luck, wherever you go.”
It felt like it took him ages and centuries to hug her back, but finally his arms were around her and she didn’t really want to let go, but she did because she had to and Padma had a hard time ignoring things she was supposed to do.
Justin was smiling, though, and it was that impish one she was growing so fond of and just as she allowed herself to entertain the idea of what it would be like to see it much more often, he was bidding her adieu and Padma was left standing alone in the middle of the tea room with Augustus Pye bellowing for her to get a move on and get back to work.
Who: Justin and Padma
When: Spring or Summer 1999
Where: St Mungo's, the tea room
What: Back in the day, Justin went to St Mungo's to do interviews and asked Padma out but she denied him. Also Asylum Arcanum backstory.
Rating: G
It wasn’t out of the ordinary for Padma to take her break in the tea room at St Mungo’s, but what made today a bit different was that she was having her lunch with Justin Finch-Fletchley. He had shown up to do an interview for The Daily Prophet, and she invited him to have lunch with her when the interview was through.
“It’s a bit strange that we haven’t really seen each other more often,” Padma commented as she opened the package containing her vanilla tea bag, then dropped it into her cup of hot water to steep.
Justin nodded in agreement and prepared his own tea. “Yeah, it is,” he replied. Padma got the feeling he held eye contact for a bit longer than necessary, and she blushed and looked down at her tea.
Once she realized they had fallen into a bit of a lull, she glanced up and caught him smiling at her. “What?” she asked and removed her teabag from the cup.
“Nothing,” Justin replied with a hint of a smirk.
Padma felt herself start to smile despite the previous awkwardness. “Liar,” she accused and sipped her tea to hide her grin.
“Nope. It’s nothing,” Justin insisted, and Padma blushed again as he grinned. She wondered what it would take to keep that kind of smile on his face.
“I don’t believe you,” she said and waved a finger at him. “I think you’re up to something, you… you trouble-maker.”
Justin placed his hands over his heart and gaped at her. “Trouble-maker? Harsh words, Patil, harsh words,” he said set his untouched tea aside as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m afraid I’ll never be able to tell you now that you’ve insulted me.”
Padma pouted and sipped her tea. “Fine, I didn’t want to know anyway,” she said and tried to look disinterested, but he had that sort of sly grin where he looked like he was up to something and Padma couldn’t resist the urge to keep up the banter.
They went on like that for some time, Padma insisting he was being troublesome and Justin continuously telling her that he was indeed not troublesome at all. She wondered if he really wasn’t up to anything and if he was just trying to make her think he was, but she liked the sort of give and take that was going on, if that was what it was, and she liked the lazily playful air about him.
Unfortunately, her break was nearly over and Padma wished for the first time that she didn’t need to go back to work. “Well, I might see you around,” she said with a small smile. “Unless we don’t bump into each other, then maybe you’ll have to interview me again.”
“I might,” Justin said as he stood and slipped his hands into his pockets, “or I’ll have to take you out for lunch again.”
Padma blushed up at him from her seat. “Why would you want to do that?” she asked.
Justin shrugged and Padma blushed more at the mischievous look he had again. “I like talking to you and I think we’d have fun,” he answered. “We might even be able to make a proper date of it.”
He looked eager and maybe even hopeful and Padma hated that she had to turn him down. “Oh,” she said slowly as she looked down at her lap, then slipped out of her seat to stand as well. She fussed with the hems of her sleeves before looking up at him, biting her lip.
“I would have liked to. Really, I would, it’s just… I’m with someone, and, well, I don’t think he’d fancy having to share me,” she finally answered, trying to keep up a teasing sort of tone, but she noticed his expression fall slightly and was glad that he was trying to hide whatever was going on in his mind.
Justin nodded once and made eye contact with her briefly. “Oh, yeah, he might not like that,” he said after a pause that felt a few seconds too long. “I don’t blame him for being selfish.”
Padma nodded as well and wracked her brain for something to say in response to that, but he was talking again.
“It’s probably for the best.”
“Why is that?” Padma asked, looking up at him.
“Well, the long-distance thing doesn’t usually work out in the end. I’ve heard it pushes people apart,” he explained. “We couldn’t have that, could we?”
“We couldn’t,” Padma agreed, then went on after a moment, “but I could still write to you. If you’d like, that is, since you’re going to be… long-distance, wherever that is.”
Justin stroked his chin a bit as if he were pretending to contemplate this. “All right,” he finally agreed and took a bit of parchment and a quill from his pocket to scrawl an address for her. “It can’t hurt, right? We’re already going to be far apart, a few letters here and there can’t hurt things, can they?”
Padma nodded and read over the parchment, then slipped it into her pocket, being careful not to fold or crinkle it at all.
“Just send anything to that address and I’ll get it when I’m in town,” Justin explained and Padma nodded again, holding out her hand for him to shake. It felt not quite right to be bidding some kind of farewell to him. They were barely even friends, yet on some level they had an undeniable connection and she wasn’t ready for him to go just yet.
“Right, yes, of course,” Padma replied and he took her hand and gave it a firm shake (he had rather strong hands, she observed in the few seconds his hand was in hers), but she held on and drew him to her for a tight hug. “Good luck, wherever you go.”
It felt like it took him ages and centuries to hug her back, but finally his arms were around her and she didn’t really want to let go, but she did because she had to and Padma had a hard time ignoring things she was supposed to do.
Justin was smiling, though, and it was that impish one she was growing so fond of and just as she allowed herself to entertain the idea of what it would be like to see it much more often, he was bidding her adieu and Padma was left standing alone in the middle of the tea room with Augustus Pye bellowing for her to get a move on and get back to work.