[Hogshead] Times Like These (closed)

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

The Grandfather clock that sat in the corner of the Hogshead pub chimed loudly in the corner as its accident hands ticked over to signal one o’clock in the morning. And although it was dark outside, rain was hammering down on the cobbled streets the noise coming out of the Hogshead made it clear to all that their were many wizards and witches still awake at the early hours of the morning. Two particular wizards who had in fact been at the pub since eight in the evening were laughing away to themselves as the blond haired one downed his ninth pint of the night. So it would be safe to say that Dan Hubbles by now was slightly drunk.

His rosy red checks shone brightly around the pub as his slightly diluted eyes scanned the masses of crowds, looking for the brown haired Charms Professor. He did not know if she was going to be at the bar tonight, but if she was he would defiantly be meeting up with her in private for a bit of alone time. His search was to no avail it seemed and leaning back on his chair Dan flicked open another button on his work shirt (now the top three were undone and the gray tie he had been wearing was now tied around his forehead).

“Doyouknow…”Dan’s attention had now turned back to Will who was sitting in front of him, the headmaster making no real effort to stop his words from blurring together. “…if sexy foxy foxy Potter is coming here tonight?”

Had he been sober this there would have been two things that would never have happened. First of all he would never have called Vicky ‘sexy foxy foxy Potter’ and secondly he would never have actually asked this question in the first place, let alone to his best mate who also just happened to be life long friend of his wife.

[Professor William Vaid]

If there was ever a living advertisement to stay sober then this was it. Dan Hubbles, a man who would go down in history and be written about in many 'Hogwarts; A History' books for centuries as a legendary Hogwarts Headmaster was sat mumbling to himself with his chest on show and his tie around his head. His vision was blurred but even so, when Dan asked if sexy foxy foxy potter was going to be joining them Will glanced around, his vision slowing around him before looking back at the bar and staring at the grains in it before realising what Dan had just said.

"Vicky? Wait.." he managed to say before a burp forced itself out of his mouth and without excusing himself he continued to blabber on.
"Why would Vicky be joining us?" he asked, blinking slowly at Dan before losing his balance almost and grabbing onto the bar with both hands.
"Whoah. Almost lost it there mate" he chuckled away before dismissing (or more likely drunkenly forgetting) what had just slipped from Dan's drunken mouth.

"Cworr, i'm telling ya" he continued before a series of hiccups blasted out from his chest.
"Hannah...hick...is really...hick....ticked off with....hick...me.....hick" he held his breath for a minute before gasping for air, the foolish attempt at ridding himself of the hiccups didn't work and they continued to annoy him.
"I should find hick a way hick to make it up to her hick" he said as he grabbed the pint glass and finished off the dreggs before shaking the empty glass in the air for a refill.

It dawned on him what Dan said....finally. Slamming down the glass he turned to Dan.
"You're having an affair arn't you? Arn't you!" he shouted over the loud chattering of the other customers. Stumbling up from his seat he rolled up his sleeves of his striped pale blue shirt and took the position of a fighting stance.
"It's time for FISTICUFFS my friend!" he said before playfully taking a swing at Dan's arm and tripping over thin air. Toppling back onto his seat he sat in silence for a few seconds before a fit of the giggles took over him.

"I don't blame you though, she is a looker. For god sake just don't let Dia find out"

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

Just imagine how it would read:
‘Daniel Alexander Hubbles. Headmaster 2103 -- ??
Professor Hubbles, was originally the charms professor and head of Hufflepuff house before gaining is promotion to Headmaster in March 2103. During his brief yet hectic period as Headmaster the school went haywire with people dying and paintings coming alive. Many believe this is because the Hubbles spent too many of his nights down the local pub instead of doing his job.’

And that last statement would be true as the Headmaster of one of the most prestigious wizarding schools in the world was currently intoxicated and talking about his affair with a fellow teacher as if him and Will were talking about the latest Quidditch games. For sober Dan he would have given a sigh of relief when Will changed the conversation away from Vicky, but for drunken Dan…well he would not tell the sodding difference.

“I still can NOT believe you went out with her mate.” Dan stated bluntly. “She is a Slytherin!” His voice went rather high at this point, so high in fact that a few of the fellow locals turned to look at Dan who was now swaying from side to side. “And…and….”he thumped his fist down on the table at this point knocking over a few of the empty glasses. “…she slept with Warren.”

Dan nodded his head and then it dawned on him what he had said, his eyes grew wide with shock and his hands flew up to cover his mouth as if in fear that something else would slip out that should not have been spoken. “OH MERLIN!” He was now laughing hysterically like a school girl. “Dia promised me not to tell. Oh lord I am a terrible husband.”

The later part of that statement was most likely true considering that he was been sleeping around with many other women during this short period that his marriage had covered. His fling with Vicky clearly had not gone unnoticed as the realisation seemed to hit Will like a bat to a Bludger. However his shouting the fact out did not help Dan‘s case of keeping it quiet and with a slightly lopsided glare at his mate Dan shouted a rather rude word to accompany “Shut up” but he was not going to deny it so as Will stood up demanding fistycuffs Dan just sat there looking at Will almost daring him to do something. Instead the poor drunken bloke just fell over and Dan could not help but laugh along.

“Of course I am not going to let Dia find out. I have been shagging Vicky now for…for…” Dan screwed his face up in thought "...five months. And I had a fling with Jen as well.” Dan said the last but with a smirk as if proud to boost that even though he was married he was still getting in on the action. “That is what you should do with Hannah. You should just marry her and shut the hag up!”

[Professor William Vaid]

Will could imagine it now, sat in his rocking chair in thirty years or so and picking out an old dusty book wearing at the spine on Hogwarts History, the Hubbles Years. He was sure the book would be huge but mostly just because of the Headmasters odd behavioural patterns and incidents that he had involved himself in, not to mention his students. Will's thoughts soon wandered from stupid history books when Dan mentioned Hannah's name and his ears automatically pricked up, Will somehow became a little edgy when her name was mentioned, especially by the over-friendly Daniel Hubbles. In truth, he knew that Dan wouldn't touch Hannah with a barge pole, not only because she was a Slytherin but because she was his, solely and unconditionally, it's just William Georgius Vaid had a funny way of showing his love for her, especially at this moment in time...

If only Dan had stopped at saying her name and didn't continue to say the next few words of truth, a truth that he didn't previously know about. He paused, feeling heat spiralling and (albeit) snowballing fire began seething within him as he slammed his fists on the bar and pushed the stool out behind him with his straightened legs as he stood. His jaw and teeth were clenched and the veins in his temples began to throb and the veins under his skin revealed themselves. His balled fists, like his jaw, were still clenched and he began to flec his fingers as if he was trying to ease a passing of aching.

"What did you just say?- she SLEPT with WARREN?" he announced, though his mind was automatically seeing images of him and her together as if it was happening right in front of his very eyes. Although he shouldn't of, he blamed Dan. Maybe because he had just dropped both himself and his beloved wife into this mess that Will himself had created and it was all just prolonged mental agony. With a final deep breath, he closed his eyes tight before they opened wide and without a thought, his whitened knuckles collided with the side of Dan's face. Without saying a word, Will just threw him a look of hatred and betrayal as he stood in silence for a few crucial seconds before turning, glugging the last of his beer and walking out of the bar.

As soon as the cool night air hit his face and his hand let the door fall back, consuming all of the pubs light and sounds once again, he rubbed his face with his hands as he stood in the doorway with closed eyes thinking what in merlin's name was he going to do now. The anger had not passed at all, it was still the liquid in which his thoughts and demons swam. He was far from conscious of his usual self.

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

When Dan left to go to that pub that evening he would never have guessed that this was how he was going to end the night, lying on the cold wooden floor of the Hogshead. Never in his years would Dan have thought that saying such a thing would have resulted in his best mate socking him one in the face sending him flying backwards off his chair, pilling his pint all over him and the other occupants of the Hogshead to laugh themselves into a frenzy.

As Dan felt the cold of his beer seep in through his clothing, the warmth of the bloody fill his mouth and the sickly sensation of pain, which he was sadly no stranger of. At first Dan could not think of what he had said that had made Will so mad. The fact that the Headmaster could not remember much of what had happened that day let alone few minutes ago was not a good start. With a slight cough Dan rolled over onto his side and started to spit out the every increasing amount of blood that seemed to be filling his mouth.

“The bloody twat.”

Dan muttered to himself in between sessions of spitting out streams of blood that was coming from the gap where two of his teeth once where. Tenderly touching his jaw he felt a loud click and once again the pain started. If he could remember in the morning he would know never to get in a fight with William Vaid again.

[Girty Hubbles]

It was a common sight to see a group of people hanging around the bar of the Hogshead on a Wednesday night. The sexy Landlord and red haired barmaid always seemed to be talking to them. One must have been in his mid-thirties, a roguish looking man who you would not like to meet down a dark alley. The girl was in her early twenties, she was a pale thin creature whose skin was littered with scars and the bags under her eyes indicated she did not get much sleep. However this did not seem to bother the girl and she always seemed to bare a wide smile no matter the day or weather. The last and youngest of the party seemed like he was not even old enough to be drinking in the pub. His sandy blond hair looked like he had just fallen out of bed and pulled on the closed t-shirt to him no matter how creased it was. Yet his boyish lopsided grin made him look the most approachable of the group.

This was what a new person to the local taven would think, how these people who all bore a similar resemblance where simply having a friendly pint. However to the locals these five where known as the landlord, the waiters, the con-artist, the student and the werewolf; or to put it simply they were the Hubbles clan. Always laughing, always swearing and always drinking. Tonight however it was, arguably the most successful of the clan, that was the centre of their jokes and teasing, most defiantly when Dan’s best mate socked him one in the jaw.

“Is it just me or are the odds high Dan deserved that?” Girty gave a light chuckle as she leaned against the bar counter.
“I bet he has lost a tooth.” Bailey stated as she waltzed past carrying a tray of empty drinks.
“Girls” Warren frowned and looked at his two younger cousins “from that angle it is more likely his jaw would be broken.”
The three Hubbles’s and two Griffiths’s who were crowed around the bar all breathed in deeply through closed teeth and grimaced in pain.
“I wonder what Dan said to make Vaid punch him?” Jamie wondered out loud and little did the Hufflepuff know his simple statement had rung true in the ears of the three Hubbles’s.

Girty, Warren and Sebastian’s eyes all met each other showing different stages of horror and hilarity. Girty was finding it hard to keep a straight face as she looked at Warren who’s eyes and mouth were wide witch shock as his gaze passed from his older cousin who was rolling around on the floor and his brother Sebastian who seemed to be staring daggers at the back of William Vaid’s head.

“The bast-”Warren mumbled
“Genious!” Giggled Girty
“What?” Questioned a confused Jamie
“I am going to kill him!” grumbled Sebastian
“More drinks!” Sung Bailey as she placed a tray containing five pint glasses on the counter. “Wait, who are you planning on killing?”

Everyone seemed to snap into focus and all eyes where upon the black sheep of the Hubbles family. They were all gawping at Sebastian.
“You can’t kill Dan.” Girty laughed nervously watching as her brother shakily got to his feet and stumbled towards the gaggle at the bar.
“I don’t thick he means Dan.” Warren answered as he started to feel uneasy about his brother possible actions. Warren really did not put it past Sebastian to do something stupid. “I think he means Will.”
“WILL!” Girty squeaked a little too high pitched as she lunged forward to stop her cousin from walking towards the door.

“Bloody twat!” The rather blurred eyed, red faced and blood stained Dan had reached them, his hand resting tenderly on his jaw. The only reason he was still talking was because the amount of alcohol flowing through his veins were acting like a high dosage of painkillers. “I mean I only mentioned how you slept with Hannah.”

Clearly the alcohol has also knocked all the common sense out of Dan and most likely the slap from Girty and the now blooded nose from Warren killed a few more brain cells. The Headmaster cried out in pain, holding onto his nose before slumping to the floor while still being bombarded with rather crude shouts from both Girty and Warren and it was then that Jamie finally spoke out over the rabble.

“Yo guys! We have lost Seb!” All eyes turned to the empty spot and once more in true Hubbles fashion a chorus of expletives sounded out to the backing track of Dan’s sobs of pain.

[Sebastian Hubbles]

Something that Sebastian Hubbles had never told anyone was that on his first day at Hogwarts, when the Sorting Hat was place on his head Hufflepuff has not been the first name that came to the old tattered hat. He could still remember being a scared eleven year old, sitting on the wonky three legged stool, his ears slowly turning red in embarrassment as they eyes of the whole school were upon him.

‘Hmm interesting, your family beliefs are very, Slytherin.’ The eleven year old Sebastian gave a small gasp. ‘You have a dark soul young Hubbles’ the Sorting Hat continued seeing as Sebastian was too scared to speck up and interrupt. ‘Your selfish too but…I see you shall overcome that, you shall prove yourself to be a true HUFFLEPUFF’

Today was the day that Sebastian Hubbles would prove the Sorting Hat right. He would be loyal and true, he would do an unselfish deed by protecting those he loved and putting them first but his Slytherinesk family beliefs will show through as he ultimately was going to defend the family pride.

The mans heavy boots echoed around the almost empty cobbled streets of Hogsmeade as he stalked his prey, closing the distance between them with every long stride. Sebastian shads were clenched into tight fists and his teeth were grinding together with pure rage and the red mist descended.

“VAID!” He barked out, his deep rough voice sounding menacing in the darkness. “You and me. Here and now!” Sebastian had no wand, it has been snapped by the Ministry many years ago for the constant use of magic around muggles, but he had no need for it now. He relied of brutish strength then magic. “Fight me like a man!”

[Professor William Vaid]

He was unsure where to go and what to do now. He had just lamped his lifelong best friend and landed a punch right in his jaw, not even staying to savour his brutish consequences. He began to walk up the high street towards the castle but only took a few steps away from the pub before he began pacing in the same spot, turning and returning again with every four steps he took. It felt like his mind was going to explode with all the thoughts and emotions he was feeling; anger, betrayal, deceit and love. Yes, love. All throughout his anxiety and mental torture he was putting himself through Hannah was the main point of focus. She was always at the forefront of his mind. When you're in love you can do some crazy things, and punching the headmaster of Hogwarts was just one of those incidents, even if he was a friend, that somehow made it worse as if it wasn’t bad enough already.

The few steps he had taken on the cobbled stone floor was enough away from anywhere to plunge him into total darkness except for the faintest of lights coming from the pub just a few yards away. The pressure inside his head was built up so much that he was sure if he didn’t let himself cool off he would do something he would seriously regret later on. His brain twigged into gear and he stopped dead in the middle of the blackened street as he figured out exactly what he had to do. Get away from Hogwarts, not only just to save others, but mostly to save himself. He heard light footsteps and he turned and looked up slowly to see Sebastian Hubbles, the true black sheep of the family, a good for nothing criminal who although was a Hubbles, disgraced the name entirely.

“Fight? Sebastian, I would fight you like a man if you weren’t such a coward” he barked right back at him, both of their faces contorted with anger at each other. The truth was Will was too blood drunk to even think about using his wand on Sebastian and getting him out of his way so he could just escape this hell he was trapped in within himself. He wanted escape, he needed it, it was the only way and yet here was another of the Hubbles clan getting in the way of fate.
“Just get out of my sight before I do something I will regret, I need to get out of here Sebastian and don’t stop me by trying to pick a fight, it will end in tears”

[Sebastian Hubbles]

It was the Hufflepuff showdown and unlike with Ravenclaw’s it would not be a fight of words, they were not Slytherin’s and so running in the opposite direction, they were not Gryffindors who ran in head first without thinking. They were Hufflepuff’s and so they did a little bit of everything so they stood in the moonlight glaring at one another and a little bit of playful, or in this case not so playful banter passed between the two of them. Adrenaline was pumping through Sebastian’s veins and he did not pay full attention on what Will was saying, if he did he might have noticed the slight hint of concern in the mans voice.

“Oh woop de do Will.” Sebastian continued to stride forward not taking any heed to the potion maters warnings. “I guess then it is a good thing that I am not the crying kind.” His fists were tighter then ever, his veins were standing out causing blue lines to stand up out on his skin, his bulging muscles strained the fabric of his shirt. His chest was heaving as Sebastian took in as much oxygen as possible as he readied himself to start the fight; he readied himself to throw the first punch. But it was not his jaw that Seb went for, that move had been over used, no this time the eldest of the Hubbles went for it and punched Will right in the stomach.

“That was for Dan and this…” Sebastian had no morals so as Will stumbled with the force of the punch Seb took hold of Will’s head to hold it in place before bringing his knee up and smashing it right into the Professors nose. “and that is for every other Hubbles.”