[3 Broomsticks] Drinks and New Friends

[Prof Brianna O'Donnell]

As Bree had planned she had bothered Dia about being cooped up in the castle all the time and that they should go out all week. She had finally managed to get a deep sigh and a “oh fine, Bree!” out of Dia on the Thursday afternoon over tea and scones and from there the plan was set. Bree had managed to not let on the merest iota that there was a plan. As Bree got ready, she checked herself. She didn’t want to seem too eager but then Bree knew herself well enough to know that she always was eager. The walk to Hogsmeade was going to be a bothersome one in heals but she could manage it being proficient at walking in them. Jeans with it and a blouse to match. It was a simple look but Bree pulled it off brilliantly.

Collecting Dia had been as bothersome and tiring as deciding whether to wear green or blue. At first, Bree had to stand outside Dia’s room, knocking and yelling at her through the door. Once she had gotten in actually convincing Dia that outside was the best thing for her and that a few drinks would work best was the tricky bit. Finally Bree had Dia’s arm hooked in her own and the two were on their way out of the castle and down to the village. All the while, Brianna was smiling to herself and chatting (to herself it also seemed) about this and that and the other, anything to make it seem as natural an outing as any.

Eventually reaching the village Bree smiled at Dia and pulled her along to their destination: The Three Broomsticks. “Come along,” Bree chirped feeling some resistance from the arm she was still linked to. Pushing open the door, Bree pushed Dia in ahead of her so she could look around the room without Dia seeing her do so. The pub was crowded, and naturally so for it being a Friday, and Bree could not spot the relative of the man who had broken her friend so she smiled at her friend and nodded towards the bar. “Let’s go sit at the bar,” Bree suggested, pushing Dia in the right direction.

Bree took a seat and stared Dia down until she did as well. She couldn’t wait for this plan to take effect because it would mean that Dia would be happy and not as inclined to mope and sulk like she had become so proned to doing. Bree had heard from one of the students that Dia had given the whole class Os just so she could kick them out and not have to teach. If this was true or no, Bree didn’t know and she didn’t have the stomach to ask just yet but after tonight things would be different. “A Firewhiskey for me, please, double,” Bree said to the barman who smiled expectantly at them. “You Dia?”

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

Bree’s constant hounding had worn Dia down and she had finally agreed to go with her friend to Hogsmeade the coming Friday. She had tried her level best to not make it easy for her as Dia wanted it as plain as plain could be that she didn’t want any of this. She was perfectly happy curling up on her bed and reading Jane Austen’s Persuasion which her mother had sent her. However Bree was relentless and she soon had Dia dressed and walking down to Hogsmeade.

Bree seemed particularly chatty as they walked down, laughing and such. Dia guessed it was, as this outing seemed to be, to make Dia happy but she doubted strongly that it would work. Soon they arrived at the pub and headed inside. The smoky room was filled with people that didn’t look their way as the two women entered and Dia smiled to Bree as she hardly seemed to notice their lack of attention. Dia remembered a time when they two couldn’t go into a room without turning every head. Dia guessed that she gave off some stench that yelled “I’m upset! Stay away!”

As she was being pushed towards the bar, Dia thought for a second she saw Dan’s face in the crowd but as soon as she had seen it it was gone. Bree ordered a Firewhiskey and Dia shook her head to get him out of her thoughts. “Same for me, thank you,” Dia said, leaning on the bar and locking her fingers together. “So this is your idea of a good night out, huh?” she spoke with sarcasm dripping from every word. Dia brushed her loose hair out of her face as she looked again to the sea of people. “I never did like … oh nevermind,” Dia cut herself off. Bree had instructed her not to say a single thing about her ex that evening and Dia intended on keeping to it.

[Sebastian Hubbles]

“8 o’clock at The Three Broomsticks, there will be a long haired blond and a short hared brunette. They are teachers up at the school, they will enter together and they are very close friends. Do not pounce straight away, let them settle, buy a drink…then casually walk over and make contact. Just show some sensitivity to the blond one, she is not herself.”

Those had been Sebastian’s orders, passed down to him by his younger cousin Girty. She would not say why he had to talk to some complete random or even what to say, she just gave him a bag full of coins and told him he could keep what ever was left over. Sebastian had half hoped he might find something out about what Girty was up to at the castle, the plots and conspiracies against the ministry that were being forged…maybe these people knew something about it?

Knowing that there would be two women to charm Sebastian did not come alone. He brought his comrade Steven with him to distract the brunette while he conversed with the blond. They had been standing amongst the crowds in the pub for some time when finally the tingle of the bell above the door signalled their targets had entered. Trying to get a better look a grin filled the mans weather worn face when he noted it was them. He carried on watching as they waited at the bar, at one point the blond looked directly at him before a crowd of drunks got in the way breaking his visual contact.

Draining his pint Sebastian slammed the empty glass on the table and smacked his lips together. With a chuckle he turned to Steven and hit him in the chest as a signal to follow suit and head over towards the bar and the two women.
Strolling over like he had all the time in the world Sebastian leaned against the bar, looking around to get the bar tenders attention. He seemed to be fixing up two fire whiskeys which ended up being for the two next to him.

“Evening Ben, you have a busy one tonight...erm...can I have another two pints of bitter please and…” Sebastian turned his gaze to the women standing next to him and gave them both a winning smile “…I will pay for these lovely ladies round of drinks.”

[Steven Mallard]

You can imagine Stevens shock when an owl flew towards him down the fifth floor corridor with a letter clasped in its talons. At first he thought it was a prank being pulled by on of the students and after many attempts of bashing it away with his broom he finally noticed that the letter was actually addressed to him and in the handwriting of his old friend Sebastian.
Sucking the blood from the peck wound on his hand Steven read the letter and his eyes grew wide with excitement at the prospect of going for a drink.

It was not however until they were actually standing inside the Three Broomsticks did Steven suddenly feel like this was a bad idea. Sebastian was actually being paid to chat up a woman and out the generosity of his heart he said that Steve could chat up the spare one.
This is when it must be noted that these two men were nothing alike; Sebastian was a tall well built confident man who could hold his ale…Steve was small, skinny, quite and the room would be spinning after only a few drinks. But apart from this the two men got along well and even when Sebastian hit Steven in the chest he still managed to laugh and the poor man tired to follow what the elder had done and down his drink but he soon started to choke. Putting the half drunk beer on the table next to Sebastian’s empty glass Steven chased after him and found him standing next to the two women.

The blond one, in his opinion, was the better looking of the two but he knew that she was to be Sebastian’s so with a weak smile Steven walked around to the other side of the brunet and leaned on the bar grinning.

“Evening ladies mind if we join you?”

(You know now I have woken up and looked at your picci for Bree again….I am doubting the whole brown hair thing…I am just dumb hahaha so just tell me the colour and I will change it hahaha!)

[Prof Brianna O'Donnell]

Bree was happy to see that Dia was not just ordering water. If she had Bree was certain she would have grabbed the glass and thrown it in Dia’s face. Restraint and tack were not Brianna’s strong suits however neither were called for as Dia ordered the same as she did. Grinning at her friend, Bree nudged her with her shoulder and said cheerfully, “wonderful!”

The barmen dashed off and Bree watched him with some fascination. She leaned towards Dia again and said, “when I was still living with my parents in France I tended bar for a while.” She sat back up and looked at Dia and noticed a man looking at them as he walked towards the bar. Pretending she hadn’t noticed, Bree continued, “It was never as busy as all this but there were always surprises…”

The man she had spotted a moment before was leaning on the bar, next to Dia, and offered to pat for their drinks. Bree grinned widely at him, knowing just who he was, and gave him a small wink. Then she nudged Dia with her elbow and said with a laugh, “just like that. Thank you.” She wasn’t sure how much Dan had told him and frankly she didn’t want to know but being as curious a creature as Brianna was there was a small part of her that did want to know. She wouldn’t ever find out, she knew but that didn’t stop her from wondering.

The next moment a voice at her other ear greeted them and Bree spun around. She grinned at the man leaning on the bar next to her and brushed her hair out of her face. Even since she had cut it it had taken to falling into her eyes at just the wrong moment. “And hello to you too,” she said merrily. She held out a hand to him and said, “I’m Bree.” It occurred to her that she should introduce Dia to this man as well but she wanted to leave Dia alone to the first man as this was why they were there.

((don't be silly, she is a brunette ... mostly ;D))

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

Dia smiled as best as she could at Bree when her friend said her order was wonderful. It had been a long time since she had anything alcoholic to drink and the thought occurred to her that perhaps having a drink or two was a good idea. Bree was in her element, Dia observed, as she had not seen her friend smile like that in a long time. She began to wonder if that was her own doing but the thought disappeared fast.

A surprise like Bree has been speaking of came to her side and Dia smiled at the man. She didn’t know that chivalry was in existence. Bree thanked the man across her and Dia was going to be something about the man stopped her. He looked so much like … Dia grabbed Bree’s hand in a moment’s panic but then she relaxed when she saw his smile. He couldn’t be … no, she assured herself. He isn’t. Regaining her composure, Dia managed a weak smile and said, “yes … erm, thank … thank you.” She was used to talking to persons of the opposite sex that were younger then seventeen or that worked with her. This was a new experience for her since … since she broke it off with … the man. The man who looked so much like the one smile at her now.

Dia heard Bree talking and she looked to her. Another man was talking to her and Dia realised how rude she was being. Turning back to the man next to her she held out her own hand and said as well as she could, “I’m Dia. Dia Owen. Pleased to meet you.” She wasn’t really sure how a person did this. How do you act? What do you say? How much physical contact should there be? She wasn’t certain. If this had been one of Jane Austen’s books all those questions would have been easy to answer but they weren’t in a work of fiction so Dia had to trust that she was doing the right thing.

[Sebastian Hubbles]

Smiles all round, that was something Sebastian always liked to see even if the one from the blond was slightly forced. Looking around for a stool Sebastian pulled one close to the bar where the ladies were sitting and position himself close to Dia. The barman handed over their drinks and Sebastian in return handed over the money for all four drinks giving him a small cheesy smile to signal that more drinks will be needed as he had business to take care of.

Taking a sip of his beer Sebastian turned to face Dia only to notice that her hand was being held out in greeting. Putting his pint quickly down on the counter and giving his hang a quick whip on his trouser leg Sebastian took hold of Dia’s and gave it a small shake.

“Sebastian. It is a pleasure to met you Dia Dia Owen.”

He gave her a cheeky smile a small wink as he repeated her name twice. Just from these few moments with this woman he could see why Dan wanted to help her out. When that small smile graced her lips it was a heart warming thing, he was actually surprised his cousin did not have his way with this one, and then why he was leaving her to him…but then he would not complain about getting a free nights worth of drinks out of it.

“So am I to presume you ladies are professors up at the castle. If I remember correctly from my day they only ever did let the beautiful ones teach at the school.”

[Steven Mallard]

Steven could not help but groan as another pint of beer was thrust towards him by the barman. Managing to summon a small smile in thanks Steven picked up the pint glass and gingerly took a sip out of it, taking far too much and wincing at the strong alcoholic taste as it ran over his taste buds and down his throat. With a slightly put off look on his face Steven placed the drink down back on the counter and looked wishfully over at the selection of wine they had in the corner.

It was then however he heard the voice of the lady next to him and he turned to look at her and grinned as she introduced herself. He gave a quick glance over her shoulder to Sebastian and noticed that he was sitting down and grinning happily at the blond. Looking back to his focus for the night Steven took her hand and lowered his head gently planting a kiss upon it. They had been told to take it steady with the blond but nothing had been said about Bree.

“I am Steven, I work up at the castle like you….well not like you…your job makes a difference I just clean up after the students.”

He gave a rather goofy laugh before cutting himself off and looking around for a stool, feeling his cheeks burning slightly red. It was clear that his desire of being invisible worked while walking around the corridors of Hogwarts, and he also seemed to have the affect here. Steven had spotted a free stool and as he walked over to pick it up someone sat down upon it, this then happened four more times which by this point he had made his way half way around the Three Broomsticks. Carrying the blasted thing back was just as difficult as everyone seemed to want to get in his way. Eventually he made his way back to the other three and placed the stool down and himself on top of it slight out of breath.

“Sorry about that. If I knew it was going to be that difficult I would have carried on standing.”

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

The gentleman passed Dia her drink and she passed Bree’s glass to her. She smiled briefly at her friend thanking her for bringing her out of the castle before turning back to Sebastian, as he introduced himself. He looked so much like Dan. It was a little eerie but when he smiled, something Dia had forgotten Dan could do, all thoughts of Dan vanished and she smiled too.

He made a joke about how she introduced herself and what came naturally was unexpected to her. She laughed. As soon as she had realised what she had done, her hand flew to her mouth with a small gasp and her eyes went wide in wonder. She relaxed and let her hand move back to the drink. She smiled as she looked down to her drink. She had not expected to laugh tonight but she was pleased she had and looked forward to sharing many more laughs with the man.

Again, Dia laughed and nodded. She sipped her Firewhiskey and felt the heat fall down her throat before answering. “You have us right there,” Dia said, smiling at the man. It felt like a natural reaction to his charm, to smile at him. She wanted to tell him how much it meant to her that he gave her a reason for her to smile but she realised how silly and peculiar it would sound. “Brianna here,” Dia said pointing to her friend, “teacher Care of Magical Creatures and I teach Astronomy.”

Dia wasn’t all together certain why she shared that bit of information with this man but she was going with her gut. Her gut told her to talk about what came along and what sounded natural. It felt natural to her to say what they taught after being found to be teachers. The question that came out of Dia’s lips was also a curious one but natural. “And what do you do?” she asked, smiling at Sebastian, “if I may ask.”

[Prof Brianna O'Donnell]

The kiss on the hand was a surprise to Bree and a girlish, near insensitive giggle escaped her lips. It was like the giggle that came out after she and her four friends at school opened a classroom door to go into the room but walked in on two professors ravenously undressing each other on a desk. The door was quickly pulled closed but to a chorus of girlish giggles. Bree was uncertain what had stirred this memory but it made her smile.

Dia gave her her drink and smiled. Bree was taken aback by the very obvious display of happiness and one corner of her mouth climbed out of shock and bemusement. Dan was right when he said that the Sinbad man would be a good distraction. Turning back to the nervous little man, Bree smiled at him too, taking a sip of her whiskey.

“So then you also work at Hogwarts,” Bree said and nodded her comprehension. “I am sorry to say I haven’t seen you there before. I like to track down new staff, try make them feel more welcome as students cannot be trusted to make any nice gestures to new meat. But not being a professor I suppose you don’t really come into contact with many students, do you?” Bree tended to ramble a little when she knew that she would be more likely to be the one talking for the night the her counterpart.

Suddenly he disappeared into the crowd. The masses seemed to swallow him whole. For a moment Bree turned in her seat and sat higher, trying to see over the heads of the people. She didn’t have long to wait, however, as he soon reappeared with a stool. She laughed at his apology and shook her head, her short hair dancing around. “Not at all,” she said, “if I had known that was what you wanted I could have helped. Summoned one or something. I may just teach about animals but I do a fair job at other forms of magic too, don’t you know.” She contemplated stating her question again but decided not to. She didn’t think he did have much contact and wouldn’t want to push the issue any.

[Sebastian Hubbles]

“Astronomy? So you spend your nights gazing up at the stars then, I imagine they sparkle vividly in your eyes.”

So what if he has been told to take things slowly, it was not the Hubbles way (for the males anyway) to take things slowly. If you were going to do something might as well do it sooner then later and he would have to compliment her eventually so not while they are laughing and before such an awkward question was brought up.
With a small toothy grin Sebastian knew he would have to pick his words carefully and make sure his story was not completely different from the truth. He did not know how much this woman knew of him, if anything at all but he dared not risk it all, but neither would he admit he worked for the ministry.

“Me?” Sebastian asked trying to buy some more time but seeing as he was the only one that Dia’s eyes were focused on he would have to answer soon in fear of arousing suspicion. “Sadly do not have a job. I used to travel to muggle fairs and…perform magic tricks; the ministry got onto me for breaking many of the wizarding laws and threatened me with a spell in the stocks.”

Sebastian gave a deep laugh as he reached out and picking up his pint glass in his huge hands, making it seem more like half a pint. Within a few gulps it was half empty and he knew that soon her would be needing another, but then seeing as tonight was being paid for by his younger cousin then there would be no harm in drinking a fair bit, he could hold his ale after all.

“I always have a rule.” Sebastian grinned as he started to talk once more and leaned a little closer to Dia. “You are only allowed to ask three dull questions, we are both down by two name and job…so what is your last going to be then dear Dia?”

[Steven Mallard]

Steven hung his head for a while in disappointment himself when Bree mentioned she could have summoned him a chair. He had a habit for forgetting that magic could be used, he was not a squib…just not the best wizard in the world. If he had tried to summon the chair he would have knocked a few people around the head with the stool and most likely set it on fire in the process. Daring to look up once more he met Bree’s gaze and his mind suddenly whirled back to the question she asked before he went on his mini adventure to find a bar stool.

“Contact with the students? No…no not really, they seem to avoid me like the plague.” Steve took another small sip of his ale. “But then in my line of work that can be useful, they dare not hex a professor but a lonely caretaker…”

Steven drifted off and took a larger swig of his beer, sitting here with Bree made him realise how out of place he was in a place like this and this was only emphasised when Sebastian’s booming laugh sounded out around them. Steve looked over at them once again and saw that his friend had drunk half his drink already, maybe the alcohol was helping, loosening him up to make it easier for him to talk to complete strangers…but then that was Sebastian as a person.

With a small glance at the drink in his hand Steven placed it back on the counter knowing that he would most likely be better off sober then a drunken wreck crying about how he used to swim on the lake at Hogwarts (that was a very long story), but maybe as Care of Magical Creatures professor she might understand…a small bit.

“So I uses in your line of job you come across many interesting animals? I know the lake quite well so if you ever need any help there…all you need to do is blow something up in a corridor and I will come running.”

[Prof Brianna O'Donnell]

Brianna's heart went out to the poor caretaker she was looking at with doleful eyes. She felt very sorry for the man. His whole existence seemed to be about avoiding detection, hiding. Bree couldn't think that was a fulfilled life to lead for a man, or anyone for that matter. Bree always spoke to her mother about purpose and finding one's purpose giving life meaning and substance. A life without would be empty. Was Steven leading an empty life?

Bree lifted her glass slowly to her lips and took a small sip. A great guffaw cracked and Bree turned to see the pirate laughing, his glass empty. Turning back to her own drink and Steven, Bree smiled. "Are we going to have to take him home on a stretcher or what?" she teased. She should know better then any the body's tolerance to alcohol. Having grown up, primarily, on a wine farm her alcohol tolerance was extremely high. It was not her fault, it just happened that way. She stole another look at the man before sipping her whiskey again.

Steven asked about the animals she saw. Bree spun her chair around so her back was to the bar and leaned her elbow against the bar, crossing her legs."I do," she said merrily, "and such a wide variety too." His offer was sweet and Bree smiled kindly at him. "I'll remember that next time." She knew that that statement could seem like she was brushing him off but Bree wasn't that subtle. She would tell it like it is, straight up or not at all.

Bree cupped her glass in her lap and smiled. "So," she said, after a short moment, "how do you know him?" Brianna jabbed a thumb in Sebastian's direction with an inquisitive expression on her brow.

[Steven Mallard]

Steven felt Bree’s gaze upon him and he suddenly became very uncomfortable with it all and looked over his shoulder and had a nosey at the other people in the pub. That was always a good thing about being invisible, no one looked at you, tried to analyse you, you could get on with your life without having to worry about anyone else. Steven was willing to wager his mouths wage that there would be someone in the pub who would wish they could just vanish and never be seen again, after all is that not the reason all miserable and heart broken came to the pub?
At hearing the sound of Bree’s voice Steven turned around to look at her point back towards Sebastian and mention if they were going to have to carry him home.

“Oh no he will be fine. I have seen him drink more then any human should…just worry for your friend when he stops laughing and just stares at her, then his mind is plotting something.”

It was nice to hear the Bree enjoyed her job, there seemed many who actually did in the world, and it was also very pleasant to hear that she might take him up on his offer. With a small smile Steven looked at the professor as yet again the conversation passed over to Sebastian. If Sebastian had been a petit man he might have found it annoying that the woman he was trying to talk to kept on asking about his friend but from what Steven had heard there was a reason for Sebastian to be set to talk to the blond one and he could not help but feel that Bree had something to do with it as well.

“We were in the same year. We were dorm buddies back in the day, he would snore in his sleep and I would talk, the rest of the lads loved us.”

Steven gave a small laugh at the thought of the memories but he soon realised what he had said. They may have been the same age but they did not look it, Steven might have been able to pull of a very youthful looking thirty year old but Sebastian looked like he was on the wrong side of forty. Reaching out for his drink once more Steven took another large mouthful in hope that it would just remove everything he had just said.

[Prof Brianna O'Donnell]

The nervous man looked away and the Slytherin in Bree smirked. He was uncomfortable and she schemed that it was going to be an enjoyable night for her also. She had not expected to have company and she would have been fine with that, knowing that she could have gone to any and joined in their conversation or game. She enjoyed drinking games but had learnt how dangerous they could be. She would never tell this to Dia as she knew how she felt about them after what had happened but it didn’t stop Bree enjoying them.

Bree laughed. A man who could hold his liquor seemed to amuse her greatly. “Oh really,” she mused doubtfully, looking over her shoulder for a moment before turning back. It didn’t matter if the man got completely plastered because Dia was already smiling and that was what they had planned for. She didn’t think anything would come of this meeting, seeing as it was set up and all. Bree smirked into her glass as she took a large gulp, thinking how strange it would be if something more did come of this.

Steven explained and Bree leaned an elbow on the bar, linking her fingers together with the glass resting on her leg. “No way,” Bree exclaimed followed by a light chuckle. “It can’t be. You … if you don’t mind me say, you look so young and him …” Bree rolled her eyes and laughed. “He looks as old as my father … which, come to think of it is rather creepy.” A shudder passed over Brianna and as her glass tipped her well trained reflexes kicked in and she quickly grabbed to glass and carried it to her mouth in one swift moment. “How peculiar,” she said, setting her empty glass on the bar and waving to the barman.