M.I.A. [open]

[Morsley Driver]

Morsley had a date. She was very excited, naturally. The boy in question, a seventh year!, had asked her two days before and they had made all the arrangements right then and there: Saturday night, seven o'clock, The Three Broomsticks. For about two hours before she left, Moo changed her outfit and changed again and again and played with her hair and her make up and asked her dormmates about which earrings to wear.

Eventually, after much laughter with the other girls in the dorm about how indecisive Moo-head was being, they told her she looked fabulous in her blue jeans and black blazer choice and that the subtle sparkly pink eyeliner was a particularly good touch, and sent her on her way. She was so excited she almost ran down to Hogsmeade so she got there in no time flat and a few minutes early.

Morsley was a stickler for punctuality so being early suited her right down to the ground. She went in, found a seat at the bar, and took out a book. This book was not as distracting as she had hoped. Why, a few hours before when she had been reading it, it had drawn her in and excited her, murder mysteries always did that. But now the young Claw found herself reading lines over and over again without realising it at first.

Moo could hardly contain her excitement.

She got like this with every date she went on. It was a fun and new way of spending her time and she always looked forward to it. Except after half and hour Moo's spirits fell and she didn't even pretend to read any more.

Where was this guy?

[Zachary Maxwell]

It was your typical Saturday night for Zach; he was down in the pub, surrounded by a group of shifty looking wizards and a cloud of purple smoke clung to the air around them. Zachary was slurping on another vodka and pumpkin juice as one of the other wizards past along the long pipe to him, a strong smell of liquorish and cinnamon. However the Gryffindor had not even taken a puff before it was snatched off him by a toothless, slimy looking man. “You’ve had enough of that.” He croaked, as he shot Zach a gummy smile, “You need to prove yourself a man before you have anymore.”

Challenges were something that Zach thrived off and his dopy blue eyes fixed themselves on the wizard and a small wicked smile filled his face as the proposition was laid before him. Within five minutes the gang of croaked rouges had put out the fire that blared in the corner of the pub and Zach was slowly wiggling his way up the soot filled chimney and that was when he heard the evil chuckle. Suddenly the darkness of the chimney gained a dull orange light and his feet started to get very hot…

”Bugger”.

Pushing open the door a rather black looking Zachary Maxwell hobbled into Three Broomsticks ready to curse those old fools from here to oblivion. But then that was when he saw her sitting at the bar in her jeans and blazer. She seemed so out of place sitting there reading a book but it seemed not to be holding her interested as she seemed to put it down and look a little defeated. “You alright petal?” Zach idly wondered over towards her, leaning against the bar next to her in an attempt to keep himself standing up straight. “Your book not grippin enough?”

[Morsley Driver]

Morsley ordered herself a second butterbeer. The bartender brought it over and she handed over her money just as a cute boy with a mop for hair wondered over to her. It was not the boy she was expecting; in fact it was a boy from her year. Moo wasn't sure what his name was but was definitely sure that he was cute.

She smiled sweetly at him, her eyelashes flickered, as she closed the book and rubbed the cover fondly. "You know what," she began, looking down at the book, "it usually does." She picked up the book and slipped it into her bag. "But yeah, it's not working tonight." She slowly lifted the tankard of butterbeer to her lips, keeping eye contact with the cute boy.

As she put the tankard down, the corner of her twitched into a smile and she flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Nevermind though, I have company now. Have a seat." She nodded her head to towards the chair next to her. "Can I get you one?" Moo lifted her tankard, taking a small sip.

[Zachary Maxwell]

If Zach did not have so many toxins flowing through his body right now then maybe he would have twigged the obvious flirting signs, the fluttering of the eyelashes, the flicking of the hair over the shoulder and that cute little smile that graced this girl’s face. But nope, not Zach he was more interested in the book that the girl had been fondly stroking before putting it back in her bag. “Well that’s a bugger ain’t it. Hate days when nothin is keeps you entertained.”

He locked his eyes upon the girls and gave her a rather toothy smile as she offered to buy him a drink. “Neh, you’re alright love, I’ve got a drink over there.” He pointed a rather wobbly finger over at the table near the now light fire where the shifty looking wizards where now in deep conversation.

Without another word Zach slipped away from the bar and staggered over towards the table with the wizards. “I’m back flea bags! My turn on the pipe now.” Zach chuckled however his welcome was not taken how he would have liked and the end result was his drink being thrown over him and many different curses being thrown his way.

“So, that drink…” Zach sat down next to the girl at the bar, swaying a little bit on the stool as he tried to brush some of the soot out of his mass of matted hair. “I’ll ‘ave a Bloody Barron tar.” The Gryffindor grinned over at the bar tender who reluctantly slide the cocktail over to him. “You’re chimney could do with a clean mate.” The response to this Zachary never heard as the bar tender mutter it under his breath but he didn’t care, he had a new person to talk to.

“So then love, what are you doing here tonight all suited and booted?”

[Morsley Driver]

If Morsley's suspicions about the boy's level of intoxication hadn't been tweak when he walked over to her, as the boy walked ... more like wobbled to where he said his drink was, she definitely got a tweaking then. She chuckled behind her hand when he got the cold shoulder from the other wizards there but quickly dropped it and tried to straighten her face as he came back. She enjoyed watching drunk people do drunk things, expecially when they tried to look smooth while doing it.

When the boy barked his order at the barman, Moo-head looked at the wizard as he muttered under his breath. She chuckled again. "Really? A Bloody Barron? I don't think so." Moo waved at the barman, smiled sweetly, then lifted her tankard. The barman nodded and began to pour it. Moo turned back to the boy and put her hand on his shoulder. "It's not even eight o'clock yet, honey."

'Honey' was the term of endearment her mother always used when she was trying to convince someone of something and still be nice. She took a sip of her butterbeer as the boy caught his. Moo head turned her consoling grip on his arm into a playful tap and chirped, "Enjoy!"

She had a sip of her drink. She sighed heavily at the boy and rolled her eyes. "Oh, you like my boots?" She diverted. Moo's smile faltered and she sighed, her shoulders falling. "I got stood up," she admitted with a heavy heart. She took a large gulp of her drink and clapped it down. "ME!" she exclaimed. "I never get stood up. Ooph! He's gonna pay!" She drained her butterbeer and waved her tankard at the barman. She hadn't realised how upset she was about this.

[Zachary Maxwell]

“Oh I will enjoy.” Zach chuckled as he raised the drink to his lips and glugged down almost half his drink in one go. Wiping his mouth on his soot covered sleeve left black smug marks over his face, making his stubble covered chin look painted on. Any other time he might have noticed when he was looking at his reflection in his glass but no, however maybe it was because he got distracted by what the woman next to him had just said.

There was no way in hell this witch could get stood up, did this guy not have eyes, heck sense!

“Who is this guy?” Zachary kicked over his stool and looked around the bar (for some reason) for this rouge that had stood up such a fine girl. “I will find him and he won’t be able to stand up once I have finished with him, let alone stand anyone else up!” However like most things that Zach did it didn’t last very long and after realising the guy in question was not in the current vicinity he fumbled around on the floor trying to find his stool which he had previously kicked over.

Clearing his throat Zach sat down and took a rather large swig of his cocktail almost in attempt to act like nothing had just happened, despite the strange looks he was now getting from people around them.

“Well when you see him you tell me and I will give him something to cry about.” Zach tried to act like a hard man but if it came to it now Zach might throw a punch but whether or not it would hit the target or not would be a different matter all together. “What’s your name anyway love?” Zach wobbled a bit on his seat as he tried to spin around to look at the girl next to him. “I have a feeling I know you from somewhere…you go to the school yeah?”

[Morsley Driver]

The barman brought Morsley her drink and, as she handed over the money, the boy began to glug down his drink. Both the Ravenclaw and the barman stared at the boy for a moment, Morsley’s mouth slightly agape. Coming to, the barman gave a small cough and Moo shook her head and smiled at the barman, letting go of her coins. She too took a sip of her drink and turned her attention back to the boy.

Suddenly the boy jumped to his feet, his chair clattering to the ground. Moo jumped and squeaked, startled by the sudden movement and noise. She giggled at herself. She was easily frightened by unexpected noises and every time it happened she would laugh, finding her own fear ridiculous. She looked at the boy as he rejoined her sitting at the bar. His enthusiasm for standing up for her honour made Moo grin broadly at him. She always liked boys that were chivalrous.

“Oh, don’t you worry about him,” Moo chimed with a hint of malice in her voice. “He’ll be running from me if ever I find him again.” She took a large gulp of her butterbeer and stifled a burp. She didn’t like burping, it wasn’t very lady-like. “He’s just this seventh year I’ve spoken to once or twice in the Great Hall. He’s no one worth my time. Or yours,” she added with emphasis.

Morsley giggled at the message the boy gave her to pass on; she was beginning to like this boy more and more. This boy was, while being admittedly a little less sober than she, someone that she could definitely see herself making and maintain a friendship with. Moo was not picky about people she made friends with but actively keeping that friendship going was effort reserved for a fair few. This boy seemed like he could make that elite group.

“Oh, yes, right. I’m Morsley Driver,” she said, smiling sweetly at him and tucking her hair behind her ear. “And yes, you should. We’ve had a few classes together since first year. You’re in Gryffindor, right? I’m in Ravenclaw. And I’ve seen you around too, though I’ll admit I can’t seem to remember your name. I’m terrible with names though so that’s why, not because you’re any sort of forgettable.” She added this last bit hastily, not wanting to seen rude.

[Zachary Maxwell]

It was true that Zach was a bit of a regular in this pub, he normally sat in the corner with around 7 empty glasses around him and a cloud of smoke above him. If he was going to talk to someone it would normally be one of these grumpy, dark wizarding crowds who tend to be the ones selling him the dodgy pipe weed. He was not used to this real world social contact.

However this girl seemed to be different, he actually felt that, despite considering his current intoxication levels, this girl could be someone he could regularly drink with…or maybe even do something sober!

“Ah well you see…” Zachary looked around nervously and then moved in closer, his voice lowering down to a whisper almost as if he was about to tell Morsley his biggest and most darkest secret. “When I am in lessons I’m normally asleep or still drunk from the night before.” Zach gave a low chuckle and leaned back on his stool, apparently proud with his new secret keeper…not that it was much of a secret in the first place. “But yep, am I Gryffindor. Zach they call me because…well because that my name.” He nodded his head and looked around the pub, his drunken mind slowly losing interested in the current situation.

Slowly he started to slap his lips together as he got the sudden urge for food, but not any kind of pub grub…he wanted something sweet. “I fancy a liquorish wand!” Once again Zach pushed himself up off his stool and walked over towards the door of the pub. His plans…brake into Honeydukes. “Well?” Zach turned around and looked over at Morsley. “You coming?”

[Morsley Driver]

As the boy leaned closer to the Ravenclaw, Morsley leant in too, expecting some sort of conspiratorial confession that she would have to take to her grave, that would plague her mind for the rest of her days, drive her mad! Until one day she would check herself into St Mungo’s and shriek profanities at the staff because of this secret that a cute, yet intoxicated, young man had once told her when she should have been on a date with someone else. Yes, Moo-head is that good at keeping secrets for those she actually gives a damn about and for some reason this boy was shaping up to be one of them.

However, it soon became clear that none of this would happen as what the boy whispered to her was no secret at all. Everyone knew that. In fact, not that she was going to admit this to the boy now, she had regularly heard his snores from the back of the class and rolled her eyes at his folly. Classes were often so interesting and exciting, how could it possibly even be an option to sleep through them. Moo could not keep her eyebrows from raising at the boy as she sat up straight again, clearly unimpressed.

“Zach, yes,” she said, clicking her fingers, her disappointment from mere seconds before forgotten. “I remember now, Zachary Maxwell. I remember Vaid throwing you out of class once for snoring too loudly.” Morsley giggled again, her shoulders moving up and down in the motion of her enjoyment of that. “It was a real pity too as we wrote a class test that day too.” Morsley thought for the merest second and added, “People call me Moo-head.” She shrugged her shoulders, “apparently Morsley is too difficult for English mouths to wrap around.” She winked at the boy playfully.

She took a long sip from her butterbeer. She had not realised how thirsty she was. As she placed the nearly empty tankard down, the bo- Zach said he felt like a liquorish wand. Moo thought this was an odd craving for this time of night but she did not question it. Zach stood up and Morsley quickly followed, draining her butterbeer as she walked after the Gryffindor. “I’m right behind you,” Moo-head chirped, dropping her tankard on a random table as she passed it.

“But where we going to get liquorish wands at this hour?” she asked, uncertain of what other wonders this evening could throw her way.

[Zachary Maxwell]

It seemed that somewhere along the line, he didn’t know how, but he had managed to be imbedded in this Ravenclaw’s memory and now she had a name to match the face she was able to put two and two together. With a small tip of his head in acknowledgement as she remembered the time he had been kicked out of Potions for snoring, that had to be one of the highlights of his school career, yes his life was that sad.

It also seemed that he had found a companion in Morsley as unlike he had expected for a ‘wise old Ravenclaw’ she had got up and followed him towards the door of the Three Broomsticks. Also unlike a wise old Ravenclaw she asked a very silly question, one that the brave Gryffindor had to bat back with anther question.

“Where do you think moo-head?” Zach teased, rather liking the nick name. Moo-Head and Pot-Head here to save the day! Would make a good kids comic or maybe that was his intoxicated mind thinking. That could be something he looked into during the next dull muggle studies lesson! Zach stood for a moment staring off into space as these thoughts rushed through his mind, a small smile across his face however it took the sound of an old wizard coughing on his drink to snap the Gryffindor from his wild thoughts. “Anyway, to Honeydukes!”

Pushing open the door Zach marched a rather wobbly line down the cobbled street of Hogsmeade as he headed towards the old sweet shop. He had no idea what he was going to do, other then they needed to get inside it somehow. As he stood outside the old building Zach ran his hand through his matted hair and looked on the ground for a good stone that he could use to lob through the window…muggle methods of breaking and entering always seemed the best!

Lying by the side of the road was a reasonable sized rock and bending down he picked it up and just like bowling a cricket ball he took a small run and threw the rock over arm at the window. Naturally what he expected was the glass to shatter and for easy access to the sweets in the window display…what he did not expect was for the rock to come back at him and hit him square in between the eyes.

Falling backwards Zach landed with a thud on the floor and looked around a little dazed, unable to get his head around what had happened. “Bugger.” Struggling to his feet Zach looked over at Morsley…well he did not know which of the two ones he should be talking too but he decided to address the one on the left. “Have you got any ideas how to get in?”

[Morsley Driver]

Morsley giggled behind her hand when Zach called her "moo-head". Perhaps he had remembered her after all, without realising it. He was, after all, quite drunk. This amused her and was part of the reason she was going along with him. She did, while enjoying rule following, enjoy some fun and games and Zach was definitely the person to be with for that.

"To Honeydukes!" Moo cheered with a merry laugh. She followed the Gryffindor out of the pub, still laughing as Zach wobbled all over the street. Moo watched him weave all over the street as he hurried ahead of her. "Slow down," she giggled, hurrying her pace to try and catch up with him. He stopped outside Honeydukes and looked down at the ground. Moo slowed down, suddenly thinking what a bad idea her heals were. Though she could hardly have known that she would be running through the streets of Hogsmeade on a hunt for liquorish wand.

"So what's your cunning ... plan ..." Moo's voice trailed off as she saw Zach bend down and pick up a rock. She quickly ran up to try and stop him but was too late. The rock flew and, amazingly, hit the Gryffindor in the face. He fell back in slow motion and hit the ground as Morsley got to his side. She was chuckling the whole time. "Oh, you silly monkey," Moo chirped as she put and hand on his arm and the other on his back to help him get up.

When Zach looked at her it was more in her general direction. Well, more right past her. "Oy!" Moo said, frowning at him. She clicked her fingers in front of his face. "Over here." She moved her face in front of his so he was looking straight at her. She held up three fingers between them, her hand still on his arm. "How many fingers?" she asked. "Hey," trying to get him to focus on her, "how many fingers?"

"I do have a plan," she informed him. Slowly letting go of his arm, Moo took a slow step away. "You alright?" she asked, "if you've got a concussion you really should sit down. Maybe we should take you to the Hospital Wing?" She looked over her shoulder to Honeydukes, then back to Zach. "That being said, sugar is the best thing for a concussion-" this was not strictly true but she did want to follow this adventure through "-so! Lets get cracking!" Moo turned around, clapped her hands and rubbed them together eagerly. She strode up to the door and pulled out her wand. "Alohomora," she said and there was a click.

Moo-head turned her face towards Zach, brimming with pride. She wrapped her slender fingers around the door nob and turned it, pushing the door open. Blue eyes still on Zach, she shook her dark curly locks over her shoulder. "E voilà!" she chuckled, posing as she pushed the door open.