Bucky looked up from her delicious french toast to be slightly disgusted by what appeared a drunk--person dancing on the bar. Her eyebrows nearly reached the top of her head as she recognized who it was.

"Isn't that your friend, Jamie?" Celestina asked rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand, fork and knife still in her hands.

--------------

Fatima glared at the bartendress dancing. Here she was, to the point of starvation and they were partying. PARTYING! This was the worst service in the history of service ever!

"Hey!" Fatima shouted following Aero and gazing up to frown at the dancing girl. "What do you think you're doing? GO GET MY FOOD!"

She had it. No more Miss Nice Fatima. Where in the Bloody World of Witches was her food?

"It is simple, you challenged my pride and I had no choice but to take you up on it." Nik said, watching her stick her tongue out and laughed.

"Come now, there is no reason to dwell on what happened, we will have more time to spend together in the sunshine, no?" He asked her, taking her hand and guiding her to a slow walk through the paved streets of Diagon Alley. "What do you want to do, Fran?"

"You're very brave for doing that. This one guy tried it a few weeks ago and well let's just say that his jaw is kind of disproportioned." Francesca said amused as she tried to decide what to do next. This would give her a chance to explore Diagon Alley with a person that hasn't been here before.

"Hmmm I'm not sure what I want to do! This place is pretty big, but it's not as big as some of the shopping places we have back at home. What would you like to do Nik? I'll do whatever you want."

Her body felt warmer as he took her hand. Her guard was down again and there was no way it was going back up as long as she was around this boy. She placed her fingers between his and smirked facing the other direction. It would take time to see if he would notice.

Nik felt her thread her fingers through his and squeezed her hand lightly once. "I don't know myself...I'm kind - " At that moment he broke off when he saw the window display for the Quidditch shop. He gaped at the new broom in the shop window for a while before turning to Franchesca with a huge smile, "I think I know where I want to go now...would you like to come with me there?" He asked her, gesturing towards the Quidditch store.

His own broom was 2 years old and still working well, but the one in the window looked like it could outfly even the best quidditch player in the world!

Francesca smiled and blinked for a second. She really was enjoying herself and the time she was spending with Nik. She had already found a perfect friend for life and she had not been here that long. It was making her feel extremely happy. When Nik pointed towards the Quidditch store, her eyes lit up like a child seeing candy in a candy store. She adored playing Quidditch and she was the best in her neighborhood.

"Yes! I love Quidditch! I've never been to an English Quidditch shop before!"

Jamie winced visibly and moved away to avoid the fork and knife that swung dangerously close to him as his friend rubbed at her face. She was such a hazard in public places. But he was too astounded by Ashlie to even chastise Bucky. Dancing. On the bar!

He wanted to die right there. Oh! How... could she! And after everything he'd told the girls about her and how wonderful she was. And she gets up and embarasses him like this! Ooooh!

"I'll have to have a talk with her!" he said in a voice unnaturally low for him.

-----------------------------

"I am sorry Miss," Aero replied to the girl in a terse tone. "But you see, you have to be impossibly hungry and your frined here decided to order the exact same as you, so Cook has quite a large meal to prepare for you. So if you would like to eat, you might want to wait just a little bit so that he can cook it for you, unless, of course, you prefer to eat your food raw."

She did not like the people like this. Demanding food. Didn't they remember that in order to eat, food had to be cooked? Honestly. And dancing Ashlie didn't help matters much.

"I said get down Ashlie!" she snapped.

Merlin.

-----------------------------

"Don't be a spoooooiiilllll Aero!" Ashlie whined from on the bar. "Itssss fuuuun! C'mon up and trrrryyyyyy." Her eyes glazed over with some sort of excitement. In the back of her mind, Logical!Ashlie was trying to reason with Tipsy!Ashlie to get down off the bar before she got hurt and before Aero pulled out her wand and blasted her.

Tipsy!Ashlie, however, said to fluff with that and to dance like no one was watching.

Even though, of course, she was getting strange looks from many people within.

"Ev'rybody daaaannnnceeee!"

Jacques's suspicions were confirmed. Ashlie was drunk. Very drunk by the look of it, but then maybe she just couldn't hold her liquor. Jacques decided the most important thing to do right now was to get Ashlie off the bar. The last thing Jacques wanted to happen was Ashlie hurt herself or someone else.

"I'll dance with you" He said winking. "But only if you come down here"

"Awww... but Jacques." Ashlie couldn't help the strange naggy twelve year old voice that escaped her lips. It was her second year all over again, so coy and tentative. She watched the wink and debated with herself. Logical!Ashlie quickly made sense and tried to dominatie.

See now. You get down and Jacques will dance with you.

But it's so fun up here! You're just a party pooper!

It's because you use words like 'party-pooper' that you tend to stay at the back of the mind. Now get down and dance with the boy for Merlin's sake. Jamie's watching!

Ashlie flushed a bit more than she already was as she realized, with a bit of stumbling and great diffuculty, that she couldn't safely get down from the bar. She was stuck and her long skirt made it no easier, wanting to get under her feet and trip her.

"I... I'm stuuuck," she whimpered.

OOC: I was so sure i'd replied to this... oh well i probably imagined it.

Jacques had to hold back a laugh as Ashlie tried to get down from the bar. She looked so awkward.

Jacques reached up and grabbed her hand.

"Step here, onto this barstool. Do not worry, 've got you." He said gently as he helped her down.

OOC: I had a flash of creativity in the shower, so here comes Kirstie-IC. She looks like this if anyone wants to know...


Kirstie McGonagall was almost unrecognisable from the fresh faced, innocent looking girl she was at high school. She stomped down Diagon Alley, her big black boots splashing every puddle and her long black trenchcoat billowing out behind her. If anyone dared get in her way she would despatch them with a glare that could freeze fire.

At the end of her shortened stint at Hogwarts, she had fallen in with a very bad crowd. The worst kind of crowd in fact. What had started off as a way to earn a little extra money in her spare time had consumed her until there was very little left of the old Kirstie.

When she had arrived home after her sixth term and told her parents that she wasn't going back, they promptly kicked her out. Up until recently she had been living with a boyfriend on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. When that relationship had ended, she found a dank, one roomed apartment off Diagon Alley to live in.

She spotted the sign for the Leaky Cauldron. That's just what she needed, a stiff drink. Flinging the door open she strode in. Eyeballing all the students in the pub she made a beeline for the bar. She ignored the girl, who seemed vaguely familiar, that seemed to be in the process of getting down from standing atop the bar, and spoke directly to the older woman standing behind the bar.

"Firewhisky" was all that she said.

Ashlie bit her lip and felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Maybe she wasn't so far gone, then. She shook her head for a moment, before she closed her hand around Jacques. Feeling about dumbly, she stuck her foot out and after an attempt or two, found the seat of the stool and, with much wobbliness, she made it down onto it. Now, was the matter of lowering herself down.

Maybe she was much more content being up here. She wobbled just a bit on the unsteady stool. Perhaps she could do this forever, stand up on a stool and tower above everyone. She began to giggle, and promptly attempted to stop as the stool wobbled heavily.

-------------------------

If Aero was anyone else, she might have given the green haired girl a strange look. In fact, if Aero was anywhere but in Diagon Alley, she'd have eyed the girl. But, alas. In the wizarding world, green hair was only natural. It was the trench coat which alarmed her. Trench coats usually came with terrible people.

"Take it slowly," Aero said, passing the bottle over. "That one there is our example of what happens if you go too much." She pointed over to the very wobbly Ashlie and shook her head.

Jacques was relieved when Ashlie took his hand. He started to get a bit worried again when she seemed so wobbly getting down onto the stool, he was a bit worried she was going to fall on him. Not that that would have been completely terrible, Jacques hadn't had anyone trip over him, bump into him or fall on him for a while.

He thought about the best way to help her off the stool and decided that the easiest way would be to get her to jump. Jacques was sure he was strong enough to catch her, he was getting pretty strong, and she didn't look very heavy.

"Ashlie" he said as she giggled. "Jump down and I will catch you".

Kirstie grunted her thanks to the barkeeper girl. At the mention of the drunk girl, Kirstie glanced at her. She seemed to have moved from the bar onto a wobbly stool. Kirstie hoped she would fall. She hadn't had a good laugh for a while. The guy trying to help her down sounded French.

Kirstie flicked her green hair behind her shoulder and took a shot of the Firewhisky. The burning as it slid down her throat was a welcome distraction.

Ashlie swallowed down her confidence. Jumping, huh? She gagued the distance from the top of her head to the bottom of the stool and decided it was a long distance, and her state of mind only elongated the length. Too bad there wasn't water around, she'd have dived in. "Are you suuuuurreee you can catch?" she asked, a mild sway encapturing her for a moment.

Finally, closing her eyes, and plugging her nose, she jumped.

For a second Jacques didn't think Ashlie was going to jump.

Then, with a bit of a wobble, she jumped off the stool. Jacques stepped forward and grabbed Ashlie firmly around her middle. He had to step back a step to keep his balance, but apart from that he managed not to fall over, and Ashlie was returned safely to the ground.

"Now i 'ope you will remember zat for the next time you decide to dance on bars, to 'ave an escape plan" Jacques said, grinning at Ashlie.

Ashlie giggled sheepishly. "Awww Jacquuueeessss. That's no fun. Dancing is though!" She turned round to grin at her friend. "You owe me now, you knooooowww," she mildly slurred, giggling again. She wasn't so far that she was stumbling or anything. Just tipsy enough to be amused by the sound of stretched out vowels.

She twirled there on the spot, closing her eyes and sticking one leg out like she was a ballerina. And, with some amazement, she managed to not fall over.

Eternal opened the door to the Leaky Cauldron, stepping back inside. She was glad she had a small break to get fresh air and to twirl around in the middle of the streets! No one even said anything to her. She felt so free. But she knew that Roiben would have scolded her if he saqw. But he was sleeping, so ... freedom to have fun!

She walked over to the bar and saw the bartender still dancing. But this time like a ballerina. She smiled, ballet was a fun thing to do. And she looked like she was having fun with her friends. She must be free too.

"I suggest you do that," encouraged Bucky speaking around the half chewed piece of french toast inside her mouth. "It's really not safe to be dancing a top of things like that."

--------

"Actually," began Fatima gravely, her hands on her hips. "I prefer my food in MY STOMACH!"

She sighed heavily and shook her head, her light brown hair moving furiously from side to side.

"And are you sure the cook is cooking and not doing something else? Because you're staff seems to have a tendency of doing what they're not supposed to be doing!" Finished Fatima agitated and gesturing wildly towards the what seemed drunk Bartendress.

Jamie shook his head and made a tsk tsk noise. "What's she thinking standing up there like that? She could have fallen and cracked open her head!" He shoved a huge chunk of Bucky's french toast in his mouth and began to chew openmouthed. "I'll teach her to do that again."

-------------------------------------

"You know Miss, Cook has only been back there for about ten, maybe fifteen minutes," Aero said sharply. "I'm sure he's doing what he's been asked to do, and if you need to look back there, you'll see that he's attempting to prepare your rather large meal, times two."

Aero had to resist the urge to roll her eyes with great difficulty. Which was very hard. She'd only started her shift, and already Ashlie had done nice damage. Sure, she was off her shifty, but still. Images to uphold. IMAGES! She'd h