"Mhm," Ellie nodded, knowlingly, "Hogsmeade's farther North than Portree." Max....should know that, actually. He was the smart one.

She laughed again, reached up, and pinched his cheek teasingly, "It would be worth it to see you." Besides, losing a tooth was nothing. It hardly hurt. She wouldn't miss it, most likely. And worse things could happen in Quidditch.

'I'm buying.' The redhead opened her mouth to argue that. That just wasn't fair at all. She wanted to treat her friend to whatever he wanted. She was the one with a Quidditch salary and everything. Or....she would be when she got paid. Whenever that was. But, as Max had probably hoped, being ushered into the pub distracted her enough to keep her mouth shut.

Ellie, still holding Max's hand, pulled him toward a table, making it clear that he was to sit beside her, rather than across from her. "So....how's life?"

Also, were they supposed to get their own food? ....Ellie'd never been to the Hog's Head before... Heh.

It was, without a doubt, beautiful outside. With the leaves bright orange, yellow and red. Autumn could probably be seen as the best season based on the colour and temperature alone, since it was cool, but pleasantly so.

It wasn't Dash's though.

His was winter.

When the chilling winds rattled your bones and the snow fell for hours on end. It was exactly why he entered the slightly dark, ding establishment. To wait for winter. Or just to meet up with someone else.

Whatever.

Either way, he made his way to the bar, avoiding a few hooded figures and took a seat.

Althea was also winter. Frosty. Icy. Generally hard-bitten and liable to freeze you out if you spent too long in her company without taking precautions.

But that also came with the kind of warmth that could be comforting. Safe. Reliable. If you could find a way in of course. One of the few people she would open a door for, even if it started out reluctantly, was who she was meeting today. And right where it all started too. Two years ago. Today. In fact. Not that she had plans to get sentimental. After all, they hadn't been official back then, not in the slightest.

And yet, just like the seasons, things changed.

The bell over the door was quiet but it announced her arrival all the same. The blonde woman kept her coat though, deciding to hang it over her chair if she got too hot, and soon enough she'd joined Dash at the bar. Althea Schirmer was never late.

She was also rarely affectionate in public.

"Dash." He got a genuinely happy smile. Even though she was winter, he'd get a little summer from her from time to time.

August walked into the hogs head.She sat down at an empty table she remember this place this was yesterday.She started to cry she missed her husband dearly.

Dash really couldn't say that he waited long. In fact he probably couldn't say that he waited at all since he had only been seated a few minutes before the quite ringing of the bell informed him of another person entering. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder, even though really he knew it wasn't needed.

Leaning back in his seat, making himself comfortable, a large smirked formed on his lips. "Wow. The Head of Accidents and Catastrophes knows my name. I wonder if I should feel honoured.

The Head of Accidents and Catastrophes was also so punctual that it crossed his mind that he could have a potential stalker at hand. It was really something important to keep in mind.

With his right arm wrapped around the waist of the woman who could put even the world's most exquisite zantedeschia aethiopica to shame, Aron opened the door to the old pub and lead the pair inside. It was nice to have a day off from Ministry work. Being locked up in a lab with Miss DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING was becoming tedious and there were only so many ways that he could take apart a locket, poke at it, and then put it back together. Sure, he probably should be here on semi-official business as well. Ask the shopkeeps a thing or two about what had happened last year here in Hogsmeade, but his mind was very much on other things.

Like the ring on Seren's that was catching the dim lighting. He had to stop himself from looking too smug whenever his eyes fell on it. But it was hard. VERY hard.

"What do you want to drink? Or should I just surprise you again?" he asked with a slight wiggle of the eyebrows.

Even though it was great to be back at work and in her greenhouses again, Seren had been waiting, somewhat impatiently, to see a certain law enforcer again. The time apart was annoying, and tedious. Plus, waiting had never been her strong suit.

Happy to be by Aron's side, again, she let him guide them to the Hog's Head. It wasn't the warmest of places, but it'd do nicely. They would surely have more privacy than at the Three Broomsticks of Madam Puddifoots.
"Something warm..." she mused in response, planting a light kiss on his cheek before going to inspect the tables. They did clean in this establishment, yes?

"Oh yeah." He KNEW that. But... yeah. It was okay for Max to let Ellie be more knowledgeable than him every once in awhile.

This time, she DID get a face-scrunching expression from Max as she once again came in contact with his cheek, this time PINCHING it. He was not a baby first year anymore, Ellie Stone. But how could he be upset when what she said overrode her actions? He smiled down at her, squeezing her hand tightly in his as if to thank her for her kind words. Did he really mean that much to her?

Following Ellie through the doorway, still holding her hand as she pulled him across the pub, he hopped into the seat at the table next to her. "Life?" Uh. Good question. "Well... it's pretty good. Different. I miss you, but... it's not too bad, really. I've become closer with Louisa Carter, the new Head Girl, and... I've met new Ravenclaws from Quidditch tryouts - those went well, but no roster has been posted yet... I met a seventh year Hufflepuff on the train, Emmaleigh..." his voice lowered at her name and he cleared his throat nervously, looking anywhere but Ellie's eyes. They had talked about her briefly via owl, but... he didn't have to worry about his tone or expressions via owl. Here, he was much more vulnerable, much more... yeah. Vulnerable. And Max was NOT a good liar, nor was he good at hiding his feelings. But he wasn't good at expressing his feelings through words, so he hoped Ellie would take his general posture and presentation as enough of an explanation.

"...D'you know former Headmistress Rae-Branxton? One of her daughters just transferred here from Beauxbatons, she's in my year - a Ravenclaw. So that's... weird. Cool. She tried out for Quidditch, too." In case Ellie cared about who tried out. "And... of course you know who the new Headmistress is." The Prophet was all over that one.

"You're ridiculous. And yes. You should, Everett Dashiell Scabior." Althea answered, nose in the air slightly, but there was still a whisp of a smile on her lips. "Are you planning on sitting at the bar all day, or are you up for getting a table?" In other words, Althea was getting a table. Dash could choose to join her or not as he pleased, and he had best be pleased.

Besides, a quiet corner would be less noticeable than hanging about at the bar when children were likely to appear here and there soon enough.

Though she minded less than she used to.

Yes, Max, life. Because Ellie really didn't care about school. So she didn't want to hear about that aspect of 'life'. More the when-you-pretend-you're-not-at-school aspect. So, how was Max's last year?

'Not too bad' was probably equivalent to Ellie's 'pretty good'. So she took it as 'pretty good'. Which...was good. "Lousia's Head Girl?" Congrats to Louisa. Also.......why didn't she already know about that?

The mention of Quidditch tryouts obviously put a smile on the former Captain's face. "I'm glad they went well," she nodded, "And that you're trying out." It would do him some good. Quidditch was always for the better. "Aidan was there, right?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. He better have been. She was not going to let her little brother not at LEAST try out for the Quidditch team.

And Emmaleigh. The name didn't bring a smile to Ellie's face, but a smirk. "The girl you're getting on a broom?" She tried to keep her tone casual. But, really, she was excited for Max. When did he ever feel the need to talk about one girl in particular? When did he ever get butterfly feelings around a girl? "You gonna elaborate about her?" Because she was very curious as to who she was. She got nearly nothing out of Treyen. But even if she did, Max's point of view would be so much better.

To answer Max's question on a former Headmistress..."No..." Why would she? She'd only ever known Tate. And it wasn't like she read up on the history of Hogwarts or....anything, really. "And what's her name?" The daughter's? Though it was safe to say Ellie approved of her since she tried out for Quidditch.

"And no I don't..." Aidan hadn't mentioned that in his letters. Maybe because he didn't realize she was new. Maybe he'd just forgot. Maybe he just didn't want to bore her with things she didn't really care about. As long as the person who replaced Tate wasn't mad or anything.

Max could just as easily be to blame, though. He didn't mention it in his letters, either.

"And yet, for some reason, Althea Runa Schirmer I don't. Strange isn't it?" His head turned once more as the bell rang and more people entered.They must have topped out of the Three Broomsticks and decided that going somewhere where they could actually walk was perhaps a better idea. It took only a few seconds to recognize one of hte people who had walked in. Seren. Interesting.

His attention, as usual, turned right back to Althea. "Usually I'd say it would depending on which placement bothered you more but-" Privacy was good? He wasn't exactly feeling like a Dashbag at the moment? Both sounded right. And so Dash slid off the stool and motioned for Althea to follow. Spotting a table in one of the far corners that was not dusty and looked surprisingly clean he found himself drifting toward it, before pulling Althea's chair out and then taking his own seat. "How long do I have you for?" Dash asked, shrugging off his jacket that she had given him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

Even though it was great to be back at work and in her greenhouses again, Seren had been waiting, somewhat impatiently, to see a certain law enforcer again. The time apart was annoying, and tedious. Plus, waiting had never been her strong suit.

Happy to be by Aron's side, again, she let him guide them to the Hog's Head. It wasn't the warmest of places, but it'd do nicely. They would surely have more privacy than at the Three Broomsticks of Madam Puddifoots.
"Something warm..." she mused in response, planting a light kiss on his cheek before going to inspect the tables. They did clean in this establishment, yes?

Something warm? Aron raised an eyebrow at her and smirked again. "What? I don't do a good enough job keeping you warm?" he grinned, pulling her a little closer to him and kissing her on the forehead after receiving his kiss on the cheek. First things first though. He couldn't just leave her standing there in the doorway, so he lead her over to a table before heading over to the bar to get them both something hot to drink while slipping off his coat and laying it over her shoulders.

He needed something a little stiff, having dealt with the honking daffodil for far too long, and ordered himself an extra hot firewhiskey while he ordered Seren a more calming Warm Honeysuckle tea with mint. He then returned to the table, approaching her from behind, and set the steaming mug in front of her while also taking advantage of his position to give her a soft kiss on the cheek before flopping into his own chair and kicking his feet up on another chair. "So...what are we going to do about a date?" he said as he took a rather long sip on his drink.

Actually...what were they going to do about EVERYTHING? The only thing they had settled on was a plant theme. Duh.

Althea pretty much ignored everyone else, though she was peripherally aware of Seren and, yes, she recognized Aron as well. And over there, that Ellie girl, the one with the unfortunate attitude who thought she was better at charms than she actually was, even though she had the capability to be better had she actually tried. But her attention, it was on Dash.

"Ridiculous, I said." She smiled at him all the same and then got up to follow him to the corner. He got another smile and a gracious nod at pulling out the chair, and she sat down, making herself comfortable, legs folded beneath the table. Hmmm how long? She considered him, appreciative of the jacket. She had good taste. Also, they matched. That was less good. "How long do you want me?"

Looks like it was going to be a busy weekend. Which was a good thing he supposed, it meant more money in his pocket, but it also meant annoying children in his pub.

Samuel kicked the door to his back room shut with his foot and let out a grunt as he carried a crate of butterbeer to the front. It seems that the kids always drank this stuff. He put the crate down with a thud before proceeding to put the bottles away. He could see that the pub was beginning to fill up already and he let out a snort at seeing some people at the tables.

Well if they wanted a drink they were going to have to come to the bar and order it. He did not do table service.

"I would say all day, if I wanted to be driven insane that is." Althea could do it. Not in the way he tried to drive her insane. She had other tactics, and if he got to bad one of her tactics probably involved lightly him on fire.

Dash wouldn't mind it though, not that much, even if he had to risk being set on fire. One day was rare, the good kind of course. Not that he would ever say it out loud. It just didn't need to be said. "So I guess my answer depends on if you've actually realized that you are the boss and have figured out that you can stay out as long as you want?"

"Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." She quipped, quoting a book that she'd recently been reading Kyroh. And she was pretty sure by now, if she was going to drive him insane, then she already had. Absently, she rubbed at her wrist. Warm spot.

"Yes well, maybe most of the others prefer not to work on weekends, but I do get a lot done. And right now of course, we're looking into the train incident some, so there is plenty to do." And she wouldn't work all day anyway. She was here, wasn't she? "I suppose I can spare a couple of hours, and if I'm sick of you by then, I'll go." She'd cleared her afternoon for him actually, but it didn't need to be said.

Helen walked into the Hogs Head since it was now open to all, students and adults so she decided to take up the oppurtunity to go in. She had always wondered what it looked on the inside and she had never been inside before so why not now?
When she walked in, she saw a couple of people from many different years in their - ranging from 1st year to 7th year.
She sat down at one of the tables near to the door and rest for a little bit before ordering butterbeer.

Sarah went to the place in Hogsmede that she had not been yet. The Hogsheads... Goat dropping were on the floor and this place wass dogy. Noticing her herbology teacher, Sarah thought Bently was there to collect goat droppings to use as compost in herbology. Perhaps goat droppings were better then hippogriff dung... Meanwhile she did people watching... it was good for her writing. She was figuring out the stories behind the people there.

Max nodded, "Yeah, she is! She seemed pretty surprised." Most people seemed surprised, actually. But Max wasn't. He had been hoping she would get the badge over Kurumi(no offense to the Gryffindor). There was just something cool about having the Head Girl in one's house.

He smiled, relieved that she seemed just as happy about Ravenclaw Quidditch as she was less than half a year ago. "Me too." To both statements. "Milton's the new captain," he traced an etching on the table in front of him with his pointer finger, trying to sound quite casual, "so it's different." Milton was POMPOUS. Max didn't like that. At least Ellie was good AND moderately humble.

"Yeah, he was there - tried out for a few different positions, in fact." Including HIS position, which the seventh year was... not too happy about. He was not going to be dethroned by a small first year, no matter HOW fast he was. Max was BUILT to be a Keeper. He couldn't... not. "...But he's really fast, really agile. Good flyer. I think he'd make a good Seeker, actually, but he seemed apprehensive to give it a shot." Shame, really.

He observed Ellie's reaction of a smirk curiously, trying not to let it bother him that she obviously already drew her conclusions on the matter. "That's the one." Max lifted his head for a moment to catch Ellie's eye, then directed his attention back to the etching on the table in front of him. "There's not a lot to say. We're... friends. We like a lot of the same things - enjoying nature, magical creatures, literature... we both hate Arithmancy..." Though SHE liked Ancient Runes and Divination and was afraid to fly. That definitely wasn't Max. "She's really nice, seems to have a heart of gold." He was smiling now, and he hesitated before continuing, "But don't worry. You're not going to get demoted with this one. She's not going to take your place as my best friend."

A different kind of friend, perhaps. The kind of friend Ellie COULD have been. But... he tried not to dwell on those thoughts too much. Emmaleigh and Max had only truly known each other for TWO MONTHS. So any confusing feelings or thoughts were just... hormones. It surely couldn't mean anything, could it?

"Genevieve Branxton," he instinctively replied, snapping out of his thoughts. "She's cool." A bit of an attitude, but Max found that to be amusing. And to Ellie not knowing about the new Headmistress... "Oh. It's Professor Bunbury - now Truebridge - she used to teach Herbology. She's... nice," but kind of scary. "She seems to have a bit of a short temper. I guess that could be good, though - someone's gotta keep the mischief-makers in order." Those conclusions were just from what he could tell on the train. But she HAD awarded him five house points for helping out during the train madness, so... she probably had a good heart.

"...What about you, though? Tell me all about you! How's life?" He was still SO SO SO SO SO SO happy she was there. SO happy. Ugh. She had ALL of his attention - he didn't even notice any of the people around them, or that they were even in the Hog's Head. It was just him and Ellie.

Gia needed a bite to eat, after all this exploring. She hadn't ever been to the UK before, after Hogwarts. It had been quite a while!(Her english was a little rusty, after speaking pretty much only italian for at least 5 years.) She had moved back to Italy after her school days, going to the wizarding university of Italy after spending a year or so with family. It was good to catch up every now and then!

Pushing open the door to the Hog's Head, she looked for an empty table, not seeing too many. Either they were full, or had only one person. Debating over what to do, she heard some crying in the background, her natural instincts pushing her to go help. That is, after all, what got her sorted into Hufflepuff. The sound led her to a woman, alone at her table. "What are you crying about?" She asked, pulling out a chair from her table and sitting down. Hopefully she could help!

August went to the counter can i please have a cup of green tea with milk,and sugar.Do you have peanuts also if so would like a bowl.
August looked up and wiped her tears.I lost my husband awhile back and I'm raising my daughter Ariel on my own with her two brothers.He died in a flying car crash.She sipped her tea and ate peanuts from the bowl.So where are you from.

"I think everyone's a bit surprised when they get a badge," Ellie laughed. Even though Louisa was already Prefect, she probably wasn't expecting a promotion. No Head Girl probably ever expected to be Head Girl. "She definitely deserves it, though." She was a top-marks, booky, Ravenclaw student. Totally deserving of Head Girl. Like Vashti.

She nodded, "That I knew." That Milton was the Captain. Things got around in the Quidditch world. "He'll be good, though," she said, reassuringly. She could tell, Maximus James. "He won't be afraid to call people out when they're performing less than they're capable of."

The redhead only nodded more. It was very good that Aidan showed. She was proud of him already. And the 'good flyer' bit, she took as a personal compliment. She taught him to fly, after all. Corrected him where she could. Basically training him for the day he got to try out for his house team. But..."Seeker? You think?" He'd be doing that all on his own, then. Ellie never trained him to be a Seeker. More of a Keeper, actually.

Emmaleigh. Ellie bit her lip, both in anticipation of hearing more about this butterfly-inducing friend, and to keep herself from smiling too much and making embarrassing comments on it. The 'heart of gold' almost ruined it, though. "She sounds excellent." For him. Hehe. And...demoted? "I hope not." But would she mind?

She'd have to actually meet this Emmaleigh to know that for sure.

Genevieve Branxton. ...Now why did it almost feel like Ellie was missing Hogwarts? Or at least missing out. There were new people that she didn't get to meet. Cool people. People that Max could break out of his people-watching bubble to talk to.

"Oh." Max knew a bunch about the new Headmistress, it seemed. HOW? Ellie hadn't the faintest clue. It did seem sort of peculiar to her that the new Head of Everyone at Hogwarts was someone unstaffed for at least seven terms. But at least she did have prior teaching experience. Was that even the case with Tate? "She can't go scaring the students, though." Like Lafay. Lafay had a short temper. And the majority of the school's population stayed well away from her. Headmistresses were supposed to be nice. Helpful. Friendly.

Then Max turned the tables on her. 'How's life?' Heh.

Ellie scanned the room as she collected her thoughts. And yes, she saw Schirmer there. ...Was she back teaching? A question for Max later. ANDBENTLEYWASTHERE! Ellie should tell her about how she's all Professional now!

....At a later time. Maybe she'll owl her?

Because MAX was most important right now. He was the one she'd been missing. "I don't know what you don't know..." she began. "Portree has, like, grueling eight hour practices. Take up most of the day. But I love it. And stopped getting sore by every evening." Her body got used to it. "First match is coming up next month." Shame Max couldn't come. But Ellie wouldn't say anything about that. Surely he would think the same thing, but it wasn't like there was anything either of them could do about it.

"That's all, really. I go to practice, go home." Basically the same thing every day. "See Treyen when I can. And other friends that have graduated." Actually, just Dallin and Ellie, really. Hadn't seen Vashti since her wedding, unfortunately. Nia she saw occasionally, if Finn happened to have her as company.

Ew.

That was her first thought as she stepped into The Hog's Head. What was this place? It was very... scruffy. Yes, that was it. Scruffy. Like the type of get up some young kids had on these days. Except theirs were pretty much acceptable as long as they didn't trash her books. But this... she was pretty sure there were spiders and other icky insects wandering around.

Shuddering, Maria made her way over to a table and, after inspecting the area for several minutes, she sat down. There. A small wiggle and she was all good! This was not too bad. As long as it was better than that Broomsticks place. Merlin, the crowd in there! How anyone could hear anyone else in that place was beyond her. And this place was pretty cosy if you didn't mind spiders.

Although, now that she took a moment to look around, the blonde did notice that it was slightly more packed than the last time she had been in here. And that... shopkeeper? Frown. Maria turned away and reached into her bag for that special little item she liked to have when she felt particularly uneasy. Hand sanitizer. Oh yes, it was time to scrub her hands and the table, just in case.

Since he had a break from work, Thomas decided to go to The Hog's Head in Hogsmeade for something to drink, but mainly to get away from work. He has been working all day just studying one dragon to find it's weakness. He just needed to sit down, have a buttebeer, and relax. The thought of being away from work realived some tension in Thomas's shoulder's. Still some tension was there though.

As he walked in the door he couldn't help, but look to around to see that the place was a mess. It wasn't even a close comparison to The Three Broomsticks. Though he'd still stay here because it WOULD be quieter then The Three Broomsticks because kids weren't allowed at the Hogshead............thankfully. The only reason he'd go to The three Broomsticks would be to see how his younger brother, and his younger cousins were doing. So he found a seat, and sat down..........waiting to be helped.