The Three Broomsticks

"I told you!" Raven laughed at the girl when her eyes widened. She was glad that she was making more and more friends. Raven was now glad that Becca came with her now she has someone to talk to and mess around with.

Becca drank all of her drink in 1 second because it was so good. She saw that Raven still had hers half way gone and Becca wanted more "Can I have some more Raven?"

"You weren't suppose to drink it all under a second Becca," Raven was amazed that she could drink so fast but she ordered another butterbeer for Becca, "Don't drink it all at once ok?" Raven laughed. She finished hers up finally when Becca just got another one and Raven watched her drink it while talking to her.

"So how's 2nd year treating you?" She asked as she saw Becca drinking the Butterbeer still way to fast.

Becca laughed "I don't like it i can't wait for my 3rd year."

"You shouldn't rush your life Becca trust me," Raven laughed as she saw Becca drink her last drop of Butterbeer, "Well lets go Becca I have studying to do," She said as she got up leaving a tip on the table. They both left the cafe and went back to Hogwarts.

Kiara slipped into the pub dressed in black with a black hood over his head to keep from being recognised.

She looked over to a small black table where the person she had come to meet was. Walking over she said, "Commander Marley.." in a rather cold tone.

"Ah Kiara my dear.. how lovely to see looking so... well" he said as took her hand and kissed it.

Kiara glared when it became clear he was waiting for her to move her hand. She whipped her hand away from his mouth.

"That... is quite enough Commander. Tell me why you wanted to see me." she said.

Kevin quirked an eye brow at her in curiousity, to her cold-ish tone. Then he saw the ring on her fingure.

"Hmmm... interesting my dear, I didn't expect you to marry again... after the tragity that last was" he mused.

Kiara growled "That is no concern of yours, now what did you call me here for?"

Kevin looked at her in amusment " If you insist my dear, I called you here to offer you safety from the purgers, plus anyone who you wish to extend the protection to.. with in reason of course"

Kiara looked at him with suspionion "At what cost?" she asked not liking where this was going.

Kevin pulled out a file and read through it lazily.

"My price, leave the Auror... what is his name? ah yes Ciaran McConn... as in take off that ring and tell him to leave you alone." he stated.

Kiara eyes hardend "Not on your life" she said leaving no room for deliberation.

Kevin sighed "Then you will force my hand Kiara dear... " she said looking at one part of Ciarans file in particular.

"You don't do as I say, a young Tavish McConn may find himself in grave danger very soon.." he said as if her was signing away a sickel.

Kiara's eyes however flashed, and Kevin soon found him self on the wrong end of Kiara's wand. and having trails of fire form around him....

Plus she had wandlessly cast a binding spell on him.

"Did I hit a tender spot?" he asked with a hint of nervousness.

Kiara glared murderously and her eyes darkened a few shads in anger, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now.." she hissed. How dare he threaten a 8 year old boy.

Bella Rosier slid into a seat at the bar and ordered a gillywater, ignoring the glare she received from her former friend, Rav. Ever since she had "dumped" her Slytherin boyfriend and had gone to the Yule Ball with Michael Blackwood...she had all but been kicked from her usual crowd of cooing "friends". Not that she minded...

It was just odd... She was a Rosier, if not by blood then by name and even if her name someday changed... she was Slytherin, through and through. Not exactly sure about anything in her life at that moment, Bella wanted nothing more than to be swallowed by some unknown magical hole.

But nothing out of the ordinary happened, and her problems remained. She spied on Hogwarts for her brother...sending him "updates" by owl once or twice a week. But now, new information puzzled her.

Was her brother taking the information she sent him out of love and duty and selling it to the Purgers? It terrified her that her brother might do that... betray his own family. But being as Slytherin as she was...Severus Rosier was capable of anything.

And who was she was judge? Bellatrix Rosier, who had entered a court of law and lied through her teeth simply because she had been given the promise of a... no she wouldn't go there...

Tears came to her eyes. Her mother was dead, her brothers had gone fairly insane, and her father ignored her as always... and now, her friends had deserted her because she had fallen in love with a Hufflepuff.

Or had she? Love... she knew the definition, but the actual feel of it was beyond her ability to fully grasp. Yes, she loved her parents, but there had been little shown in return. She loved her brothers, but they did not return it and she loved her aunt... no need to wonder about that, she had never treated the kind woman nicely, even after being taught piano and so many other things.

The infernal tears threatened to pour down her cheeks as she thought over her life. But having been raised as a Rosier...not a single tear stained her cheek.
Her mother's words kept them at bay...

"You never cry...not over death and not over life. You were named after a star and a loyal servant. Do not ever shame them." and before that day...she never had.

Inside, the Knights of Mayhem were seated around a table drinking Butterbeer merrily.

____

Outside, Diana turned to Darien.

"Wait, Darien, what if they don't like me?"

Rory downed his Butterbeer and frowned at the empty bottle. Always seemed to disappear too fast.

Hector glanced at his watch, pointedly ignoring his half-finished Butterbeer. "What time was it that Darien said he would arrive?"

____

Darien smiled. "Of course they will. How could they not?" He glanced across at the pub and paused.

"Besides, if they don't I'll have strong words with them." He joked.

"Think it was five-ten minutes ago..." Cook said glancing at his pretend watch. "But who is really counting?" He then downed the contents of his drink. "Anyone want to buy a second round?"

Dick smirked but said nothing. He wondered what Darien had gotten himself into. He didn't really get people that insisted on going steady. Life of a single-man, that was the life.

___

Diana smiled at that. "You don't have to do that."

"You know, we don't have to do this now..." She was kinda nervous.

"Well, it would be far more considerate of our dear friend to be on time." Irritation ate into Hector's tone.

Rory grunted. "Skint. Ask the Baron."

Hector folded his arms. "I have yet to finish my own drink, thank you."

"Don't sodding mention it." Rory glared. "Really, don't bloody sodding mention it." He glanced at the other two, then muttered under his breath. "Stuck-up twat. Either of you two gents got a couple o' bob?"

_______

Darien folded his arms. "You'll meet them eventually, and I promised. They're all so excited about meeting you...Do you really want to let them down?" He tried the puppy dog eyes. "C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"Awww c'mon Baron, be a sport and buy your mates a drink." Cook said.

"Here Cookie," Dick handed him a galleon, "This rounds on me. And buy our love-birds a pint too."

"There's a sport!" Cook said raising his empty glass at Dick. And he went to go buy a pint for each of them.

__________

Diana bit her lip. She couldn't resist the puppy dog eyes. "Alright, fine. Let's go."

Rory smiled briefly in gratitude. "Good to know who your friends are!" He pushed his empty bottle out of the way, and casually snatched Hector's as he did so.

One gulp later and Hector's face turned an inhuman purple as he glared at the empty bottle.

"Heck, calm down." Rory chuckled at his own pun. "There's another on it's way."

"My name is Hector! I am not 'Heck'! And that was my drink!"

Rory shrugged. "No use crying over spilt milk."

"Spilt right down your gullet!" Hector spat vehemently.

Rory tossed his head dramatically and leant back in his seat, with legs crossed. "I do not care for your language, old boy." He mocked, smirking at Dick across the table. "Really, it's shameful isn't it Richard?" He elongated the 'ar' sound making the whole word sound like an odd purr.

_______

Darien beamed. "It'll be fine."

Diana pushed the door opened and stepped right in.

_____

"Oh quite." Dick smirked as well and sat up. "I dare say my dear Rory, it's quite a shame."

"Here you go lads, best brew in the land." Cook returned with a tray full of Butterbeer. "Hey, isn't that Vaight?"

Hector glowered. "To think I believed you could not get any more puerile..."

Rory dived for the Butterbeer, and held it close. "It's okay my darling, I shall shield you from the English barbarian!"

Hector also plucked a Butterbeer from the table and glanced across at the new entrants.

Darien slipped in next to Diana and let the door shut behind him.

"Hey, troublemakers!" He faked a stern expression, but allowed it to melt into a grin.

Rory waved jovially. "Have some booze! And a seat, of course!" He added as an afterthought.

"It would be far more advisable to do so in reverse order." Hector muttered.

Darien headed over to the table. "Gang, this is Diana...My girlfriend." He smiled reassuringly at her.

"Hi," Diana said rather shyly.

"Cheers," Cook raised his Butterbeer at Diana.

"Pleasure to meet you," Dick said smiling... a bit too over-friendly.

Darien shot Dick a warning glance and pulled over a couple of chairs for him and Diana.

"Diana this is Dick, Cookie, Rory and Hector." He gestured to them each in turn and sat down.

Rory shoved two Butterbeers across with a grin. Hector made an effort to remove the annoyance on his face, but his brow frowned every time he looked at Rory.

Once more, the Irishman emptied his Butterbeer almost the instant everyone else had opened theirs, and glanced around in the hopes of getting a refill.

"So, Darien has finally found someone worth spending time with." Hector commented, sipping at his own drink at what Rory considered an unnecessarily slow pace.

Darien shrugged. "Hogwarts isn't all that bad, Hector."

Rory grinned across at Cookie and Dick. "Aww, ickle Darien's gone soft..."

Dick gave Darien a shrug and took a sip of his drink.

"Hello," Diana said nodding at each boy in turn. She sat down.

At Rory's comment, both Cook and Dick chuckled but Cook considerably louder.

"Thought I'd never see the day..." Cook raised his drink. "Tell me Diana, do you call him 'sweetheart' or 'darling'? - Oh! I rather think darling fits. Don't you boys? Darling Darien."

Rory's chuckle grew into a fully-fledged howl of laughter, and he wiped at his eyes as Hector began to snigger quietly.

Darien turned slightly pink and attempted to cover this up by drinking heavily from his own Butterbeer.

"Look gang, I think ickle Darling Darien's embarrassed!" Rory nudged Hector with an elbow and pointed at Darien, who turned towards Cookie and Dick instead.

The "darling" in question feigned hurt, which soon gave way to belligerence. "Shut up guys." He muttered, half-heartedly.

Diana couldn't help but to smile.

Cook was grinning openly.

Dick, who also was smiling, turned to Diana and Darien and said, "So, how did you two meet?"

Darien smirked. "I crashed a party."

"Aww, cmon, we need more detail than that!" Rory turned to Diana, awaiting further elaboration.

The others nodded and Diana was obliged to answer. "No, it's true. He crashed a party that my family was hosting, and that's where we met."

"Somewhat similar to Romeo and Juliet, in some respects." Hector commented, sipping at his drink.

Darien glanced at Diana, a silent laugh in his smiled. "Maybe a tiny bit. Vaguely."

"Heck would know-I've seen the copy he keeps under his pillow." Rory's tone was mocking, and Hector glowered at him.

"I do not own a copy of that play."

"Nope, you own seven. One for every day of the week." Rory smirked. "Helpless romantic, this one." He jabbed at Hector with a thumb. "Wouldn't we all agree, he is one seriously soppy sod?"

The butt of the joke made an obvious effort not to react, slowly turning pink, though whether it was embarrassment or irritation, Darien wasn't sure.

Stiff upper lip...no...ignore...must ignore... "Actually, I believe that particular book is in fact 107 ways to kill an Irishman." Hector smirked. "You're all welcome to borrow it, of course."

"Wouldn't bloody need one to kill a Baron!" Rory snapped back. "Just get him in a headlock and wait til the prat strangles himself." He paused, humour returning to his face in a nano-second. "Or whack him over the head with his compendium of play scripts...Anyone remember where we threw it?"

"Hmm..." Cook replied crunching his brow in thought. "That's a toughie... didn't we use it as a door stopper?"

"No, that was the Baron's copy of the Jane Austen complete collection." Dick sniggered.

"Oh right," Cook grinned. "I'd forgotten about that... Oh! I know! It's the foot rest in the Common Room!"

Dick laughed.

Truth be told, Diana felt a little bit sorry for Hector but couldn't help but to smile. She whispered to Darien, "Why do you guys call him the Baron?"

Rory roared with laughter. "Ya know, I wondered why that was so damn uncomfortable. Shoulda added more stuffing."

Hector scowled, assuming as dignified and haughty an expression as he could muster.

Darien grinned. "'Cos one day he actually will be a baron, just like his daddy, so he can look down on us all far more easily from his throne." He touched his forelock in feigned respect.

The Baron in question glared. "I can assure you I shall not, unless you retain the ...maturity levels you currently possess."

"He loves us really." Rory stage-whispered across to Diana, easily audible to all at the table.