Bloody hell! He told her he would be there! Here it was 1:15, and he was still running down the streats of Hogsmead, making his way to Three Broomsticks as fast as his feet could carry him. "Why did I have to take that stupid sleeping potion?" He muttered as he came to a screaching halt in front of the door, taking a few moments to tidy himself before stepping in to the resturaunt slash pub.

He hand't been able to sleep last night, so a little after four in the morning he had taken one of his sleeping potions. But apparently this batch had been too strong. it was only supposed to last for six hours, giving him plenty of time to wake up and get ready. But instead it had almost lasted nine hours and even now he was still slightly groggy. Once he saw his clock it had shocked him awake, so his apperance now was rummpled and worn down.

Upon first glance he didn't see Hotaru anywhere and cursed slightly under his breath. He screwed up. He told her he would be here at 1 p.m. and he was late. She probably met up with some friends, got tired of waitng and left.

Hell, he couldn't blame her.

Even upon second examination of the building he didn't see her. Making his way over to a small table for two against the wall he sank down into the chair, silently kicking himself. He had let her down. He had broken his promise to her. Maybe he could make it up to her some how, if she trusted him again. So far he was 0-1 a perfect record of screwing up. Not a good first impression.

Hotaru had gotten there a little before 1, in fact, and had waited for some time. Fifteen minutes wasn't that long, but the time ticked by as she waited for him. Nothing. Another stab of pain hit her deeply. Either he was late or he wasn't going to show up. A little upset she had gotten up thinking hard on what to do now. She shrugged and decided to use the bathroom near the back.

When she came back, air froze in her throat. So he had shown up! Fifteen minutes late no doubt. But she was so happy that he had shown up, she didn't really care. She walked over toward him from behind, tapping his shoulder gently with two fingers.

"I'm glad you came. I thought for a moment that..." He would be a no show? "That something terrible had happened and that you couldn't make it." She said quietly as she took a seat in front of him.

He smiled appologeticly. "I'm sorry Hotaru." Was the first thing he said. "I had some problems... getting moving, this mor-well afternoon." He told her as he ran a hand through his still untidy hair. "Thanks for waiting for me though."

His smile widened as she sat down. So she was still willing to stay. That was always a good thing.

"But yeah. I said I would be here... I'm really really sorry I was late though." He couldn't help but appologize again. And he wanted to tell her why he was late too, but well... that would just ruin things even more. He couldn't let her know.

"So, would you like something to eat or drink? They have some good sandwiches here and as always the drinks are excelent." He said with a grin as he started to truely wake up. He had to force his mind clear. He wasn't hiding anything, He wasn't hiding anything.

Hotaru watched it for a moment, her face blank. There was an uneasyness about him, as if he were hiding something. Although he seemed happy she were staying, he still seemed nervous about something. Her eyes narrowed momentarily, but her face brightened into a smile, taking his hand in hers reassuringly.

"Dont worry Will, its alright. I figured something had happened." She said, her fingers stroking the palm of his hand reassuringly. She smiled, but she knew he had to be hiding something.

"Actually, I am kind of hungy." She said shyly, letting go of his hand. Her smile was sweet, but the look in her eyes said she knew he was hiding something, whatever it was.

He shruggged as she looked into his eyes and quickly adverted his gaze, kicking himself as he did so. Now she would know something was up. "Ok... is there a waitress around anywhere?" He asked conversationaly as he slid his hand out of hers. He wasn't uncomfortable with it, infact he loved physical contact from people for the most part. But he just didn't feel like he deserved it.

"Is ther eanything you might want in pa-"

But low and behold a waitess appeared. "Hi there kids." Came a cheerful witch that reminded Will a lot of Grace, an aunt like character of his. "Will you two just be having some drinks or can I offer you a little more for sustanance wise?"

Will gave a slight chuckle. "Mus'av been readen our min's ma'am." He smiled. "Could we get a'coupola menus please?" He asked. The woman nodded. "Sure enough, Will." She said with a wink as she handed the menus to him. "Here you go." Without another word she turned to leave.

Will could only sit there speachless. So she was a mind reader... He gave a slight shudder as he turned back to Hotaru and handed her a menu. "Here yeh go Hotaru. Less see what they got 'ere."

Hotaru's jaw tightened when the waitress seemed to know Will's name. Not only that, but she winked at him. Hotaru's gaze shot over to Will's, almost angry for a moment. But they weren't that close, Hotaru wasn't going to fret. She didn't know if they were going to get that close anyways.

Her anger subsided gently as she listened to him. His voice, in a way, was soothing. But it was differen't from a moment ago. She shook her head gently as she opened the menu, looking through. "Just a...turkey sandwhich maybe? Nothing too big." She said politly.

She glanced up at him. "What kind of an accent do you have?" She asked, ashamed she would ask that kind of a question. Her face tinted a light shade of pink as her gaze went quickly back to the menu.

((For the record, Grace is an Aunt like figure of Will's who's... in about her late forties :wink: No where near their age. I was trying to imply that yes the waitress was infact a mind reader or telepath of sorts :nosweat: ))

"Mah, order whatever catches yer eye." He said with a smile. But he had caught her anger before and was worried. Had he done something to upset her that he wasn't aware of?

"I'm from Dublin. Ireland realla." He said with a smile as he decided to answer her inquiries instead of beginning his own. "Born and raised there." He nodded. "Fathers'a potions master up there and my mum does a lot of work with pregnant women an infants with my aunt, Grace. My mum and aunt are both empathets... And Grace... She's actualy a slight telepath too... Which is why that woman gives me the chills slightly." He said refering to the waitress.

"You okay thought Hotaru?" He asked. "You seem a lil upset at meh..."

Hotaru looked back down at the menu, looking for something good. She didn't know what to have, actually. Was she really that hungry? Her eyes glanced over the sandwhiches and took a breath. "How about a turkey sandwhich?" Plain, simple, that was all.

"Ireland?" She inquired, a smile crossing her features slowly. The anger was leaving, finally. "I thought you sounded a bit Irish there for a moment." She smiled at him, thinking him lucky for having so many empathics in his family. He had had people to help him into his power, she had no one. Her mother had been supporting, yes, but Hotaru had had to find her own way.

Hotaru shook her head, tucking a ringlet behind her hair. "I'm not mad at you Will, really. Just dont worry about it." She said, folding the menu closed for the moment, looking into his sapphire blue eyes with her honey golden brown ones.

"Well, she wasn't really my Aunt." He shrugged. "Jus someone who was really close to the family." He wasn't bothering to look at the menu. "Na you should know this bah now... But there is somethign bothren ya." He said sipping at the glass of water on the table. "And, I ain't a gonna let it go untill you tell meh wha's up." He pointed out. He could feel her irritation without trying, so somethign was deffinantly up.

And well, he just couldn't leave her like that. Pent up anger was never a good thing, and when it was somethign he knew he had caused, best get rid of it as soon as he could. "Was it because I was late Hotaru...?" He said quietly looking down.

"I told you I was sorry about that... I just sort of felt... caught up in somethings and couldn't get here on time. I'm really sorry. And I promise nothing like that will happen again." What good was his word now though? Would she actualy trust him anymore? He couldn't tell her why he was late, that sure as hell wouldn't make anything better.

"But I'm really glad you desided to wait for me, even thought I feel more like an ass now than I would if you had left." It just was another thing to prove that he didn't deserve anything good from her. Or anyone else for that matter.

Hotaru shook her head. Being an empath made her great at getting over things such as this, and it was no longer bothering her. If there was another thing she learned it was that the more she dwelled on it, the bigger the problem seemed, and it wasn't that big a problem anyways.

"Will, I told you I understood you were doing something important. Its not that big a deal. If I dwell on the problem too long, it just gets bigger. If I dont, it goes away. So please, dont worry." She leaned over the small table and kissed him on the cheek. She knew he wasn't going to tell her what he had been doing, although she desperatly wanted to knnow. She wouldn't push things.

"I almost left, actually. I just went to the bathroom. I didn't know if you had tried to get a hold of me to say something had come up or what. I just figured you tried to get a hold of me and couldn't find me, or something." Hotaru shrugged lightly, taking a sip of her own water. Somehow, the water tasted great compared to the warm fuzzy butterbeer they had been drinking.

Yeah, important, right. He had the stong desire to squirm in his chair, but knew that would give something away. But he did as she kissed his cheek. He didn't deserve it.

"Ah, I'm glad you didn't leave though I suppose." He said, putting on a smile. It was more for show and cover than an expression of his true feelings. He could pretend to feel happy, he could pretend to forget about it, but he wouldn't. Thank the Lord Almighty for living with an empathet as a mother. Hotaru... I wish I could tell you everything... but there are somethigns some people just wouldn't understand... He wished that he could tell several people. People who could help him, but well, he just couldn't.

He glanced over the menu again as he hung his head slightly, the BLT looking fairly appitizing, as the waitress reappeared. "So it will be a Turkey Sandwitch for you Miss Hotaru," She said looking at her. She would have used last name, but well, no one was thinking her last name "And a Bacon, Lettus and Tomato Sandwich, light on the mayonase for you Will. Anything else for you two?" Her eyes shifted back and forth between them.

Hotaru looked up at the waitress and shook her head. There was nothing else for her, and from Will's aparent silence, she didn't think there was anything else for him either. Hotaru stared at him for a moment, her heart completly sinking.

She was taking his obvious silence and squirming and nervousness as a sign that maybe he didn't like her. She didn't mind being friends at all, she just wished he would say it if it made him feel better. She wouldn't let her powers out to figure out what was wrong with him, she just couldn't. She never used her powers unless it was an emergency, which was rare.

Finally she looked back at him after taking a drink of her water. "Will, if you want to leave and call it a day, you can. You seem..." Hotaru fought for the right kind of word, her eyes filled with worry. "You seem tired, and edgy. I dont want you to have to stay here if you dont want." She said, her eyes still looking worried for him, but sad all the same.

"Nothing else for me Ma'am." He said with a nod. As the waitress left he smiled over at Hotaru . His brows furrowed though as she spoke.

He shook his head. "Of course I want to be here with you." He said, smiling once more. "I am a bit tired, but I'll be alright, honest. And it's not you." He said as he reached out a had to hers. So don't worry ok?" He asked, a warm, hopefull smile on his face as he looked at her.

"Trus me. Isa great that someone finaly got me outa tha' castle brewing and what not. Iss not good for me to be couped up in the' ta long and all. Horrid things happen. Like growin' extra arms outa me ears." He said with a wink.

Hotaru took his hand lightly, thinking for a moment. He was sweet, very sweet, and she deffinitly liked him. But she felt so horrible that he was tired, but had to be here with her. Hotaru sighed, brushing a few dark curls from her face.

"Alright, I wont worry anymore. Well, I wont worry much." She said with a small smile, which was a tiny effort to show she was alright. It was cute though, how he sounded normal for a moment, then his accent just kicked in.

She laughed softly. "Yes, you do need to get out more often." She winced. "I still cant imagine having hands come out of my ears. How painful." She ran a hand through her soft curls gently.

Will rolled his eyes as he caught Hotaru's smile. He knew why she was smiling too. "I will have you know," He began in an uninflected tone, one you normaly heard around Hogwarts, a sort of London accent with a slight twist of somethign else, "That I can copy all sorts of accents and dialects. Working with my father I've done a fair amount of traveling and have herad all sorts." He explained.

"Bu' if iam not rella carren ta much I jus fall in ta what i've heard all meh life. Mum's A'irish long wif meh auntie. Grew up just outside of Dublin with muggle and magical alike." He shrugged and reverted to a more oxfordshire accent. "Buh as I said, I've been in all sorts of places and so I'no 'onw tuh fitin wi' mos' locals."

He grinned. Was he proud of his tallents? Of course. Did he love to annoy his mother by switching accents every sentance? Deffiantly.

"So, since you seem to have a quote 'normal accent' where are you from?" He aske. Hey, who knew her pique at his accent could be a topic started?

Hotaru's eyes widened slightly as he continued to change accents. But sometimes it was hard for her to follow him with the Irish accent. But she loved the Irish accent so much, it was cute.

"Changing accents...thats a real talent. I wish I could change it. But...its kind of cute how you can change them like that." Hotaru's accent wasn't that British, but it had a lilt to it that said she had been there just long enough to get one.

"I was born in America, and lived there for a few years. Then I came to England. I still never caught on to the accent, but as you can tell...a bit of it has gotten to me." She said with a shy smile.

"It usualy don't matta whe' ya live" He said. "Bu' who ya 'round." And for him that was the case. He was going to continue but the waitress came back with their orders. "Ok, the Turkey here for the young Miss. And a BLT for The good sir here." She said with a smile as she set the plates in front of them. "Just let me know if you need anything dearies." She nodded before headding off.

Now that the waitress was gone Will felt comfortable to continue. "I was raised in Ireland like I said, so my main accent is Irish because that was what I heard growing up. The one you seem to like the most. But my father is from here in England and with him, I picke dup all sorts of dialects and accents. Who knows. If you stick with me long enough you might pick it up a bit yourself." He smiled.

"So you're a Yank then hm?" He teased. "What part? What kinda things do they have over there? Anythin' tolly diffren than ova 'ere?" He asked curiously, sliding back into his natrual accent that was timed down for the sake of being understood.

Hotaru looked down at her turkey sandwhich and poked at it for a moment, not wanting to eat it yet. She listened to him talk, smiling the entire time. "Yank." She repeated, shaking her head, trying not to laugh at the word.

"Few people have ever called me Yank. But yeah, I guess I am. I was born in California. Great state, really hot, never snowed." Hotaru gave a short shrug. "But I only lived there a couple of years Will, so I cant give a definate answer to that." Hotaru bit her lip.

"But the words they use are deffently different. England has a lot of different things, but I think the U.S. has more." Hotaru shrugged.

He nodded as she said she couldn't really answer the question, still grinning at her responce to the 'yank' comment. He hadn't really ment anything by it, and most people who said it these days really didn't mean anythign other than a origin distinction either.

"Hot? No snow?" He shook his head "I dunno if I could 'andle tha... I love the cold weatha. Brings out the creativity and inventiveness in meh." Funny enough he actualy played his guitar best when it was cold out. And there was just somethign he liked about brewing potions around a nice cauldron fire when it was cold out.

"Did your family travel a lot then? Or were you just sorta from one place ta 'nother an tha was it?" His family had never moved. Infact, they were in the same house his great grandmother had lived in, his grand mother and his mother had all grown up in that house.

Hotaru giggled softly at him, amazing happy at the moment to be around him. She liked William a lot, and she wished it would work between them. Perhaps it would. Perhaps it wouldn't. Her smile nearly faded when she thought of it, but she kept the smile up for show.

"I dont like the hot either, it was dreadful. I was so glad when we came to England." Hotaru's eyes took on a slightly dreamy look as she remembered how she loved to just curl up on her couch with a bunch of blankets around her, snuggling deep inside them, and sleeping peacefully.

Hotaru shrugged passivly, taking her sandwhich into her hands. "We went to a few other places here and there. We visited Japan once. Went to Greece once. Next I want to go to Russia." She said with a soft wonderment.

Will nodded. Vacations like that would be fun indeed And he would have said so if it wasn't for the fact he had already bitten into his sandwitch. He had always been fond of BLT's though he was never sure why... BLT's and Fetichini Shrimp Alfredo... But the latter was more a sit down resturaunt, not a pub. But he didn't mind he had a BLT and more importantly good company.

Swallowing his bite he washed it down with a sip of water. "You you're family is sort of close then? Taking vacations together?" He smiled. "Now with Jewls almost a year old, who knows we might do the same. I mean, I've been with my father to France, Germany, Spain... My mum even went to Italy for a healing trip when she was pregnant with me." He chuckled. "But that's not really the same as a trip with your whole family."

Taking another bite of his sandwitch, he swallowed again before talking. He coudlnt remember how many times he had been repremanded for talking with his mouth full at home. Well, at least the lesson sank in.

"So do you have any brothers or sisters?"

As Hotaru took bites out of her own turkey sandwhich, which was better than she thought it would be, truthfully, she got the impression Will thought she went on trips with her father. Hadn't she told him? Hotaru put her sandwhich on her plate after eating almost half of it (it was a rather small sandwhich), she spoke.

"I erm...I go with my mother places, only. I never knew my father. And my mother never remarried, so no, I have no brothers or sisters." Or at least none she knew of. If she had some older brother or sister floating around, she would have loved to meet them. But in all, she would have preffered to have an older brother.

"But you know what place sounds really great to visit?" Hotaru asked as she whipped her hands on her napkin next to her. "New Zealand. That place is beautiful."

"Oh... I see..." Great, now he felt like an ass... Even though he could't imagen life without his father there still had to be some good points about it.

"Well, I bet you and your mother are really close though since it's just the two of you." He said with a smile as if trying to make up for his previous fluke and idiocy. "But yeah, I'v eheard NewZeland is beautiful though. Spectacular veiws and not many big cities. But then again New Zeland isn't a very big place as is." He shrugged.

"But I almost think I would prefer Russia more. Better cliamate and I just love how som eplaces mix new with old. And all the Greek Orthadox spiers and cathedrals... Just magnificant." He took a bite of his sandwitch to keep him from rambling, waiting fo rher oppinion.

Hotaru shook her head after she told him. She didn't want him to feel bad, it didn't bother her. Hotaru took his hand gently in hers and kissed the top of it gently. "Dont worry yourself about the past. The way my mother says it, he left when he found out she was a witch. In this case, I dont want to see him."

"Truthfully," Hotaru said after listening to him for a moment, "Even though I love Russia and I love cold weather, I think perhaps New Zealand would have the better climate. It isn't took cold, its extremly window, but it doesn't look too hot either. Its not nearest the equator, so it cant be that hot. But Russia is beautiful, so much long history to it..." Hotaru loved history and didn't know why. She got satisfactory grades in it, but she couldn't help but love the subject somehow.

Will nodded. "Yeah.. unfortunatly that happens... That's why so many witches and wizards are afraid to fall in love with someone who's a muggle... Both my parents were magical, but even if one of them wasn't I think they would still be together. Well, after all Kevin's a muggle and Grace is a witch." They, like his parents, were the perfect example of a happy couple. He grw up with Their chilldren and even had a bit of a fling a few years back with their youngest girl Abby.

"They have three kids and all so he knows. And he loves her dearly... But some muggles just cant accept the fact that their worlds perception of magic was wrong." He shrugged. "I mean, not saying I agree with it, but I can understand why someone would do something like that. No way in 'ell do I defend it though."

He took a quick bite of his sandwich. "Anyway, I still vote Russia. Like you said, it has history, both muggle and magical, and well, I'm a bit of a nerd to be honest."

Hotaru nodded somberly. Albeit, what had happened with her mother and father had made her only slightly jaded, she had never given up on finding love. Hotaru figured that if someone didn't like her for who she was, then it didn't matter.

"Its nice to know that there is love like that. Very refreshing." Hotaru said with a happy smile. She knew that it happened but she still loved hearing about happy couples like that all around the world.

Hotaru grinned at him and laughed. "I understand. Thats why I love Russia as well, I love its history. I love all kinds of places with History, but I think I love Russia the best." Hotaru giggled softly.