After chatting it up with the shrunken heads inside the doorway of The Three Broomsticks, Talynn had made her way to the bar to have a seat. There, she ordered a butterbeer, and a plate of chips. Up over the bar was a magical projector screen that was transmitting a Quidditch game that was being played in Scotland.

She didn't really have a favorite team, but she was a fan of Quidditch. Having never played it in her life, she didn't know what it was like to be out there in it, but she understood it and found it most entertaining to watch. However, those around her were even bigger fanatics, if their behavior was any indication. Every time one of the teams scored, there were whooping cheers, guffaws of laughter, and claps on the back all around.

Talynn found it all very amusing, and therefore highly entertaining. Most of the people in the place were twenty or more years older than her, but she spotted a few young people scattered around. She didn't know any of them, however, which was why she stayed put at the bar, and continued to watch the game from there.

He had been sitting in a back corner, a mug of butterbeer in his hand merely thinking, ignoring all the hooting and hollering over the quidditch match. He was never a big fan really. Sure he loved to fly and would occasonaly play with friends back home, but for the most part well, it just didn't intrerest him.

However one little clanging of the door bell grabbed his attention for some reason. No one walked thorugh for a whle but he kept watching, a few people giving him odd looks. He could feel something, someone, there, right on the other side of the quasi wall that created an entrance.

The tawny, almost lion like hair of Talynn and her particular walk gave her away. A smile passed his face as he made his way over to her. He had actualy been looking for her before he headed up, but was out of luck in finding her. She had probably been with friends or something.

"Well well well." Came a gruff voice from behind Talynn as a pair of arms slid around her waist. "Wha' 'ave we 'ere. A li'le quidditch enthusiast?" This time the voice, and the accent were identifiable. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, resisting the temptation to do anymore as he slid on the bar stool next to her.

He sat with his chin resting on his hand as he gazed at her as many were gazing at the quidditch match. "I was a wondren where yeh ran off to. I was going to see if ye wanted to come up this way with me, but you'd dissapeared."

Hotaru walked into the Three Broomsticks with an air of happiness about her. She had been so happy with William, but she knew she must have jumped too far ahead of herself. Yet her happiness was ripped from her body when she saw William with his arms around a girl. And he had kissed her on the cheek.

Hotaru stood there near a table, her face blank, her eyes glittering and stinging with tears to come. How could she have been so stupid? She had really liked William, and he had charmed a place into her heart. Then he did this? She wasn't so much mad at the girl, which surprisingly she wasn't at all, but she was mad at William.

No, she wasn't mad yet. The sadness and pain beat the anger first as the tears rolled down her face. She didn't care that people were staring at her as she stared at William and that girl. All she knew was that instead of a merciful numbness that she knew would come later, she could only feel her heart beating in her chest painfully. How could she have been so stupid? How? How? How could she have trusted someone so readily, gotten to know them, share their secrets together, even about both their powers? Perhaps she had felt a false sort of intimacy with him for they were both empaths. It happened often, sometimes empaths were drawn to each other.

But that didn't seem to matter now. Hotaru pulled the chair from the table behind her as she continued to stare at the two and sat down with a heavy 'thump', tears rolling down her face steadily. She never blinked once as she stared at them, sadness and despair evidant in her pretty oval shaped face.

Talynn jumped slightly when she felt someone putting their arms around her waist, but as soon as she heard the voice, the startled sensation turned into one of pleasant surprise. She couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face, nor the fact that it brightened just a little when he kissed her cheek. It not only made her tingle all the way down to her toes, it was rather reassuring, to say the least.

"Hey, you," she said lightly. "Yeah, I'm one of those indecisive fans. No favorite team, but definitely a healthy level of enthusiasm for the sport all the same." She grinned teasingly, then looked down at her butterbeer. So, he'd wanted to ask her to tag along with him? Again, she felt a small wave relief.

After the interesting encounter she'd had with Will in the common room the day they'd met, Talynn had been somewhat afraid that all the effects of the potion's fumes would eventually wear off, and he would suddenly say, 'Talynn who?' It wasn't a pleasant thought, but would she really be able to say anything if he did suffer an about-face in his affections because of that day? All she could really hope for was the chance that they would stay friends if it came down to that. Painful though it would be...

A whoop of cheers all around drew her gaze up to the screen to see a chaser flying around like a proud peacock, giving high-fives to his teammates. Clearly, he'd just made a successful score, and she was a little sorry she'd missed it, even though her attention had been more agreeably engaged. Time was called by the keeper who'd just failed to block the goal, and Talynn took the opportunity to turn back to Will.

"Have you eaten?" She asked. "I was thinking of grabbing a table so I could order something, so either way... would you like to join me?"

A twing at his heart drew his attention away from Talynn it was a familliar feeling... One he had felt before himself...

"Oh, yeah. Of course I would love to join you for lunch." He said with a smile, shoving the feeling away. It wasn't his and it wasn't Talynn's... But it was familliar. "Why else would I have wanted to come here with you hm?" He asked with a light chuckle.

"But hey... Excuse me for a bit alright..." A look of concern came over his face. "I... I just think a friend of mine is in trouble. I promise I'll be back." He gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "Save my seat for me will ya hun?"

He turned and glanced around the pub. Where was she? He knew who it was and what was going on. He was kicking himself every moment for it as well. Had she gotten mixed signals? Oh good Lord he hoped not... Then he found her, staring at them, her dark curls falling about her tear streaked face. Oh, God... Help me out here... He prayed silently.

Making his way over to her he pulled a chair out, and sat in it backwards. "Hey..." What else could he really say to her? 'Sorry you got the wrong impression?' 'Sorry you thought something wrong?' No he wasn't that type. It was partialy his fault too... And he couldn't just pretend he didn't know what was wrong...

Hotaru continued to wait for the blessed numb feeling, but as William kissed that girl on the cheek, Hotaru's heart squeezed painfully. She watched him walk over toward her slowly. She could tell he was in a jam, didn't know what to do. Hotaru stood quickly, wiping tears from her face.

"Excuse me, I should leave. I've disturbed the peace enough." She said softly, voice wavering every so often. She cleared her throat in an attempt to stop said wavering.

"I'm not even mad, alright? But you figure when you kissed me on the cheek...well, guys just dont do that randomly, do they?" Hotaru felt a twing of the anger she should have felt, but it melted into her passive demenor. Hotaru turned on her heel to leave.

"Have fun." She said, voice void of any emotion as she walked out of the Three Broomsticks, still waiting and praying for that numb feeling.

"Okay," Talynn said in her usual, carefree way as he left the bar. She didn't watch to see where he went, because her attention was pulled back to the game on the magical screen. As she watched, she saw one of the teams score a goal almost immediately after the game resumed.

Her little peep of enthusiasm was drowned by the near roar of the other people crowded around the bar, which made her giggle. They were all so lively, and reminded her a lot of being at home. Mandy would always fine some kind of excuses to throw a large, vivacious party, and the sports-centered parties were always the best, in Talynn's opinion. It was more like a bunch of familiar people hanging out in the living room around the television, or standing around in the kitchen. That, as opposed to the wilder parties, where there was loud music blaring and people were mostly dancing, or otherwise mingling or running around.

After a little while, she started to feel cramped sitting up there, and she'd already had to ward off three different people who had attempted to take Will's seat. Giving up, she glanced over her shoulder and saw an empty booth on the far side of the room. She then turned back to the bar, and leaned over to catch the 'tender's eye. He shuffled over to her, and leaned in to hear her over the hum of conversation and the sounds of the game.

"Could you tell the boy that was sitting here with me earlier that I'm at that table over there?" she asked sweetly, and smiled as that usually made people more agreeable to the idea of granting favors. She was pointing to the booth she'd spotted seconds ago.

"Surely will, miss," he said jovially with a nod of his bald head.

Thanking him politely, she took her butterbeer and hopped off the stool. Her and Will's seats were both snatch up as soon as she stepped away from them. Prime real estate, eh? she thought, amused by it as she moved away from the bar. After squirming her way out of the crowd gathered around, she headed over to the table, and slipped into the booth. Almost immediately, a waitress came to bring her a menu.

"Can I get another one of these, please?" she asked as she held her bottle up a little. It was only a quarter full now, and that would probably be gone when the second arrived. As the waitress left the table, Talynn began to read over the menu.

As Hotaru stood and left Will hung his head with a sigh. Damnit... He muttered to himself. He knew he screwed up... But... It wasn't his fault was it?I mean sure he had kissed her on the cheek, but that doesn't always mean anything special right? His mother kissed him on the cheek for crying out loud.

He pushed his hair out of his face with another sigh as he stood up, pushing the chair back where it belonged. Damn, he needed a drink. But as he made his way up to the bar he didn't spot Talynn anywhere along the counter. Where were they sitting? Was he just in the wrong spot?

No, he remembered where they were sitting. But she wan't there. Instead two men, both appearing like slackers just out of school a few years, were sitting in their spots. "Hey!" He said in almost a growl as he gave the one man who was in Talynn's seat a light smack on the shoulder to get his attention. "Wha' the hell di' ya do to mah girl?" He asked as the guy turned around obviously confused.

"Didn't do anything little man." The guy shot back with a smirk. "These seats were open when we got here. She probably just left you." He laughed.

Will was just about ready to punch the guy when the bartender stepped up. "Actualy Sir," He said to Will. "She's righ' in that booth over there." He to;d him, pointing to the spot where Talynn was indeed sitting, quite unhurt or flustered. "Ah, thank ye mush sir."

Ignoring the others he made his way to the booth, sliding in the seat opposite her. "Hey... Sorry about that... A friend was a bit..." How could he put it? "Upset..."

Looking up as Will came over to the table, Talynn smiled, but it didn't last very long. Her expression fell into something a bit more worried when he said the friend was upset. She searched his face with subtle intentness as she passed her menu across the table to him, in case he wanted to order something. She'd already decided on what she wanted, and the waitress hadn't brought one for him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, a bit worried. She knew how she got when a friend was upset, and her mom was ten times worse, so that was the cause of her concern. The way she saw it, it was impossible for a person to be perfectly content when their friends or loved ones were anything less than happy.

The waitress returned with her butterbeer, and she glanced up at her. Her smile returned as the bottle and a frosted mug were set on the table in front of her, but it wasn't entirely genuine. Obviously, the same philosophy regarding friends applied to Will.

"I'll be right back to take your order, Miss," the waitress said just before she breezed away again to deliver the rest of the items on her tray to various tables. Once the woman was out of earshot, she looked back across the table at him, her smile having mostly disappeared again as she returned her attention to his dilemma.

"If you need to go and be with them, it'd be perfectly understandable," she said sincerely as she reached across to pat his hand reassuringly. She wasn't sure if this could be considered a date or anything, but even if it was, she wouldn't hold him here if he wanted to spend time with his friend.

He as silent as she asked if he was ok. He was kind of... but there was this voice in the back of his mind telling him 'You screwed up' in the back of his head.

As she suggested he leave to be with his friend he shook his head, a forced smile coming to his face as he squeezed her hand in responce. "No." He said shaking his head slightly. "She... She just needs to be alone for a bit... No way in hell I can help her with this... Not when I was the one who screwed up." He sighed and looked over the menu. "I'll just talk to her when she has a chance to calm down a bit. Nothing I can do now, so no reason fretting right?" He shrugged.

He looked up from the menu to her with a genuine smile. He couldn't frown around her really. There was just an air of happy and almost carefreeness about her. Sure she was concerned now... But understanding as well.

"I'm ok." He said with his usual smirk. "I promise. It's probably best for me to get out of the castle every now and then. Right?"

She thought his comment about screwing up was a little odd, but since it wasn't any of her business, she didn't poke her nose in it. The fact that the friend was a "she" didn't even register in her mind, either. She was one of those people who believed that anyone could be friends, regardless of race, religion, gender, or anything else that makes them supposedly different.

"Okay," she said with a smile when he said he was okay. She'd take his word for it. After all, how could she not believe him when he promised it was so? She then answered his question as she sat back again to take on the task of transferring her butterbeer from the bottle to the mug.

"Of course," she said, glancing up at him as she twisted the cap off the bottle. "All potion-making and no play might make Will a very dull boy. You never know. I've seen such tragedies happen before." She chuckled a little as she tipped the bottle over the rim of the glass and watched the butterscotch liquid spill into it.

"In fact, I have it on very good authority that people between the ages of 13 and 20 should have more than one night out a week to have as much fun as they can possibly stand," she said with a decisive nod as she set the bottle back onto the table. "It's true." Of course, the authority of which she spoke was none other than herself, but she still firmly believed it.

"Ah, well we wouldn' wan' tha' now would we?" He chuckled with a smile. Dull could sometimes be his middle name honestly. Potions, class and homework, not to mention his music, constituted a great deal of his time. He was slightly tan, or at least gave the appearance of it where others could see, but that still didn't mean he got out a lot.

"Oh really?" He asked in a disbelieving voice as Talynn said she had it on 'good athority'. Usualy that ment some sort of friend of a friend of a friend. "And just who's might that be for the sheer sake of curiocity?"

"And what if this person couldn't stand too much fun, or can't find their particular kind of fun?"

"Mine," she said matter-of-factly, then flashed him a quick smile before she picked up her butterbeer to take a sip. She almost choked when he asked his next question. For some reason, her mind had just dipped into the gutter. It was prone to doing that from time to time, but she blamed him for the increase in frequency these days.

"Um, well." She set the mug back onto the table, but avoided making direct eye contact with him. It was bad enough that he was capable of knowing what she felt, and therefore, would know how insanely attracted she was to him. For the most part, Talynn liked to keep these things to herself, so maybe, if she was lucky, his radar would be turned off for the night.

If it wasn't... well, there was nothing she could do about that, so she wasn't going to fret over it. Besides, what she felt was perfectly natural. Yes, there. Now she'd thoroughly gotten over it.

"I suppose that depends on the person you're talking about, and what their kind of fun is, exactly," she said. "Though I might plan to come into the village for something specific, like I did tonight, I really prefer to do most things on the spur of the moment. For instance, if I were to leave here by myself, who knows where I'd go next, or what I'd get into once I got there."

"Ah, I was supposing something like that." He said with a smile.

But then she started acting a tad funny... Almost embarressed as if she had been feeling or thinking somethign she shouldn't have been. Mah, he missed it really. Oh well.

"I was more so talking about me though." He admitted. "Some peoples idea of fun would be too much for me. I'm not the party type to be honest." He shrugged. "I don't care for big crowds and well... I prefer being alone or with maybe one or two other people. Like if I were to leave here, I would probably head out tot he greenhouses... Maybe the astronomy tower." He stated as he began to pick at the corner of his menu. "You know, just some place to be in the quiet, maybe with my guitar or a friend."

"Hmm...interesting," said Talynn. She took another quick sip of her drink to cool her throat for the words that came next. "Seems we're more like opposites."

It was a disheartening acknowledgement for her to make, because she was the product of opposites attracting quite strongly. But the attraction had quickly fizzling out. However, she was saved from having to dwell on it for a moment as the waitress returned to the table to take their orders. Talynn looked up and pinned a smile in place.

"I'll have the Magpies special," she said. The meal came with a burger and fries. That was good enough for her. "No onion, please." The waitress jotted down the order, then looked at Will while Talynn stared down into her butterbeer.

"And you, sir?" the lady asked. "Ready to order, or should I come back in a bit?"