Aric saunters into the Three Broomsticks, he islonely without his posse at home. But the whole of Hogwarts seems out of his control, not like home, where everything is just a mere command away.

He orders a firewhiskey, and stresses that the waiter should lace it with champagne. The waiter complains that they had no such drink, and Aric flips two galleons into the waiter's palm. "...Make one."

So his drink comes, and Aric has to admit it tastes rather strange, but his pride permits him to say nothing. And it is a sin in his book to wish this, but Aric does wish he had someone to talk to. How pathetic is that?

Casey wandered through Hogsmeade. The streets were crowded but not unusually so. She hadn't been out to get anything in particular, she only wished to get out of the castle that so often seemed close about her. And so she had set off for Hogsmeade.

She soon spied the Three Broomsticks and decided a good butterbeer would be nice. when she stepped in she was not surprised to see the place crowded with people. She ordered her butterbeer and found an empty seat next one she had seen at least once in the hallways at Hogwarts. "Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked quietly, the familiar qualities of shyness and nervousness floating about her

Aric pauses in mid-sip to greet this question. His first thought was collectively: I am Aric Kaiser, how dare you even look me in the face and ask me such an asinine question? He puts his drink down.

But then he remembers that he is no longer a fallen deity like he likes to believe and he would have to make do with mingling with common folk...at least, for now. He nods curtly, "...You may."

Casey nodded a thanks, she could help but notice the reluctance he held in his features. She didn't like the way he talked to her and it brought her to think that he might hurt her if she weren't careful. "Thank you.. I'm Casey" she introduced herself, her voice quiet and full of a sense of fear and wonder

Aric takes another sip from his glass, and vows to himself that he is never going to order firewhiskey with champagne again, ever. He makes a faintly disgusted face and reaches for a nearby napkin (not silk, the treason!) and dabs his lips.

When he speaks, Aric makes sure that his voice carries nothing but authority, not fear, even though he is a stranger in a strange place, it is not at all like him, to fear or feel out of place. "My name is Kaiser," Last name first, as he is taught, "Aric Kaiser."

Casey quickly noted his odd habits, he acted as if he had been raised a nobleman. But she dared not question him, he seemed the type he would jump at a chance to hurt her. But maybe that was the old fear playing back. Still she kept her mouth shut and sipped quietly at her butterbeer. "I'm Casey Bryant" she introduced herself, not quite as formally as he.

She says nothing, but that gives him a chance to force down his drink, as the waiter makes frequent trips past the table, and every time he passes by, he gives Aric a dutiful glance, it is highly probable that the bas*ard wants another tip after inventing a nonexistent drink. He is not getting one.

At last, the silence grows too stifling even for him to handle, so Aric rests his head on the table, a grossly common gesture, and looks at her. "...Might I inquire of Miss Casey's house and age?"

Casey watched out of the corner of her eye as he forced down his drink. There was something odd about him, that was for sure. He seemed too much a gentleman to be sat amongst this crowd. So where was he from and what was he doing here? Thoughts swirled through her mind but she didn't bother pushing them away as it allowed her to occupy herself in the awkward silence.

Lifting her head up a bit Casey glanced momentarily at Aric. "I'm a 5th year Hufflepuff... and you?" she responded dutifully.

...I am...consorting...with a Hufflepuff... Few thoughts are less appetizing than that had just passed through. But ever the gentleman, Aric is determined not to let his disgust get the best of him, he can learn from her, the ways of this strange place...though of course, a more suitable guide could be desired.

Tracing the rim of his glass, he says, "...I reside in Slytherin, and I am a sixth year." Which makes him older, that is a small victory to him, though he is most arguably the youngest of his year, being only fifteen.

Casey could see that he was less than fond of conversing with a Hufflepuff. But that didn't bother her at all, she was used to be looked down upon, especially by a guy. So the fact that he wasn't all too happy didn't phase her at all. Still she felt it would be nice to have someone appreciate her at least a little bit.

Casey nodded, a slytherin, that would make sense. His approach to everything seemed a bit more clear now. Slytherins were proud folk, and she often found that they felt themselves better than others. She should have known that she was in a slytherins presence. "Are you new here?" she inquired.

Curiosity gets the best of him, and Aric decides to taste a regular firewhiskey, he calls the waiter, flips another galleon, and puts emphasis on the word 'regular', he would have said 'pure', yet that isn't a word filfthy enough to bestow on a beer, magical or no.

Aric rests his head on his elbows, and considers her question, at long last, he says, "...I do not prefer the word 'new', miss, 'foreign', suits me much better."

Casey couldn't help but think that Aric seemed a character from one of her books, torn from the pages and cast into a world that does not suit him. She watched as he ordered a firewhiskey, and the way that he emphasized regular made her wonder what had been different about the one he had been drinking. But she dared not ask.

Miss... that was a new one on Casey, no one had ever called her miss before, and if they it had been some poor joke. "Well if you are so 'foreign', where, then, do you come from?"

Regular firewhiskey isn't much better. It is bitter, and whatever little sweetness the drink once held is lost on him. Aric cannot understand why everyone likes it so much. He is never drinking firewhiskey again, either.

"...From Wales," It is a small country, where its miniscule population allows very small amount of people to stay infinitely wealthy. Fortunately for Aric, the Kaiser family is one of the chosen.

Casey sipped at her now almost finished Butterbeer. Sith a smile Casey remembered her visits to wales as a child, she had often gone to visit her grandparents there. She remembered her days there wistfully, she had loved that place as much as she loved it here at Hogwarts.

"It's a lovely country, Wales. I used to visit during the summer to see my grandparents." She told him, stoping herself as she realize she was babbling a bit

"...Is it?" Aric wishes that he has regular champagne, his mouth is sour and his tongue burns, however, the gentleman is always taught to hide his discomfort from the ladies. He dabs his lips with a napkin again.

"It is lovely, pity I don't get to see it often anymore. Because I am here." Again, for the millionth time, he ponders how he could get himself excused from this pathetic mess of an academy.

Casey looked down at her empty glass debating for a second on whether or not she should have another. she decided against, two drinks would just be too much, one was enough for her.

"You'll come to love it here in time. This is my home, Wales is my second home. I've never been more at ease than when I am here" Casey explained

"...Is it?" He says that, because he can think of nothing else productive to say. It seems that this place is really too out of it, to enjoy the pastimes back home. "...I'm sure I will though. Everything must happen eventually." He grimaces lightly, including my adaption to this dump.

To make himself feel better, Aric orders champagne, unmarred with the toxins that everyone seemed to worship here. The waiter gives him a strange look, but nods when another galleon lands on his palm.

Casey laughed slightly as she noticed his grimace, "I see you do not yet like it here at that much. I suppose you come from a place where if everything is handed to you on a silver platter, and you need never be in discomfort." She stated, a slight bitterness in her voice. She had often wondered why some people had life so easy, while others had to work so hard to get enough money in order to feed their families.

She glanced his champagne with raised eyebrows. Casey decided she didn't like him, his actions, the way he talked. It was almost as if he expected everyone to bow down before him. That frustrated her more than anything. But of course she'd never be brave enough to tell him so.

Aric's expression is bland once more, there is nothing to betray. "...No, nothing is handed to me on a silver platter, miss. Crystal suits me, and of course I have to ask for it, else they will bombard me with random things I don't need day and night."

Othello comes to mind, and his mood darkens a little, "...Not always miss. I warn you against jumping into rash conclousions." He is unfortunate, but this, he is sure, she cannot understand.

Casey felt an anger well up inside her that she did not know she had. She fought to compress, it would not do to show her anger. "And I suppose crystal is so much better than silver" she said bitterly.

And yet his words softened Casey a bit, and her anger died slightly. "No, I supposed you are right. Just as you cannot understand the hardships of those less fortunate than yourself it would be just as hard to follow the life you lead in its own way."

The girl isn't pleased with him, and like Aric gives a damn. "That may be true." He admits, after sipping wine to calm himself, he smirks once more, "...Very true, as I am entitled to so my delicacies that some may say I don't deserve. But I also must learn to...deal with things that you will not ever have the misfortune to encounter."

He speaks, of course, of Othello. But she doesn't know that.

Casey bowed her head, maybe he did have hardships that she might never understand. But how could he ever understand what she had been through? Had anyone ever beat him as she had been beat? She highly doubted that. Maybe they were two people with hardships that could not be voiced, and maybe that was the one thing they shared in common. But still she held a bitterness towards him. "I suppose that is all very true"

He drains his champagne in one gup and orders another, wasting yet another galleon, lightening his pockets, he has too many. "...There's really no supposing about it, miss. It is true. But what fun is life, when all you dwell on, are the bad things?"

Othello has taught him that, if Othello is brave enough, Aric can be, too.

Casey looked up, almost somber. "But sometimes it's hard to focus on good things when there are so many bad things around." She said quietly her eyes cast down staring unblinkably at the table. Not for the first time in the past week she was forced to think of her father and what would befall her on her next visit home.

"I didn't hear that phrase from me, miss, it would be useless coming from me." Aric says easily, although how heavy the words really are, she would never know, 'I heard it from a poor boy with no blessing in life, except for one. So while you can't trust me, you can trust Othello."

Casey looked up a curious glint in her eyes. Who was this Othello fellow? And while she wished to ask, she knew it was not her business to bombard Aric with such questions. So she kept her mouth firmly shut. "They are wise words, and maybe if everyone were to abide by them the world would be a better place. But that, I know, would be too much to ask."

"I tell them so, and they do." Aric says blandly, as if his eminence is a fact, and it is...in certain parts of the world he has had the fortune to conquer. "...I tell Othello also, as everyone also listens to him." There is a mild tone of distain in his voice, "...But Othello is too kindhearted to do so."

Casey raised an eyebrow at this. "You cannot bid everyone to do your will. One day one will have the nerve to speak out. Just because you say so does not mean that everyone should comply." She said scornfully, her bitterness coming back. "Othello seems a wise and kind person, maybe you should learn from him"

"I'm not so stupid to be unaware of the limits of my abilities, miss." Aric takes to stirring his new glass of champagne with a thin glass rod that he has transfigured, the wine is not quite sticky enough to suit him. "...There is no shame to exercise what is given to you once in a while. For me, that is eminence."

He continues stirring, "...I'll allow Othello to be his own person, and he allows me to be mine. Granted, perhaps, I will always be an idiot next to him, but this is enough for me."

Casey shrugged, she had so many responses but none that she cared to share. She new she was pressing her boundaries, if she had been at home her tongue would have caused her much pain. She was glad Aric had not do so much to her thus far, but she wasn't one to wait and see how far she could push. "I suppose you will do what see fit at that particular moment... even if it would make you seem like an idiot next to Othello"

He drinks, and realizes that magical folk did not know how to fix a glass of champagne properly, he should go to the kitchens and tell them so, three galleons! And the brutes in there could do nothing right?

"You're fortunate we are speaking of Othello and no one else, miss. Very fortunate." This might be considered a warning, yet Aric keeps his voice light.

Casey played with the rim of the glass before her. The more she talked to this Aric character the more she found she disliked him. But she would never voice that to him. As much as she wanted to hate him, she could not bring herself to do so.

"Yes, I guess I am..." Casey muttered softly not raising her eyes to look at him. She found that her nervousness and fear of men was coming back to her, as much as she wanted to not to be that nervous five-year-old she could not raise the courage to do so.

Aric nods faintly, half listening. He is still thinking about whether or not to go yell at the bast*rds that run this place. His indignation surpasses all, so he gets out of booth and bows to her, in a manner that is almost but not quite mocking, "...If you excuse me, miss, I'll be just a minute."

Stalking back to the kitchen, he yells at everyone in sight and leaves them paralyzed. Aric feels better. He is smiling when he comes back.

Casey scowled when he bowed, she felt almost as if he were mocking her. She wanted curious as he left for the kitchens. No doubt he was off to go do somethingstupid and act the fool that she felt he was. If only he could over his stupid pride.

As he returned Casey saw his smug smile and shook her head. She did not get this man at all. "I suppose you feel much better now.. though you've put down a whole bunch of people" she needlessly pointed out

"...I did my upbringing proud." Aric says, "...And besides, I pay them good money. A little humiliation does do wonders. Perhaps now they will learn how to fix a glass of champagne properly, you could say I'm doing future patrons a favor."

He flicks a stray strand of hair out of his eyes, and traces one perfect finger across the tick mark engraved on the table.

Casey shook her head, her eyes fixed on the table. "Did it ever come to you that no one ever comes here for champagne? They have had no reason to learn the ways of champagne when any normal person would come for a butterbeer or a firewhiskey. This place was never meant to be a champagne type of place" She stated sternly still not looking of from the table.

"Such a thought has, in fact, occured to me, long before you thought also to mention it." Aric takes to fingering his diamond-cut band because it is something to do. The jewel is getting rather dusty. "...But has it ever occured to you, that a rarity such as what has just occured, will occur eventually?" He cannot stop smirking because this is so amusing, "...And besides, if you're brave enough to lecture me, look me in the eye when you do so."

Casey sighed frustratedly. This guy really didn't get any of this at all. But then, she hated to admit, he had grown up a different way than she had. She shook her head as if to say no one, i will not look up. Finally she found a voice that allowed her to speak. "I wasn't lecturing you, I was merely pointing out something that seemed oblivious to you." she stated making a point to keep her head down

"Of course, miss, in the course of our conversation, you should have realized that next to nothing is oblivious to me." He resumes toying with his ring, the amusement of it all is fast-passing. "...And besides, it's only courteous to do what I have just suggested, lecturing or otherwise."

Casey shrugged, but she daren't lift her head and meet his eyes. She feared that she might see an anger witheld in them that she had so often seen her fathers eyes. She felt silly being scared of him, but she couldn't stop herself from being scared. She'd been that way for as long as she could remember, and a fear like that is hard to suppress. "Maybe i like to keep my head down" she said, as if making an excuse for her behaviour