AJ was meeting Ellie at Three Broomsticks for Butterbeer. She had mentioned how she didn't like firewhiskey and so he opted to go to the more crowded place than his preferred pub. He looked around, noticing a lot of people he knew. He was trying to not be noticed which was extremely hard for him. It was times like these he wishes he could turn into an animal and just get away.

He noticed his Ravenclaw friend walking in. He didn't need to draw attention to himself by waving her over. She saw him immediatly. AJ had two butterbeers waiting for when she arrived.

"G'afternoon," he said, sliding the drink across the table.

((OOC:this thread kinda seems down... i'll just keep it alive until Ellie comes!))

Valentina entered the Three Broomsticks . Outside was pretty chilly, so she had decided to order a nice Butterbeer and a slice of Peachlime cake (her favourite).

she was just about to get a seat, when she noticed Andrej. He seemed to be wanting to not get noticed, so she didn't go up to him, even though she was tempted.

However, she kept giving him quick glances, even though he didn't seem to be noticing.
She also spotted that he was holding to bottles of butterbeer. That ment he wasn't alone.

Her Slytherin side got the best of her, and she was desperate to see who was going to turn up. Obviously, she was by far too kind (and clever) to go spreading it around like wildfire.

AJ spotted Valentina as she walked in to Three Broomsticks. He knew two things: either she was going to come bug him, or she saw he had two butterbeers and was ready to start rumours. He sighed. Maybe it would be wise to talk to her until Ellie got there. That way she could know the truth and keep him company until she got there.

"Valentina," he said, reluctantly waving her over. It's not that he didn't like her, it's just she wasn't exactly material to be friends with. He looked for different things in his friends. She was okay to talk to though, he said to himself.

Valentina nearly yelped with surprise when she hear Aj call her name.

She stood up and walked over to him, unsure if he was going to make a fuss about her spying on him.

"hey, Aj! How's it going?" She said nervously, as she reluctantly sat down, as if unsure that the misterious person would get angry at her.

She had taken her things over, and tried as well as she could to ignore the other Butterbeer, as if it wasn't there.

"so..." she said, pinching her leg in a nervous way under the table.
Say something, stupid me!... She thought, now bitting her lip.

AJ watched as Valentina pulled out the chair. She eyed the butterbeers, but snapped her head away, trying not to look. "Oi, it's for Ellie, but I think she is running a little late." He slid the drink across the table. "You cn have it."

AJ got so use to having people around, he was becoming addicted to it. Even if he didn't want the company, he asked for it. He missed the days where he spent laying in the Forest, or swimming in the lake, or enjoying a Firewhiskey at the Hog's Head by himself. 'April has poisened me,' he thought to himself. Referring to the day in the Forest that changed his year. He went from the odd ball to competing in the Tournament. This was a different world for AJ, but he was growing to like it.

"Enjoying your weekend?" he asked, wanting to talk about anything.

Valentina let out a quick sigh of relief.
So it was Ellie, not a mysterious girl...

"thanks!" she said happily, "if Ellie turns up, I'll offer a drink!"

She had a quick sip before replying.
"Yes... Sorta... Tomorrow i'm going back home until night time... Father told me i can Materialise myself so i don't pick the train... you know, he's the vice minister of magic, and persuaded the Minister himself to let our family use magic without interfearing..."
She let out a smile.

"However, my father seems buissier than ever with the Tournament - and concrats, by the way-, but he seems nervous... And he's so mysterious lately..."
She looked around, as if not wanting people seeing what she was about to say.

"... You must learn many more defending spells, Father told me, and you will have to use Dark Magic..." She wispered so quietly, that Aj had to lean right over to hear her.
"... i think..." She continued, with a mysterious voice, " That something terrible will happen... I don't know what, Aj, but it will..."

She looked around once more, and now with her normal voice said, quite loudly, so that the couple in the table next to them would look away,:

"Pass me the sugar, will you, Aj?" and gave a merry laught.
The couple looked away, turning back to chat between them.

He didn't know if she was telling the truth. He had heard that Valentna had made stories up before. He didn't know who her father was, for all AJ knew he could be a farmer or anything.

"Oh? Dark magic? Defensive spells? I think I'll manage. I've gotten loads better than the incident in the forest a couple months ago."

AJ had been locked away studying for the past couple of months and has come close to what he was trying to achieve. Only April, Conley, Zeke, and his favourite professor Professor Anima who teaches Transfiguration, know what he had been doing.

"Are you staying for the tournament then?"

Valentina stared at Aj in pure desbelief, when she saw his expression when she told him about her father.

She blinked a few times before saying in an incredulous voice:
"Nubim Greysoul? you never heard of Nubim Greysoul?!"

She lent over to talk to the couple and asked them loud, so that Andrej could hear:

"Excuse me, could you tell me who the Vice-Minister of Magic is?"

the couple obviously replied, as if it was the easiest question anyone could ask them, " Nubim Edward Greysoul", and smiled at each other in a love look.

"thank you!" Valentina replied, and turned back to look at Aj with a grin.

"And, like i told you my father was Vice-Minister, normal spells wont work.". She poured herself more Butterbeer in her glass and watched Aj carefully.

He knew normal spells wouldn't work.

"I've been studying a lot of different things. I know normal spells won't work. Trust me. I'm smarter than the average student." He reminded her. It was true, out of the four he felt he was the smartest. But he knew the others were stronger in different areas. Though he improved in dueling, April was quicker. Fawne knew medical spells which could help her greatly, and sadly AJ knew little. Aaron was the only competitor that he didn't know. So for all he knew he could be the greatest wizard since Albus Dumbledore.

"So, are you staying for the tournament?" he asked again, sipping his drink.

Valentina listened carefully.
From what her father had told her, none of these abilities would help much.

"intresting..." she muttered, having another sip.
"however, you are too close to most of the partecipants... That wont help more than necessary... You need to stay on guard, and not trust people too much..." She said, in a serious voice.

"And yes, i will be staying over for the Tournament." she hesitated.

"Remember that time in the forest?... I had said something about Dark Magic..."

She took a bite from her cake, and waited for him to show sign of intrest.

OOC: The only thing AJ said last time was: "I've been studying a lot of different things. I know normal spells won't work. Trust me. I'm smarter than the average student." and "So, are you staying for the tournament?" The rest was in his head... Read more carefully

IC:

AJ didn't remember, he didn't pay much attention to her. She thought she was more important than she was. He felt she didn't realize how people thought of her. But he rubbed it off.

"Er, yeah. That's exciting." he said, referring to nothing. AJ was almost finished with his drink, but he was wanting to go to the Hog's Head for a firewhiskey.

"Did you put your name in the Goblet?" he asked, finishing his drink.

OOC: Are you talking about the Animagus thread (that was a cool idea!) ?

Valentina noticed that he wasn't paying attention, and this was annoying her quite a lot.

"no," she said in a dry tone, " I didn't!" .

" i was trying to help, " she said crisply, " but it doesn't matter much to you, am I right?"
Her Slytherin side had got the best of her.

Then again, she wondered if being in a different House would have change her reputation.

She got up, ready to leave, leaving some cash on the table.
"Have fun with Ellie!" she said in the most annoyed tone she could master, that right now, wasn't a problem.
She turned her back, ready to leave him by himself.

OOC: No...I'm talking about when I was saying the strengths to the opponents...that was in my head. But you made it seem like I was saying it aloud...

IC:

AJ was now thinking about the tournament. Hopefully sharing the championship with April...but that would mean Slytherin would win as well.

"I'm going to get another drink. Want one?" He got up without listening to her reply. He knew it was rude, but he was thirsty.

OCC: oh... sorry about that... i'll change it then.

Valentina was shocked.

"You...What?!" She spat, looking hard at Andrej, even though she knew he probably wouldn't listen to her anyway.

" F- Fine!" She finally said, and sat back down.

She got her money back, and watched as Aj went back towards the caffe' bar.

He returned from getting his drink and sat back down. He was looking out for Ellie, waiting for her to arrive. He was beginning to think she had forgotten about him. Which was okay, he would find someone else to talk to.

AJ realized Valentina was still sitting there. "Er, what do you want to talk about?" he asked, not knowing what girls like her liked.

Valentina watched him return, and felt offended when she saw him looking around.
Probably looking around for someone alse to talk to... She thought, feeling down.
"Er, what do you want to talk about?" Aj asked.

Valentina was deeply surprised.
"well... I... I don't mind..." she said truthfully.
She thought for a second.
"tell me about the Tournament... Why did you enter?"

Why did he enter? "I don't really know."

He didn't know if it was for fame and fortune, or for glory. "Perhaps I wanted to prove I'm more than a good student, and I can do things in the real world situation."

That sounded like a good answer. He could give that in interviews.

"Who do you think is going to win?" he asked, "And be honest, don't just say me because Im asking."

Valentina smiled proudly. That sure was a good answer.

"Who do you think is going to win?" he asked, "And be honest, don't just say me because Im asking."

Valentina gulped slowly. She wasn't expecting that question.

"L-Let me think..." she said thoughtfully, " You are very mature (when you listen to people and not ignore them... Valentina thought), and hard working... But then again, April isn't a girl to underestimate... She's great at duelling..." she took another sip of Butterbeer, "...Fawne is a Gryffindor, which means that she has quite a few points already...Plus, if she would get hurt, there wouldn't be any problems... However, I'm afraid that she is too sweet and careing, when you have to watch you back for this things... And that Aaron... I haven't got a clue who he is...-sorry 'bout that!" She gave Aj a friendly smile.

"i really don't know, but you and Aaron have good chances of winning... very good chances... Good luck, Andrej! I wish you the very best!"
Valentina said this truthfully, and gave him a friendly pat as if he was about to start the competition straight away.

Suddenly, she remembered something. She started looking for something in her hand bag, and when she found it, she put it on the table.

It was a small glass jar. Inside, where some small redish black pills.

"You should try them before the Tournament, " she spoke in a low voice again, scared someone would hear them. " you should try them out first though..."
She watched Aj's surprised face with a certain satisfaction.
"They shield you from sudden, unexpected attacks. Just took them from the potion store!" She winked at him. They both had the passion to try finding new adventures.

((OOC: Aj, being a sixth year, should have heard about them! ;) ))

AJ listened carefully, not trying to ignore her. But he couldn't help but to focus on what studying he needed to do that night. He needed to try and get into the Room of Requirement some more. Or sneak off into the Hog's Head to study.

"Sorry, Valentina. But I need to get going. It was nice, we should get together sometime again."

He got up, and swiftly walked over to the Hog's Head. He had a book with him already. When he walked into the pub he ordered a firewhiskey to relax his nerves and then started studying. He must have been there for hours, for when he got back to the common room , most everyone was asleep.

Valentina was glad that Aj was listening to her at long last.
He took the pills, but didn't say anything about them.

She waved at him as he left the pub.

Valentina took another sip of Butterbeer before leaving The Three Broomsticks.

Aj walked out of Three Broomsticks and headed to the Hog's Head. Maybe he would bump into Ellie on his way there. She would probably have a good excuse on why she is late.

Sure enough he saw Ellie running after him. "Hey El."

OOC: Pretend you were supposed to meet me, but were like 30 minutes late :)

"Hey AJ wait up! I'm sorry I'm late!" This was just like her, she was pretty bad at being on time. She didn't mean to be late, it just sort of happened. "I'm sorry!" she said as she caught up with him.

AJ laughed. "Well we cant go back into the Three Broomsticks. I ran into Valentina and she started driving me crazy. Perhaps Hog's Head?" he just wanted a firewhiskey now.

He didnt wait for an answer, he started off to Hog's Head with her by his side. She was his fellow Quidditch teammate and the two got along quite well.

Ellie laughed, she understood, Valentina could be quite annoying. "

Well I'll tell you why I was late, you see this morning I got up and thought it was Friday, ao I got changed into my robes and books and came down to the Great Hall, and realised, so I had to go back get changed all over again and then when I did realise it was Saturday I realised I was meeting you and well I ran most of the way here, but I was still late. I'm really sorry, I hope Valentina didn't bore you for too long because of it?"

She looked up and smiled hoping he wouldn't be too mad. They were almost at the Hogs head by now. "Please forgive me?" she said in a little voice.

"No biggie. I had to give your butterbeer to Valentina...so you can buy me a firewhiskey." He smiled. They were good friends. She would have to do more than that to ruin their friendship.

They got into the pub and sat down. He ordered a firewhiskey for himself and a butterbeer for Ellie. "Dont want to get you to drunk then, do we?"

Ellie laughed, of course she would buy him his firewhiskey.

"Exscuse me?" she laughed "I think you'll find I can handle my drink perfectly well, it would be you I would be worried about!"

She turned to the barman, "Make that two firewhiskeys!" she laughed.

"Just you wait, you'll be the one that needs carrying home, don't worry though I'll be able to manage" she laughed again.

She walked over to a table and sat down and put the two drinks on the table.

AJ laughed. He loved firewhiskey better than butterbeer any day. He figured Ellie was just trying to be strong infront of her teammate. He could just picture her drunk off of her ass at the end of the day.

"Alright then. Bottoms up."

Okay so It wasn't her first time having firewhiskey, except she wasn't exactly a seasonned drinker of it. She took a slug and nearly choked, she'd forgotten the fiery kick it had. However she covered it well,

"Cheers" she answered.

"So excited for the new Quidditch season" she smiled at him having gotten over the firewhiskey.

"Me too," ge gulped half of the drink down. He loved the taste. Most students didnt like it, but he did.

"If we get Conley McDonnel we would win it for sure. You and him would be unstoppable. His dad was one of the chasers for the Ireland National Team the year they won the cup."

Though Conley was only going to be a second year, he was amazing.

"Wonder who the other beater is going to be." he said drinking again. They only had three returning players. Ellie, himself and a girl named Mona who played seeker. The rest were all seventh years.

"Yeah I went to see Ireland play they are fantastic, . I wish my dad was a wizard and played quidditch, my dad is only in the police. But hopefully we'll get some good new players coming through." she smiled.

Ellie being muggleborn hated coming home and not being able to do magic, and she couldn't share it properly with her family. All she could do was tell them about it, but she couldn't show them and they couldn't take part.

She took another sip of her firewhiskey, she'd gotten used to the taste. "So..." she began tracing words on the table absentmindedly. "Been playing much rugby recentley?" she grinned wihile she said it knowing that they were probably about the only two people in the school who played rugby.

"No..." he wished he had time for muggle sports. "Been studying a lot recently." He was tired of having to tell everyone that.

"And with the tournament, I'm super swamped with a lot of snooping around and what not."

He smiled. AJ was tired of what his life had become. But once he transformed into his Animagus, he knew life would be different.

"Sucks, however the tournament should be good."

Ellie was super excited about the tournament it was going to be great to spectate. She was looking forward to the challenges. She took another slug of fire whiskey.

She was begginning to feel a bit tipsy. She wondered if AJ could tell. "Are you excited about the tournament then?" she giggled a bit probably due to the drink.

AJ was looking forward to competing. But wished he wasnt in it from time to time. He just wanted to relax this summer.

"Hrm...yeah." AJ got up for another firewhiskey. He knew he would be drunk by the end of the night.

When he sat back down he noticed that they were the only ones in the bar. "Nice and quiet isnt it?"

"Yeah, much better than the crowded three broomsticks, I get what you mean about liking this place you know because its so much quieter than everywhere else."

Ellie looked around, he was right no one else was here, apart from the barman who had gone into the backroom. It wasn't awkwrd though because although she hadn't known AJ for very long they had soon become good friends. She smiled at him, "So do you have any idea what you want to do when your older, you know when you leave here, random question I know but..."

AJ had a set answer for this question. "Well I wouldnt mind being a auror. If they're still needed. Or teaching here for Transfiguration." He took a sip of his drink. "Or I wouldnt mind life in the muggle world. I would love to play football. But my only shot would be over in the States. But it would be fun."

He finished yet another drink. "How about you?" he asked looking over his mug.

"Auror sounds cool." She had always thought it would be a really cool job. "Me? Well I have absoloutley no clue, haven't a foggiest, no idea, " The firewhiskey was begginning to kick in. She giggled.

He smiled when she giggled. They had been teammates but nothing more. Not even friends. He could see all of that was going to change quite soon. She was an amazing girl.

"Here," he said leaning over the table. She had hair in her face, and he brushed it away. "There you go." he smiled at her.

"You're an awesome player," he said drinking.