An Empty Stomach

Having recently received some money from his grandfather via owl post, Jeremy was in rather high spirits. Er, higher spirits than usual, that is. And that's saying something, considering this boy was always happy. The fifth year boy's arms were weighed down with bags of books and robes and extra food for his cat, Theo.

Needing a place to set his things and perhaps just rest for a while, Jeremy headed to the Three Broomsticks, which was characteristically slow at this time of day, and he knew that not many people would be in there. The most crowded places in Hogsmeade tended to be Honeydukes and Weasley's, and Jeremy made extra care to avoid those places if it wasn't necessary. It wasn't that he didn't love people or candy or the joke shop, but he didn't really feel like being trampled by kids. Jeremy wasn't exactly the strongest kid around.

The Ravenclaw pushed open the doors of the pub with his shoulder, and was honestly quite surprised to see that the place was bustling with business. He briefly considered leaving and going to a different place, but the door had already shut and Jeremy had no free hands to open it with. Jeremy rolled his eyes and approached the counter, which only had a few people waiting in line. When it was his turn, he ordered a butterbeer, promising to pay the man once he set his things down and could reach into his pockets.

Jeremy turned his back on the bar and looked for a table that didn't seem to crowded. Finding one, he approached it and sat in the chair across from the only other occupant. "Oh! Erm, you don't mind me sitting here, right?" He asked the person. "I can leave if you'd like."

Ryo was in the Three Broomsticks solely because he had to wait for his sister, Sayuri, to come out of Honeydukes. When she was done, if that was ever to happen, they would head out for their aunt and uncle's place. Not that Ryo would enjoy that. The whole summer with two people who suffocated him, woo-hoo, so much fun. And now that he was dating Victorie, they would probably want to meet her, and that would be bad. They would embarass him like there was no tomorrow. Sayuri was going to think she was in heaven while they were with their aunt and uncle. She loved their weirdness, because she acted like they did most of the time as well.

He had sat at the table closest to the window to keep an eye out for Sayuri, when she came out. That was about half an hour ago. He had ordered a butterbeer, and something to eat while he was there. The waiter had come with his food, and Ryo paid him, adding a tip as well. He hadn't really expected anyone to come near him while he was there, but he was soon accompanied by a boy who looked about his age. "It's fine, you can stay here." he said, softly. "Want something to eat?" he asked the boy, only to not be rude.

The boy had fair hair and pale eyes, seemingly the exact opposite of Jeremy's dark eyes and hair that was almost black. The Ravenclaw hoped he hadn't made the boy uncomfortable my sitting there He seemed nice enough, but the way he spoke seemed like he was rather shy towards meeting new people. Jeremy considered saying something like, 'No, it's fine. I'll sit somewhere else', but he really did not feel like towing around all his bags again to some other table. He did not.

At the boy's offer, Jeremy shook his head, smiling politely. "No thank you, I'm not really hungry and I've just ordered a butterbeer. Thanks for letting me sit here, by the way. I hope I'm not bothering you," The boy frowned slightly. His expression lifted again when a waiter arrived with his beverage. Jeremy paid the man and took a sip of the drink, sighing contently.

"Sorry! Where are my manners? I'm Jeremy. You are?" The boy was around his age, so they had to have seen each other in lessons at some point or another, right?