A New Friend

Kevin walked into the Three Broomsticks.

"Too cold. Way too cold," he said to himself as he plopped down into a booth. "Waitress!" he called. She stormed over, obviously overworked and annoyed. "Can I have a butterbeer?" She scribbled his order aggressively and stormed away with an eye roll. "Smile. It'll do you good," Kevin said to her with a smile, hoping it was contagious. She didn't return it but Kevin just brushed it off of his shoulder. Within a minute, the warm drink was being served on top of a coaster. "Thanks!" he said happily, still smiling but she really wasn't in a good mood. Kevin shrugged his shoulder indifferently. "Whatever...."

As he sipped the butterbeer, steam condensing onto his cheeks, which were bright red, he looked up to see a familiar face. He looked about his age and looked as if he had nowhere to sleep. Kevin, being a good-natured person, called him over to sit down. "Crowded in here isn't it?" he asked him.

Why did it have to be so cold outside? Ashton really did not like winter when it was like this. It was time wuen there was a little bit of snow on the ground and the cold wind, but this year it was ridiculous. All the snow storms and the icy winds that were always around this time of year, he hated it. He had stepped into the Three Broomsticks to try and get warm arter he had been outside in the cold for quite a while. The bell tinkled above him and he simply ignored it. The place was pretty crowded it older students that had also been outside and had now wanted to warm up like he had wanted to.

Ashton had to admit that he felt just a bit weird without having his best friend Serena with him. He felt somewhat off balance without the girl being there. As soon as he entered, Ashton had wanted to get a butterbeer but he noticed how overworked the waitress looked and he didn't want to bother her, mostly because he didn't want her to snap at him. He soon found himself being called over by a boy probably his age, who he had seen around Ravenclaw Tower and he walked over to him. "Yes, it really is." He answered the boy softly, showing a slight discomfort that came from being in a crowded place.

Kevin smiled. "Don't worry. I don't like being in crowded places either. Too much commotion," he said coolly and took a sip of his steaming butterbeer. Kevin thought it was kinda rude to warm up with a freezing person right across from you. He slammed the mug down on the table and screamed, "Waitress!" She came over with the same angry expression. "What do you want now?" she asked impatiently.

"Another butterbeer for him. And I'm getting pretty tired of your attitude. I don't exactly appreciate it!" Kevin said sarcastically. She stormed away from the table, looking more pissed than ever.

"There," he said simply. "I don't like people like that...." He leaned back in his chair and took another sip of butterbeer.

Ashton remained silent during the exchange between the boy whom he now recognized to be Kevin West and the waitress. When she stormed away he couldn't help but sigh. "You should try to he nicer to her, even if she is mean to you." Ashton said. "She's obviously just overworked and doesn't really need those kind of comments coming from kids like us." the boy said logically.

Just then the waitress came back with a butterbeer for him. She frowned and slammed it down in front of him, causing a bit of it to spill around the cup and land on his face. Ashton noticed that her arm was shaking a bit and he merely smiled as if he hadn't seen anything at all. "Thank you." he said politely as he had been taught. He watched as she walked away and sighed, leaning back.

"She's a muggleborn." Ashton said suddenly. His eyes didn't leave her figure for a while until he finally looked down at the butterbeer in front of him. The boy wiped his face with his sleeve and lifted the mug to his lips, taking a sip of it.