Weekends are not meant to be boring

It was the weekend and Alice had pushed all of her thoughts of studying and homework away. For these two days at least, she has allowed herself not to worry about school and just relax. After the hectic last few weeks she has had, she really needed it. For her, relaxing was all about waking up late, getting brunch and playing Qudditch. That was exactly what she did. After a while though, her own boredom started conceiving many interesting activities she could try out although most of them would certainly land her in detention.

She shook her head trying to concentrate on something else. Besides, trouble was the last thing she needed right now. With her parents furious at her and Amelia still suffering the consequences of their little forbidden forest adventure, the smartest thing to do was just to lock herself in the library for the whole weekend even if it would drive her insane. Soon enough, another idea crossed her mind that was rather exciting but a lot less dangerous than her other options. Without giving it really much thought, she grabbed her coat and headed towards the Hogwarts gate.

Within twenty minutes, she had reached her destination. She was lucky that the owner of the Three Broomsticks was kind enough to help her out, or otherwise her journey would have lasted significantly longer. Walking into the Leaky Cauldron, she instantly noticed many changes that her parents installed into the place. It looked a lot more decent now. Wondering if her dad would still be here at this time, she continued towards the bar and took a seat. She was sure that many people were staring strangely at her, being a minor in a bar such as this, but she didn't care. Hopefully Andrei would be working this shift, as honestly he was the reason she came here in the first place. If she had any luck, she might even convince him to serve her something from the bar. If and only if her parents aren't still here that is.

((lmao, that is the funniest typo for shift I have ever seen. XD ))

James was in his usual haunt after a grueling Quidditch practice. With Jack now on the team, coach was really hoping for nationals this year. Personally, James felt it would take more than getting one decent member on the team, but he wasn't about to tell Jack that.

A new form entered the bar, and James waved to her from his spot at the bar. He hadn't seen little Alice in awhile, and was surprised at how much she had grown.

"C'mere," he said, "I'll buy you a butterbeer."

(It's a what now...?))

Alice was surprised when some stranger kept waiving at her, but then again Leaky Cauldron had a reputation of hosting strange people. With a better look though she saw it was James Potter. She hadn't seen him in quite a while and he certainly looked a lot older now, more adult like and mature. She grinned at his offer and joined him swiftly.

She took a seat next to him and turned her head towards him, with that smile still on her face. "James! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in quite a while" she said with a smile and gratefully accepting the butterbeer he ordered for her. "Have you seen my dad around?" she asked honestly hoping that his answer would be no. After all, he was not the person Alice came to see.

"It's nice to see you again. How has your life been lately?" she asked aware that she needed some catching up to do with James.

((Feel free to invite Mr. Dolohov if you'd like him to take part.))

"I'm here nearly every night," James replied, spinning in his stool to face her, "It's my favorite way to wind down after Quidditch practice, and you never know what gossip you may hear."

James paused to take a sip of his own butterbeer. He was usually nursing some of the stronger stuff, but he felt an almost annoying obligation to set a good example for those younger than himself. He felt that drinking till he was red in the face right in front of Ms Longbottom was definitely not setting a good example.

"As for your father, no I haven't seen him," James said in answer to her second question, "I don't typically see him later in the evenings. I believe he probably has someone else covering the night shift. The man can't run the place 24/7 after all."

James lowered his voice and leaned in towards Alice, one hand covering the side of his mouth as if he were revealing a great secret, "To be honest with you, it's a bit of a relief. 'Ol boy has a hard time deciphering between the different kinds of liquors. Plants seem to be his thing more than pubs."

James backed away, chuckling. He loved the man to death, but Neville was still a bit awkward about some things.

"As for how my life has been lately..." James mused, "Well, let us just say that it has been interesting."

(Will do!)

"I can only imagine" said Alice rolling her eyes at his comment about the gossip. Although she was sure that this place could never compare to Hogwarts. Gossips there spread like wildfire and they can be set off by the slightest things. I guess that's what you get in a school filled with hormonal teenagers. There was so much drama that Alice enjoyed getting out of there from time to time for her sake of her own sanity.

"Oh yeah, that would make sense. Either way, that might be for the best in fact. I'm sure he wouldn't enjoy seeing me here. We....aren't in best terms right now" she confessed. After the whole fiasco in Hogwarts, her dad managed to keep a distance from her. Showing only how much he was still angry and disappointing at her. But all she could do now was wait for him to forgive her or forget at least.

Alice chuckled at the image of his father clumsily trying to discover the difference between wine and whiskey. "Well he was never good at things like that. Mum is a lot better though. I'm sure she runs the place when it comes to the drinks" she said still giggling.

"Oh I didn't tell you James! I I got in the Hufflepuff Quidditch team this year! I tried out for Chaser and I got in. Lily had been helping me to get in shape for this season in fact." she said with an enthusiastic grin on her face. Despite her fears, she couldn't wait to play her first game as a member of the team. She loved Quidditch and being a part of it was something really special. "And hopefully I won't fall flat on my face during my first game" she said with a teasing chuckle, but she did mean what she had said.

"Do you think you have a good team for this season. I know you changed a few players" said Alice curiously as she has always been fascinated by James' Quidditch skills since she was a little girl.

OOC: Present as requested!

"Damn it boy you can't hold the glass like that!", was the first thing Andrei heard coming from the kitchen. It was his first week on the job and the head chef was not giving him any room to breathe. He didn't even realize before that there were so many things he couldn't do in this job without proper training, even simple as holding a glass right. Since there was no time to waste on training, the learning had to be done on the way.

Andrei grasped the glass as showed before and carefully pored the mixture of vodka and juice inside making an often requested cocktail. He grinned as he finished his masterpiece and presented it to the chef. He on the other hand was not so thrilled. With a simple nod and a growl, he sent Andrei on his way back to the bar. "That will have to do. Now go see if there are any guest needed to be served. People are probably dying from thrust as you figure out how to pour a drink in a cup", said the man grumpily.

With a nod of his head and a flash, he found himself back at the bar. The chef was right, he had missed a lot of guests during his little lecture in bartending. What he didn't expect however was to see Alice Longbottom there. He looked again just to make sure, and there she was, sitting at a table with some man surely older than her. Her dad did own the place, but it wasn't somewhere Andrei would expect to see her. Still, he was glad that she came and especially glad that her father was no where around.

He took his notepad and approached the table. "Would you be needing anything else, Miss Longbottom?", he asked with a sly grin as he placed his hand just behind her neck. He knew that would startle her and he wanted to see the expression on her face after his surprise. "I can be very obliging", he said with his tone lowered a bit. Although there was no need to since her parents weren't around and he didn't count the man sitting in front of her as a potential threat more likely just an old friend.

"Congratulations!" James cried when Alice told him the news of her recent goal in making the Hufflepuff team, "I'm sure you'll do grand. Give my little sister a run for her money."

James began to explain about the new beater who had joined their team, when a young man approached them. James eyes widened a bit at the familiarization the boy showed towards Alice, but his incredulous look turned into a smirk when he realized that this must be that Slytherin boy Hannah had been raging about. James personally saw no problems with the pairing. Yes, the boy's father had done terrible things, but James understood very well what it was like to live under the name of your father. Andrei probably even had it tougher than James did because of the fact that his father was well-known for much less noble reasons than James' own father.

"Ah," James said suddenly, "You must be the Dolohov kid Alice's parents were telling me about."

James laughed and winked at Alice, "Don't worry. You're secret's safe with me."

Alice listened with curiosity about James' new team member until she was interrupted by someone's touch. She flinched and turned her head around quickly, wondering who might it be. When she saw it was Andrei she couldn't help but chuckle. He would surprise her like that on purpose, just to see how she would reach. Hearing his words made her feel a bit embarrassed. They were only teasing of course, as Andrei was the type to say such things. But as it was said in public and in the presence of James as well, she couldn't control her emotions well and her cheeks went slightly red.

She noticed James' chuckle which was a true relief. Thankfully, it seemed that he wouldn't read too much into this. Besides, acting like that protective father type wouldn't suit him anyway. Not that he had to be protective about anything in the first place. They were just friends, that's all. She rolled her eyes when he said her parents were speaking of him. Of course, why wasn't she surprised with that. She genuinely believed that her parents were taking these things way out of proportion and are now getting involved with things they shouldn't be. Privacy existed only in other worlds it seems, as even her parents would chatter away and gossip about her boy friend like teenagers.

"You shouldn't listen to my parents, they like to blow things out of proportion. Even have a strong imagination as it seems" she said rolling her eyes. "But yes, Andrei works here as a bartender now. I hope they were pleasant with you, I can only imagine to what torture device my father must have put you through. Come join us! Take a seat" she said with a smile, turning her head back to Andrei. "There's no secret James. We are friends. I would hardly call that a secret worth hiding" she said assuring him. Which was in some way at least true, but in most a complete lie.

His smile turned into a soft playful chuckle as her cheeks turn red. It was quite remarkable how easily she would get embarrassed from the smallest things. Then again she was shy, that was her nature. Andrei on the other hand was not. He enjoyed playing games, flirting and making girls blush. It showed quite quickly that Alice was his easiest target yet. Perhaps he could calm down the games for now, at least while they were in the Leaky Cauldron.

"Andrei, Andrei Dolohov. Pleasure to meet you. And you are?", he asked putting out his hand and shaking the man's in front of him. When he heard that he knew Alice's parents, well that changed a lot. He had enough problems with them already. Her dad didn't trust her and her mother thinks he's nothing but trouble. Not that he blamed them, those things were all true. But unless they trusted him, or at least didn't intend to kill him, his plan will be very hard to achieve. He needed to catch her family off guard, and by then of course it would be too late. Alice would fall into his net of schemes just as he planned. This meant being on his best behavior tonight. "Hopefully, you haven't hear too many terrible things about me then", he said with a chuckle. Alice's parents didn't hide their opinion of Andrei and he didn't expect them to do so now either.

"Oh so I'm a secret now?", asked Andrei with his eyebrows playfully raised at Alice. He let out a laugh and shook his head at the young man. "I would hope I'm not. As she said, Alice is a good friend of mine. Which is probably one of the reasons I got this job in the first place. And one of the reasons why I'm also not the most popular person in her family", he said with his usual smirk. "Oh I'd love to but I am on the clock right now", he explained to Alice. Slacking off would surely not be appreciated by the owner, especially if it's for having a drink with his daughter.

"Ah, well, parents will be parents," James said with a chuckle, "They can be a bit over-protective sometimes."

James reclined, taking another sip of his butterbeer. The boy seemed nice enough to him, so James couldn't understand why Hannah had been so upset at Alice's interest in him. He had advised her not to blow it too far out of proportion, as children will do things for the sole purpose to rebel against their parents. James had half-jokingly told Hannah to welcome Andrei whole-heartily, thus removing the 'forbidden fruit' factor from the equation. It seems the advice must have fallen on deaf ears, judging by the reaction of the kids.

"Perhaps it's not a secret, however I shall still refrain from mentioning anything to Hannah. Besides...she'd be wondering what you were doing out of the Hogwarts castle and coming up to the Cauldron."

James looked sideways at Alice, covering a grin with his beer mug. James had a suspicious feeling that Alice had not wandered into the Cauldron by some mere whim. Looked like he had a budding romance taking form right beneath his nose.

((Ugh, sorry. Got a pretty bad case of writer's block.))