"Shouldn't you be with your friends?" "There's a problem with your premise"

Students were moving around her, and the good bye she had offered Christian was still trapped in her throat. Ace Longbottom was actually a slight girl, if anyone bothered to stop and squint at her. She was almost lanky, despite the fact that she wasn't tall enough to be described as lanky. But what she lacked in bulk, she made up for in determination. The girl had her feet firmly planted on the ground, and couldn't have been knocked down by a giant.

But today, she felt hollowed out and empty, as though she could be picked up by the wind and tumbled down the path. Of course, the second she felt someone's eyes on her, the large orbs attached to the wispy frame of Clementine Lovegood, she gathered her ire and filled herself back up with that heavy spirit she had spent her entire life carrying around. She was fine. She had no idea what she was supposed to do now, no idea where she would go, but she wasn't going to wait for the wind to take her away - or worse, someone to talk to her.

She made her way down the path, a face in the crowd, completely ignored now that she wasn't in step with someone who people actually liked to reach out to. Last year, she had made these trips alone. Of course, last year, she had only gone to Hogsmeade once, preferring instead the quiet of the castle and the permission to focus on her OWL exams instead. She might have skipped the trips this year in the hopes of focusing on more important issues, but Christian had reminded her that they were useless if they weren't well rested, and part of that meant getting out of the castle and stretching her legs.

So maybe it was because his reasoning had wriggled its way into her, or maybe it was because he'd think it had something to do with him if she skipped the first half of the trip... but she gathered her nerves and made her way into the village.

The Three Broomsticks was out - way too many people. And something about the Hog's Head didn't seem right. Her stomach was growling and she had some coins in her pocket. She headed towards Bigz, thinking she could kill time by focusing on a meal.

She pushed her way and almost withdrew immediately. The restaurant was empty save for one lone figure - her Headmaster. She met his gaze for less than a second before she tore it away, looking towards the counter. She ordered a small personal pizza and drummed her fingers along the counter, before awkwardly taking a seat at one of the many empty tables, elbow on the tabletop, chin resting heavily in the cradle of her palm. Her eyes rolled towards the Headmaster once more, and he must have felt her gaze because his eyes met her once more. And her eyes were back to studying her feet.

Because how could she talk to her Headmaster when she could barely talk to her best friend?

Her order was called out and she lurched to her feet, hurrying over to take up her pizza and fill up a drink. She once again looked around at the restaurant...

She lifted her chin a little and stopped in front of Headmaster Hayes' table. "Hello, Headmaster. Are you... Could I sit?"

*

Keiran didn't love the idea of having to chaperone for the Hogsmeade weekend trip, but he wasn't going to make the other professors take turns if he himself did not. Transfiguration essays could be graded later, and perhaps while he was out he could pick up a few things for the kids. He was in the middle of thinking up which treats from Honeydukes would be alright for the twins when he passed by the pizza place. Keiran could not remember the last time he'd actually eaten pizza of any sort, and it looked pretty empty. So he ducked inside and took a bit of time to order before sinking into a booth.

He was about to pull out a text he'd been using for his book research when the door opened and one of the Hufflepuff students walked in. Something wasn't right. Keiran knew that immediately. But it took a second for him to place the difference. Or, rather, the absence.

Where was the other one? The boy?

Keeping his questions - and his gaze - to himself, Keiran turned back to his meal, flipping through the pages, only to be interrupted again. He looked up, half expecting her to ask a question or something about Transfiguration. He did not expect what she actually asked, though.

Still, it was rare that he actually spoke to the students in a non-classroom setting, particularly now that he was the Headmaster. It was oddly lonesome, despite his kids and his friends when they visited. So he paused long enough to close his book before gesturing to the other side of his booth.

"Sure. If you want to," he nodded. "I'll admit I'm surprised, though. Anything you need to talk about?"

For a girl who already had problem getting along with her classmates, getting caught eating with the Headmaster was probably the last thing she needed. Especially since everyone still seemed to look at her as though she was one mood swing away from telling about the Valentine's Day Party - as though telling on them days later would do any good. Seriously, the other sixth years could be self involved to a point that threatened absolute stupidity.

"Thanks," she said, sliding into the seat and setting her pizza and drink down, immediately reaching for a few napkins and the parmesan cheese shaker. Maybe if she acted like getting lunch with Headmaster Hayes was no big deal, it would take on a casual air? Rather than an awkward one? Because that's what it was. Awkward. Really awkward.

Oh dear.

"I just thought it'd be weird to sit five tables away by ourselves in an empty restaurant," Ace said, focusing on her pizza as she sprinkled cheese over it. Her tone was overly casual, and not quite convincing because of it.

She had thought of telling on them. That was what she hated most about all of those suspicious scowls. They weren't wrong. The second she had seen her friends, and she was stretching to even make that plural, and realized that people had gone actively out of their way to keep her in the dark, she wanted nothing more than to shut it down, shut them down. And not just for her own satisfaction, but also because this was a bloody school not a frat house, or wherever they had parties. She had felt justified and in need of vindication. She wanted to tell. She so wanted to.

But even Ace got tired of being against everyone sometimes.

"Do you like being Headmaster?" Ace asked, raising her head curiously. "I mean, was it like... a dream of yours? Or is it just something you do?"