Getting a drink

Tristan walked into the Leaky Cauldron wanting to have a nice stiff drink. He ordered a fire whiskey and sat down in the corner of the room at an empty table. He looked around the room just looking for a familiar face but he didn't find any. Tristan wanted someone to talk to but didn't know if he should get up and join another table. He stayed where he was hoping that someone would just join him for the heck of it.

If Astoria had been muggle they might have called it a mid-life crisis, but as it was she was most definitely a pure blood witch and it was called nothing. Her husband told her little about what he did most days, her children had their own lives, and Astoria had nothing. The manor was run by her in-laws, so she didn't even have housework to supervise. She dressed casually one evening and headed to the Leaky Cauldron, hoping for anything to liven up the day.

Astoria approached the bar and ordered a fire whiskey--she normally drank only wine or champagne, but she was in the mood for something with a kick to it. She took her drink and turned toward the room. It wasn't crowded and there were only two or three tables occupied, most with more than one person. One table, however, only had one person at it. The man was young, good looking, and seemingly bored. A fun target, Astoria thought with a small smirk.

"Mind if I join?" she asked, already reaching a hand out to pull out a chair.

Tristan looked up and saw the woman who asked him if she could join him. "Yes of course." He said looking at the woman. He leaned back into his chair as he sipped on his drink watching her carefully. "What's your name miss?" He asked her smiling softly.

Miss. Astoria sighed a bit at that. She hadn't been called miss in years. Always Ma'm or Mrs. Malfoy. She was rarely even called Astoria anymore. She pulled out the chair and sat, taking a long sip of her drink after doing so.

"Astoria." She said simply, trying to forget momentarily her last name and her connections. "And yours?" She prompted, nodding toward the man.

"Tristan." He said smiling at the woman. "What is a beautiful woman like yourself doing here?' Tristan wanted her to feel comfortable.

Astoria raised an eyebrow at his beautiful comment, but managed to keep what would have been a full on blush from turning her red. Her cheeks did pinken slightly as she shrugged at his question.

"Boredom? I suppose that would be the simplest answer." She said honestly, taking another sip of her drink. "And you? Handsome fellow like you must be waiting on someone." She wasn't feeling like herself tonight. She didn't normally flirt--she was married after all--and she was normally far more reserved and a bit snobby.

"No i'm not waiting on anyone. I just needed a drink. Work was kinda hectic today so i came here to unwind and relax." Tristan smiled at her noticing that she went a little pink on her cheeks.

"And what's work?" She was asking a lot of questions, but she didn't know they guy at all and she was a naturally curious person. "Let me guess," she said quickly, leaning forward with one hand held loosely around her glass, "You're rather young looking, but you look like the Ministry type. A lower level official? An Unspeakable, perhaps?" She asked with a smile. It was a random guess and probably way off target, but it was better than the straight question answer session they had been having.

Tristan smiled and said, "No Astoria. That was a good guess though. I do work for the ministry but I'm not a unspeakable. I'm an Auror." He looked at her wondering what her reaction would be when he said that.

Astoria drank some more of her drink before responding. Aurors were not exactly on the list of acceptable people in the Malfoy family. She licked her lips slightly and swallowed, thinking before she spoke.

"An auror, huh? I was off by more than a bit. I suppose I should work on my guessing skills," she said with a laugh, "That takes quite a bit of work to achieve." She observed with a smile.