started with a bang;; beth

[louis bill weasley]

Weekends were easily Louis' favorite time of the week. There were no classes to attend, no work to attend to right away and there was always something exciting going on around the campus. Be it a Quidditch match to watch or a wizarding chess competition, there was always something to do. Louis, being the sort of guy that he was, loved to have things to do. He was very outgoing and liked to find himself involved in all sorts of activities. However, today Louis was simply making a trip over to Hogsmeade for the rest of the day. He didn't have anything in particular going on, so it seemed like a fairly good place to go. There were plenty of different stores there, all of which would have something of interest there to look at, so Louis was rather excited. He usually was too busy to spend any quality time there in Hogsmeade, so today was a perfect day for it.

Usually, he would have picked up some friends to go with him, but he didn't see anyone around the commons room on his way down, so he settled for going down to the town on his own. It was a fairly cold day out, so he was comfortably dressed in a sweater with a scarf wrapped around his neck. Padding up the stairs to the Great Hall, Louis had a grin on his face as he walked through the hallways. It was very rare for Louis to be seen without a smile, since he was known to be quite the friendly sort, so this wasn't at all out of the ordinary for him. He gave a friendly wave to the people that he recognized and slipped out of the castle. It was a perfect day to be outside, making Louis even more thankful that he had the rest of the afternoon off to explore the town and shop for this and that.

It wasn't that far of a walk to get from the castle to the town, so Louis was perfectly happy to do just that. He liked being outside in the fresh air, even if he wasn't usually that big of a sports guy. It was peaceful and he loved being out in it. Reaching the small town, another large grin passed Louis' face as he looked about, not at all sure what he wanted to do with his time. There were so many different shops with any number of different things to look at, so Louis didn't even know where to start. He was a fairly lenient sort when it came to what he liked to do, so sometimes it made him a little indecisive at times like this. However, he didn't mind it at all. After all, he had plenty of time so it wasn't like he had to rush through certain places and could just go about wherever he wanted.

As he walked along the sidewalk, the first place that caught his attention was Honeyduke's. It was, quite possibly, his favorite store in the entire town. Louis definitely had a bit of sweet tooth, so it was no surprise that he stopped in there first. There were so many different sorts of candies that Louis found it impossible not to have a wide, toothy grin on his face as he started to sort through the shop. As he looked through the different bins of sweets, Louis grabbed a few things here and there, placing them in a bin so he could check out when he was ready. At that point, he was buying not just for himself, but also for different members of his family and some of his friends. He had a bad habit of overbuying when it came to Honeyduke's and so ended up sharing with everyone. Of course, that wasn't something that he could be too upset about. After all, it was Honeyduke's.

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[bethany]

The weekend, finally! Beth, in an uncharacteristic fashion, was extremely happy for classes to have been let out and to have no Ravenclaw Quidditch match this weekend. Normally happy with her classes, and with her team, this week she just couldn't seem to focus and chalked it up to not getting enough time to herself. One to prize her time alone, Bethany felt that any time she got this week was breached by friends and others who didn't seem to understand the concept of personal time. In fact, the only time she could remember having to herself was when she made her morning jog around campus, but she was always alone during that. After all, who liked getting up early to exercise before classes everyday? Well, besides her that is. Smiling to herself on behalf of her good luck, Beth pondered what to do on a day that she had completely to herself. It didn't take long for her to decide that Hogsmede was the perfect place to visit. Who didn't like roaming the stores and sitting down with a warm butterbeer afterward? Therefore, her mind was made up.

After bundling up in a black jacket and black scarf - one guess as to what her favorite color was - Beth made her way down the path from Hogwarts to Hogsmede. On her way there she saw a few people she knew through Quidditch and hung around just long enough for some pleasantries before continuing on her way. None of her friends were planning on going today as some had a ton of homework to finish and others weren't feeling quite up to it. Needless, Bethany was happy to be going, it would give her a chance to completely relax and "detox" in a sense from the stress of the week. The next two weekends I have matches, as well, she thought. I won't get much time to myself between those, homework and practice. Arriving at the town, Beth let a small smile grace her features for a moment. It was interesting enough just watching people bustle from store to store, some holding sweets and others holding packaged goods in their hands.

Moving along the sidewalks, Beth wandered for a little, more window shopping than anything else. It was great just to be outside, even if it was slightly chilly today. She never liked the warm humid air that came with summer. Shoving her hands in her pockets she entered a small local bookshop by the name of Tomes and Scrolls. Whenever she was in town, she somehow found her way here to browse the latest titles in wizard literature and see if anything interesting would come her way. Often times, she left the bookstore with numerous books tucked under her arm, only to have her finish them within the next week at school. Today, to her great shock and surprise, she found nothing of consequence. Exiting the store, she wandered along until she came to the entrance of, possible, the greatest store ever.

Now, a Ravenclaw she may be, but that did not mean her favorite stores had to be stuffed with books, oh no. Honeyduke's was her favorite store to be in. You see, Beth has a sweet tooth and loves anything that has to do with chocolate and candy. Eyes wide with glee, Bethany browsed down the rows of sweets, eying her favorites and leaning in for a closer look at ones she had never tried before. Licorice wands, chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes, bottles of sweet pumpkin juice...Beth could feel her stomach growling. Well that's great, I'm in a sweet store and I'm hungry. So engrossed in her musings, it surprised her when she looked up and saw she had nearly walked into someone. Backing up, Beth laughed a little. "Uh, hey there. Sorry for almost walking into you, guess I need to pay a little more attention to where I'm walking, and a little less attention on the sweets."

[louis bill weasley]

It was nearly impossible for Louis to simply walk into Honeyduke's, grab a few things, and walk out. He found the sheer variety of sweets that they had to be absolutely astounding and admittedly, it was pretty difficult not to want to just browse about the shop and look at all the little things that they had invented. There was always a pretty good chance that if you're in Honeyduke's, you'll find something new that you've never seen before. They were always inventing and coming up with new, interesting and sometimes downright exciting things that Louis was happy to investigate and try out. He was the kind of guy that rarely lost his fascination with the world around him and even the little things could capture his interest and hold it for quite some time.

Bending down at one of the displays to look at the new series of chocolates that they were producing in the shape of famous wizarding figures from the past, Louis couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Sometimes, the things that they came up with were just too much. This bunch were all in the shape of heads and each was charmed to talk, rattling off quotes from the various figures. Definitely, some of his Ravenclaw friends might get a kick out of it, so Louis added that to the growing pile of things that he would be taking back to the castle with him. Moving to get back up, his attention swiveled around when he heard someone coming up towards him and then apologizing a bit for nearly running into him. Of course, it was probably his own fault for being down there on the ground, so he felt that he probably should have been the one apologizing.

Straightening himself up, a bright smile came to his face when he saw who he had come across. "Beth! Hey!" he said, greeting her with an excited grin. The fact that she had been apologizing to him now seemed utterly ridiculous, considering he was actually pretty decent friends with the girl. She could be a bit of a book-a-holic sometimes, but they were able to just chill out together and they got along rather fantastically. "No need to apologize, yeah? My fault for being down there where you couldn't see me," he nodded, chuckling a bit as he spoke. While he was fine being on his own for the most part, Louis far preferred being in the company of friends and family. Especially when it was someone that he was able to click with well, Louis definitely loved to have people around.

Stretching his arms out to relax his muscles from carrying around his ever expanding basket of sweets, Louis looked over at Beth with a smile. "It's a bit hard to keep attentive with all this around. Can't ever get enough of this place," he said, shaking his head a bit in amazement. He was glad that Beth was in agreement with him on that point, since he was sure there was a number of people that thought he was just a crazy nut for being as fascinated as he was by Honeyduke's. "Hey, you want to grab a few things and go out for awhile or somethin'? You can just add them to my basket, since I've got a pretty bulk purchase here," he offered, quite hoping that she'd accept. He didn't have any plans for the rest of the day, so it would be nice to have someone to spend some time with, at least for a bit.

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[bethany]

Bethany always felt like a little kid in a...well, like a kid in a candy store whenever she came into Honeyduke's. All the smells and brightly colored candies made her feel really happy and bubbly, and besides, who couldn't resist a little sugar? All the yummy treats in the store made her want to buy the whole thing, but the money in her pocket told her she would have to settle for a few small things. Picking up a licorice wand, Beth continued to wander up and down the store, checking out and admiring some of the newest candy she had seen.

When the boy stood up, Bethany immedietly recognized him. A grin spread itself on her face. "Louis! Didn't recognize the back of your head there," Beth said, feeling a little silly for acting like she was meeting a stranger right there. Then again, this was Louis and she thought she couldn't have had better luck. If it was one person who could brighten her day, it was him. He always seemed so happy and he always had a smile on. "How's it goin'?" Tilting her head to glance at the shelf he had just been observing, Beth looked over at him. "You find anything good? I'm always up for new sweets." Knowing him, he had probably hunted and searched for the best and could only guess that he had something good stacked up in that basket of his.

Browsing the rack he had been looking at her eyes alighted on her favorite sweet in possibly the whole world. They were a set of 3 chocolate golden snitches, chocolate wings fluttering lightly inside their case. They were enchanted to fly, albeit a little slower than the actual snitch when released from their small box. Hollow on the inside, they were filled with a variety of different flavors. No flavors as revolving as earwax or vomit as found in the Every Flavor Beans however. These ones were filled with pineapple, strawberry and apricots. Yum. If if was one thing she liked more than chocolate it was fruit. All kinds, too. Strawberries, pineapple, mango, peach, apricot...When the two were together, Beth could die happy. Her stomach gave another rumble and Beth reached out and grabbed one of the packs of three for herself.

"I know what you mean, it's like - what do the muggles call it? - the 'Disneyland' of sweets." And it most certaintly was. She could remember her first trip there and how she had nearly blown all her money on the goods inside. Of course, her run the next morning was not a fun one, but it was way worth it. Beth smiled back at him, happy that she had managed to run into him (no pun intended). Although she liked Hogsmede when by herself, it always seemed better when you wandered the two with a friend or two. She nodded at him. "Yeah, that sounds great! Hogsmede isn't the same without a friend." Bethany smiled as she removed her small change purse from her jacket pocket. "Let me just get out a few sickles for you." Removing a few of the silver coins, she handed them over to Louis. "Here you are, should be enough to cover mine."

[louis bill weasley]

When he realized that it was Bethany there, Louis' head bobbed a bit in excitement. "Aha, yeah. I guess I look a bit different from back there," he chuckled, not at all insulted that she hadn't recognized him. Some people might have been, but Louis was hard to get angry. He was chill for most of the time and really, the only times that he got riled up were when people were pulling something with his family. "I'm doin' good though. Just figured it was time for a break from studies and stuff and well, this is always the perfect place to be," he said with a shrug, smiling over at Beth as he spoke. Of course, if ever there were a place to take the perfect break at, Honeyduke's would be it. It was practically impossible not to be put in a good mood when hanging around a place full of the most interesting sweets you could find.

Holding up his basket for Beth to take a look, he nodded in response to her question. "Yeah, found some pretty cool stuff this time around. These look like something some of the Ravenclaws might get a kick out of," he said, offering one of the packages for her to look at. The one that he handed her was shaped to resemble the face of none other than Harry Potter, which Louis was quite amused by. It was always weird for the boy to see things like that, since to him, that was just Uncle Harry. "They're pretty funny, I thought," he nodded, laughing a bit as he looked down at the chocolate head. He couldn't tell what it was saying, but he was sure that it was some famous quote from his uncle or something else to that effect.

Grinning at her comment, he nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, definitely. Disneyland. Always wanted to go there. You know, we should definitely go someday. I bet that'd be fun," he suggested, quite intrigued by the thought. He'd never really gotten to go travel about the world and see all the different places that he heard about and if he were to choose a place to go, that would definitely be in his top ten list. True, he couldn't quite apparate yet, but perhaps he could convince one of his elder cousins to take them on a vacation. Louis was all about having a good time and a vacation off to the States would definitely fall under the category of fun. Besides, being around Hogwarts all the time could get to be a bit dull if you weren't constantly doing something to keep in interesting.

When she tried to hand him the sickles, Louis gave her an almost insulted look, though it was more playful than anything. "Please, as if I'd actually let a pretty girl pay for anything while I was around," he commented, shaking his head a bit. Before she could protest overmuch, Louis turned to head over towards the register and set his basket, along with Beth's choice of sweets down. Reaching into his back pocket, he took out enough sickles to pay for the basket and waited until he had his back full of sweets ready to go. "Alright than, I'd say we're quite ready for an adventure now. Where to?" he asked, a goofy, excited look on his face. There was always something going on around Hogsmeade to take part in and he definitely couldn't wait to go walk around and just have a good time for awhile.

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[bethany]

“Me too! I just needed to get away from the castle for a little bit. Besides, I’m not going to get to come here next weekend at all.” Just thinking about the Quidditch games got her adrenaline pumping. Although she knew she would be working overtime between the games, practice and her schoolwork, Beth thrived when she had things to do. Just like any other Ravenclaw, when faced with work, she focused completely in that and got her work done quickly and efficiently. Besides, she loved being on the team and loved feeling the wind on her face as she rode her broom around the pitch. Nothing could even come close to how she felt whenever she scored a goal for the Ravenclaw team.

Beth took the package from him, turning it in her hands and examining it with a curious look on her face. Looking at the face, she recognized it as none other than Harry Potter. Everyone knew who he was, the one who had defeated the Dark Lord in the last wizard war. Listening to the head rattle off famous quotes, Beth snickered. She eyed the other heads on the shelf and noticed other famous wizards and could only imagine what kind of information they were spitting out at people. Smiling, she handed the head back to Louis. “Those are pretty cool, I’m sure the other Ravenclaws' will find them just as amusing.” Tilting her head to the side, Bethany put two and two together, almost having forgotten this for a moment. “Wait a minute, aren’t you related to him somehow?” Beth questioned, pointing to the head. She could have sworn that HarryPotter had married the Weasley girl.

Beth nodded, her smile growing. “We totally should, it would be a great time.” Hanging out with friends in an amusement park? What could be better! Not to mention the fact that she would be able to see part of the world. Seeing as she still couldn’t apparate, Beth was chained to England. She had always wanted to go and visit other places, but never got the opportunity to do so. Being the chill person she is, Beth would have settled for wandering the streets of a foreign city, enjoying the difference in scene, food and culture. Bethany was curious about America. Was it really as great as everyone said, or would she be begging to head back home after a week?

Beth opened her mouth to protest, then decided against arguing and shut her mouth. It was useless to argue with Louis, he would just insist and Bethany knew he was just that nice of a person to offer to pay for her things for her. Shaking her head slightly while smiling, Bethany replaced the sickles back into their places along with the few galleons and knuts in her possession. Beth followed Louis to the register and leaned against the counter as the stuff was sold to Louis. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Louis,” Beth said, laughing slightly and smiling broadly. “Thank you very much.” It was very kind of him and Bethany was grateful for the great friends she did have.

“Well, if it’s adventure you’re after, perhaps the Shrieking Shack is calling our names.” Beth said, lifting up one finger. “However, I think I hear a butterbear and a sandwich calling my name at the Three Broomsticks. Maybe they’ll have some up-and-coming band there. How about you?” Beth asked, before adding in a bribing tone. “I’ll buy because you paid for the sweets.” Her stomach had been increasingly protesting her lack of food. Smiling at Louis, she really didn’t care which one he chose, she was just happy to be hanging out with a person just as go-with-the-flow as she was. There were a lot of people who condemned her chill-ness.

[louis bill weasley]

Tilting his head to the side a bit, Louis gave Beth a questioning look. To him, it was a bit odd to think that there might be a weekend where someone didn't go to Hogsmeade. He knew that he was there himself at least once a week, if not more. He liked being out around the town, since it was just a fun place to be and there was always something new or fun to take part in. "What've you got going on next weekend that you can't make it here?" he asked, quite curious as to the reason. He assumed that it probably had something to do with schoolwork or maybe a club that had a meeting. Though, perhaps Beth was just meeting up with someone for a date or something. That wasn't too far out of the question, as far as Louis was concerned.

A light grin appeared on Louis' face when she looked at the chocolates that he had picked up and seemed to approve of them. "Brilliant, I'll definitely have to take some back for them than. I'm sure what with all the studying you kids do, they could use the pick me up," Louis nodded. He knew that not all the Ravenclaws were like that, but he could definitely name a few of them that needed to get out more and have a good time. So, Louis did what he could to bring them around and cheer them up, or relieve the stress that they were feeling. If a little bit of chocolate could make a difference, than Louis was more than happy to give it a shot. He was the kind of guy that just liked to keep the school smiling, even if he didn't know everyone or necessarily talk to them all that often.

Chuckling, Louis dropped his head for a moment before nodding. He didn't mind that people knew who his uncle was and generally regarded him as something of a celebrity, but sometimes it was a little weird. He saw his uncle as just another guy, so it could be a bit of a weird experience at times. "Yeah, he's my uncle. My dad's sister married him," he nodded. He loved his family more than anything, that was for sure. There was always someone around that was a part of the family, since he had more cousins than he could even count most of the time. He got along pretty well with the majority of them and definitely liked to have the group of them around. There certainly wasn't ever a dull moment when the rest of the clan was around.

Louis was definitely pleased by the fact that Beth just accepted and went along with the fact that he was offering to pay for her sweets. He grinned back at her when she commented on it, giving her a slight shrug of amusement. "I do what I can, I do what I can," he chuckled, flipping his hair back in a jokingly cocky manner. He nodded at her thanks and turned around, handing her the chocolate that he had gotten her. Moving forward a bit, he dug around in his own bag full of sweets and picked out a simple bar of milk chocolate. Though he loved the variety that could be found there at Honeyduke's, there was no denying that sometimes just a simple, classic bite of milk chocolate was some of the best that you could get. Unwrapping it, Louis took a bit off the corner, a huge smile coming to his face as he ate. "That will never lose it's appeal," he said with an amused look.

The Shrieking Shack could be fun, no doubt, but Louis wasn't sure if that was exactly the sort of adventure he was looking for. The Three Broomsticks, however, definitely could work for him. It was about getting to be lunch time, so that wouldn't be so bad of an idea. "Yeah, I'm down for lunch at the Three B. I'm pretty sure it's karaoke day today, though. You up for singing a duet after we eat?" he asked, looking up at her with a goofy grin. Louis couldn't sing. At all. However, he loved having fun and if he happened to make a fool of himself while he did it, than that was totally fine by him. He wasn't all too fond of the idea of her paying, but he would leave that subject for now and just fix that up later when it came around to it. If he could.

Offering his arm to her, he grinned a bit and got ready to head over to their next location. "I'd say it's definitely a good day for a butterbeer and a sandwich. Shall we, than?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow as he spoke. It was this relaxed, laid back attitude that Louis loved to be around and made it that much easier for him to be around Beth. She was a cool cat, for sure and made Louis feel quite at ease with himself. Of course, he rarely felt uncomfortable around people, since he was pretty easy to keep happy, but he definitely felt a lot more relaxed around Beth. She didn't expect anything from him and that was nice sometimes. He could just be himself and act like a dork and she wouldn't have a problem with it at all.

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[bethany]

“Ravenclaw has got a match next weekend,” Beth said, shrugging her shoulders a little. “That means I’ve got more training to do with the rest of the team. Between that and whatever homework I get, I doubt I’ll be able to make it to Hogsmede.” Although it kind of bugged her that she wouldn’t get any time in the small village, Bethany was anxiously awaiting the game. She loved flying around the arena and scoring goals against the other team. There really was nothing like that feeling. “I wonder whom we are playing.” She said as an afterthought. Truthfully, it didn’t matter to her. Each team was just another rival, another team to fight against. She really didn’t have any particular grudge against any of the other Quidditch teams. If anything, she just got a little competitive during the games because, well, she liked when her team won. “Do you like Quidditch? I know you’re not on the Hufflepuff team but perhaps you only like going to the games?”

“Ah, so that is how you are related,” Bethany said, nodding her head slightly. “Must be kind weird, huh? Knowing that most of the wizard world sees him as a celebrity of some sort.” She couldn’t imagine having someone like that in her family. It would be way too public for her liking. Beth laughed a little after she spoke. “Though I suppose you already knew that, huh? Seems kind of silly hearing me point that out.” She herself had a small family, it was her two parents and her younger brother. She has often wondered what it would be like to have come from a large family. Would she have been as subdued and calm as she is now?

Beth laughed at Louis’s antics. It felt good being able to laugh without abandon. She reasoned that she had been spending far too much time with school work and not enough with her friends. Regardless of how anti-social she may seem at times, Beth really did like to hang out with friends. Many people felt that she was just a shy nerd, but in reality Beth just enjoyed relaxing and chilling when she got the chance. Taking the chocolate from him, Bethany contemplated having some right now, but ultimately decided against it. She would save it for after lunch. “I know what you mean,” Beth said, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Although different and new sweets were amazing in their own way, they couldn’t compare to just a solid block of chocolate. Or at least that is what he sweet tooth told her.

Beth’s smiled faltered slightly when he mentioned singing a duet. For one, she wasn’t the most outgoing person on the planet. In fact, she wouldn’t have been surprised if some people in her year didn’t know her name. For second, she couldn’t sing. Arts in general were not her thing, but she always supposed that to be her own fault. If she had put a little more time in, maybe she could have been a great singer, but Beth didn’t necessarily want that. She found that excelling in her classes was enough for her. Charms and Transfiguration were her favorite classes that she attended at school. “Karaoke, huh?” She bit her lip, contemplating how to best respond. She knew it was good to come out of your shell, she just wasn’t sure if singing in one of the busiest places in the village was the best idea. Then again, it wasn’t like she was alone. “Maybe I will, seeing as I’ll have a friend up there singing with me.”

Beth pocketed her chocolate and took the offered arm, smiling at Louis. “We shall. Lead the way.” Hogsmede was still just as beautiful as it had ever been before. She still remembered the first time that she had walked to the town. Being a girl who came from the bustle of London, Bethany was struck by the laid-back nature the village seemed to have. Of course, below that façade lived a vibrant town fueled by its citizens and the Hogwarts students who came to visit. As time has passed, Beth has gotten to know the ins-and-outs of the village and knows shopkeepers by their first names. That in itself shows just how much time she likes to spend here when she gets the chance.


notes;; it’s a little shorter than I would have liked it

[louis bill weasley]

Quidditch. Louis had completely forgotten that the match was set for the next weekend, but definitely was now quite excited for it. He was a pretty big fan of the game, since a lot of his family had ties to it and he had always grown up playing every now and then. Nothing serious to the point where he'd be good enough to be a part of the team, but he always had a good time at least attending the matches. "Well, I'd say that's a pretty important task. Gotta make sure you do everything you can to win it, eh? Unless you're playing us, of course. Then you're free to take it easy," Louis said with a grin and a wink. Of course, he didn't expect her to take that one to heart, but he had to show some support for his house team. Of course, he'd definitely be supporting the Ravenclaws otherwise. Well, he supported anyone and everyone, usually, but that couldn't be helped.

Nodding excitedly at her question, Louis grinned in response. "Yeah, definitely. Big fan. Haven't missed a game yet, actually," he said with a proud nod. He didn't play, but he loved the excitement of the games and all the crowds hanging around, cheering and just generally having a good time. "I will certainly be there to cheer everyone on, whoever happens to be playing," he promised, definitely intending to keep that promise. He was the sort that would show up to the game decked out in all his supportive, cheering gear to help cheer for whichever team he was supporting that game. It was just a way to have fun and he loved the whole atmosphere of the game, especially from the side of the crowd. That was the best place to be, in his opinion, and he wouldn't have changed it at all.

Bringing his hand up to his neck, Louis rubbed at the back of it a bit nervously and nodded in response. It was definitely a weird situation sometimes, but he still didn't mind it all that much. He loved his uncle quite a bit and wouldn't have wanted the situation to be any different. "Yeah, I mean, sometimes. But, I guess it doesn't usually make too much of a difference. I don't exactly share the whole, red-headed Weasley thing, so aha, people don't recognize me much," he shrugged. There were times when random strangers accosted him to talk about his uncle or his parents or any number of relatives, but generally he was safe to walk down the streets without anyone coming up to him with strange questions or whatever else they could come up with.

Taking another nip from his chocolate bar, Louis shook his head in amazement. Chocolate was one of those things he just couldn't get enough of and he was quite glad that Beth understood just what he felt. "Mmm, this is why you're my favorite, eh? You don't think my chocolate obsessions are weird," Louis chuckled, looking over at Beth with an amused grin. "I mean, I guess there are other reasons too, but that's obviously the most important," he added with a serious nod before cracking another smile. It was pretty difficult for Louis to actually keep a serious face for any length of time, so it was pretty easy for people to tell when he was just joking around. He rarely was very mean anyways, so it wasn't like they could ever really seriously think he wasn't kidding.

There was no denying that Beth didn't seem all too pleased by the idea of going up on stage to do some karaoke, which he wasn't all too surprised by. Of course, he couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. It would be a lot of fun to karaoke and he'd love to have a partner up there with him. "Yeah, for sure. I'd be right there with you. We could sing something off the new Chasing Quaffles album, yeah?" he suggested with a grin. They were one of his favorite bands around at the moment and had some pretty upbeat tunes that were fun to dance and sing to like a crazy fool. Louis was pretty composed most of the time, but sometimes he loved to just let loose and be a bit silly sometimes. He was still a kid and that was what life was all about sometimes.

Louis inclined his head with a smile and started to lead them out of the store and off towards the Three Broomsticks. It was a nice day out, so the walk there was quite pleasant with a slight breeze passing through the town. Reaching the door to the Three Broomsticks, Louis pushed open the door and held it for Beth to enter in before him, letting it close behind them as they walked into the slightly crowded eatery. "Busy day today, huh? Must be some good karaoke going on," he commented with a laugh. As if there were such a thing as good karaoke. "Where do you want to sit?" he asked, looking over at Beth with a raised eyebrow. Though it was busy, there were still a good number of open tables that they could pick from to sit down at for their lunch.

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[bethany]

“Yeah, you got that right. I want to see Ravenclaw in the Championship game this year, for sure,” Beth said, her eyes lighting up. If it was one thing she was competitive about, it would have to be Quidditch. She really liked to excel and was always in a joyful and happy mood when they played well as a team. Bethany rolled her eyes jokingly at Louis. “Please, I have no mercy on the pitch, for Hufflepuff or any other team.” This was, in fact, rather true. Although a chill girl, Beth didn’t let herself be pushed around, especially during her Quidditch matches. If the other team thought she was going to be easy to get past, they had another thing coming. She always played her hardest during her matches and made sure to put her full effort into the game. If she didn’t, Beth felt that she let her team down. Normally an individual person, Beth really came through for her team and worked well with the others on the team. Then again, she is a girl of contradictions and, to her, it doesn’t seem weird in the slightest that she works well with a team on the field and tends to individualize herself during classes.

“I’ll say! Every game? Huge fan more like it. Your record is even better than mine, and I’m on a team,” She had missed some games this year for one reason or another. Not her own games, of course, but other matches. She was always sad whenever she had to miss a game, but homework comes first along with studying. A number of weekends this year already she had to abandon her Ravenclaw scarf in favor of a text book in order to study for upcoming tests or whatnot. It never really made her happy to do this, but it had to be done. And of course, the high marks on her tests made up for any sadness she may have felt over missing the game. “Great! We just get better with more cheering,” The more the crowd cheered and got riled up, the better the team seemed to do, at least that is how it was for Beth. It is like the team feeds off the positive energy and that gives them a boost to do even better than they have been.

“That makes sense,” Beth said thoughtfully. Now that she thought about it, the Weasley clan was quite large, wasn’t it? It was very different from her own family that consisted of her brother, parents and a few cousins. “What’s it like having a large-ish family?” Beth asked, turning a curious look on Louis. “I suppose I’ve always wondered, considering that I come from a small family.”

Bethany smiled and chuckled along with Louis. This was the best part of their friendship in her mind. They were both so comfortable around the other. They could joke around and not have to worry about pretenses or anything else. “Of course I don’t find your chocolate obsession weird, that would be like calling myself weird,” Beth responded, referring to her own sweet tooth. Anything chocolate always caught her attention. Psh, who needed all that healthy food like vegetables anyway? “Obviously that is important, just like the fact that I am awesome is important,” Bethany said, smiling as she said so.

Tilting her head to the side, Bethany pondered over whether or not she should give it a go. After all, there always had to be someone worse, right? And who really cared in the end? She would just be going up there with one of her friends to have a great time. When Louis mentioned one of her favorite bands, Beth’s face light up again. She listened to a lot of different music, but her favorites as of now included Nickelback (a muggle singer), SHINee (a Korean muggle group) and Chasing Quaffles. Their songs were very upbeat and easy to jog along to in the morning when she made her daily run around the grounds. Beth found herself listening to them more and more, an indication that she really enjoyed their music. “Yes, most definitely. I love them! Especially their new album, they have such great talent,” Beth said, nodding. “I suppose I could give the whole karaoke thing a try, carpe diem, right?” She might as well seize the day instead of regretting anything later, even if the regret was only not singing in the Three B’s one day.

“Thank you,” Beth said as she entered through the door Louis was holding for her. There were quite a few people here she recognized from Hogwarts and she wondered idly if any of them would be getting up to sing as well. Looking around, Beth’s eyes located a table not far off to the right that was situated next to a window. “Let’s sit over here,” she said, making her way from the entrance to the table she wanted. Shedding her jacket, Beth placed it on the back of her chair and sat down, eyes taking in the scene in front of her. “You’re right, there must be some good singing today. Either that or really terrible singing, some people like to watch the fails.”

[louis bill weasley]

It wasn't often that Louis felt as seriously competitive about something as most Quidditch players did about their games, but he certainly could appreciate their dedication to the game and to their team. To him, at least, it was an admirable quality to be as loyal to the game as many of them were and he wished that he felt the same drive about something as they did. "That would certainly be a game to see, eh? Maybe we'll have a Ravenclaw Hufflepuff showdown for once, yeah?" he said with a goofy grin. Most of the time, things like that didn't happen, but that didn't mean that it couldn't. On most occasions, the Hufflepuff team was severely underrated and he had confidence that they had just as much of a chance as any of the other teams out there to pull a victory away from one of the other teams that typically got more credit. "Of course not, of course not. We'll just have to win it on our own merit, eh?" Louis nodded. He never could ask someone to seriously throw a game, since he knew the amount of dedication that the teams put into it. No one that worked as hard as that deserved anything less than their best performance put forth on the field. As much as Louis wanted his own house to win, he'd never jeopardize the other houses chances to do their absolute best.

Shrugging a bit, Louis chuckled at her impressed look. He'd never really thought it was that impressive, since it seemed like everyone else probably went along with the numerous games as well. However, he supposed there were plenty of people that missed games for whatever reason, probably homework or studying. Sure, Louis liked to do well in class, but there were definitely times where he much preferred to hang out. He did well enough in classes that he could afford a few days of slacking to have some fun every now and then. "Yeah, well, what can I say? I have to have something to look forward to on the weekends, eh?" he said with a grin. Certainly, the games every weekend were something that anyone could look forward to. There was always so much excitement going on and he couldn't help but get caught up in it all and go to the games to cheer along with the rest of the crowd.

Louis had never really ever thought about what it was like to have a large family, though he supposed it was pretty cool. He loved his family more than anything, so of course he was glad that they were all around. "You know, it's pretty great. There's always someone around to help look after you and you don't really ever get lonely. Besides, makes for a good pickup match of Quidditch over holidays," Louis chuckled. It was weird to think that not everyone had as big of a family as he did, since it was something that was just natural for him. He'd never been without a large group of people around and he definitely couldn't picture it any other way. Maybe it was a little annoying sometimes to always have family about, but Louis loved it either way. "What's it like having a small family? Ever wish you had a ton more?" he asked with a curious look. He knew that a lot of people definitely didn't envy his ridiculously large number of family members, since they weren't all too fond of their own families, but he didn't get that at all.

Offering her another grin, Louis nodded at her response. There was no denying that being around Beth put him in a great mood. She was just fun to have around and he loved to be around her, especially on days like this where he was just chilling. He hadn't really been expecting much to happen, so now that he was having quite the enjoyable time he was more than happy. "Awesome? I don't recall anyone saying that one, aha," he said with a joking laugh. Of course he thought that Beth was pretty awesome, since he had a great time around her and generally loved being in her company. "But, I guess you're pretty cool," he conceded with a slight nod of his head. Even when joking around, he couldn't be all that mean for too long, it just wasn't in him.

To be honest, Louis wasn't sure if Beth would actually go along with the whole karaoke thing, since she was a bit more reserved and shy than he was. He didn't care if he looked like a complete doof in front of bunches of people, since it was all in good fun. However, when Beth started to light up at the mention of Chasing Quaffles, Louis figured that he probably had a shot. They were definitely a great band and all sorts of fun to listen to, so they most likely would be just as awesome to sing up on stage. "Yeah, for sure. It'll be the best fun," he promised, nodding eagerly. Honestly, he was pretty sure that it could easily be a total disaster, but that didn't mean that it wouldn't be fun. Perhaps it would be even more fun when they were terrible, since that was just hilarious. "Betcha we'll be the talk of the town after this one," he added, a bit of a smirk coming out on his face.

As the door closed behind them, Louis followed along with Beth to get to the table that she decided on. It was a bit off to the side, but still had a decent enough view of the stage that they'd set up towards the front of the bar for karaoke day. Pulling out his chair, he sat down and made himself comfortable, looking up to make sure that Beth was comfortable as well before he settled in and leaned forward. "I'm definitely partial to the fails myself. They try so hard," Louis chuckled, shaking his head slightly. It was possibly a bit mean to put it like that, but he couldn't help but find it hilarious. Louis frequented karaoke day at the Three Broomsticks whenever he could and had even come to know a group of them that came around. Admittedly, a lot of them were a bit older, but that didn't detract from the fun. Besides, there was always the rowdy, drunk crowd that showed up a bit later in the afternoon that was fun.

Glancing over to the side as the waitress came over to take their order, Louis shot her a charming grin. "Beth, you can order first. I'm still looking," he nodded, pulling his menu open to take a look. He wasn't all too hungry, but he definitely wanted something to snack on while they watched the karaoke going on. Somehow, now that they were there at the restaurant, Louis intended to find a way to get the check for himself, since he would have felt bad letting Beth pay. Even if he had bought the candy for them both, he still didn't think it would have been right to let her pick up the tab. Perhaps he was a bit of a traditionalist in that sense, but as the guy he felt that it was only right that he paid for things.

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[bethany]

“Yeah, that would be great, wouldn’t it? Hufflepuff is looking good this season.” All the teams were as far as she was concerned. It just made her want to be all the better, to give her team the edge they would need to win the game. “Then, once Ravenclaw wins, we can move onto the finals,” Bethany said solemnly, nodding her head. This, however, didn’t last long and she soon broke out into a small smile. Of course she was kidding around about undermining the Hufflepuff team. If it was one thing she knew, it was to never underestimate anyone. By getting cocky and With Quidditch, even more so with people, Bethany tried hard not to go off rumors and events but rather base her opinions off of personal experiences and interactions. It didn’t seem fair to anyone involved to judge based on house, or other factors that made people prejudiced against each other. “Yep, and from what I’ve seen of the Hufflepuff team, they are well on their way to having a great season.” She had no doubt that they would not need any kind of game handed to them. All the Quidditch players seemed very comfortable with their skills and that could only translate to positive team advantages.

Beth nodded as he answered her question. Yeah, the holidays must be fun. Everything she was imagining was much grander than any family party her family had. She imagined many different family recipes, with people bustling around the kitchen fixing everything up for Christmas Eve dinner. Other sat at tables and chatted with each other as laughter rang in the air. Of course, she told herself, that probably isn’t how it is. The only thing Bethany knew was a small, often downplayed Christmas. Every year they would gather as a family of four, sometimes with a couple cousins, and have a quiet dinner before splitting their separate ways to meditate, or in her case, read a new book. To her, a pickup Quidditch game sounded perfect. Beth pondered Louis’s question a moment before answering. “Well, you’re really close to everyone, and I think we get on each other’s nerves more that way. On the other hand, it gives you a deeper sense of privacy, y’know? For example, if I’m in my room, chances are people won’t bother me unless it’s absolutely necessary. Holidays tend to be a quiet affair, but that’s good for reflecting and chatting, right?” Had she ever thought about a large family? Ever wished it? Once again, she paused and tilted her head before responding. “Yeah, I have. I guess I’m just curious about how it would affect my personality. Would I be as I am now, or would things have been different?”

“In that case, I guess you’re kinda alright yourself,” Beth said, in response to Louis. “But don’t go getting a big ego know, that’s the last thing this school needs.” It was well known that Bethany didn’t tolerate large egos very well (especially if they were very obnoxious about it) and this should come as no big surprise to a friend like Louis. In many cases, these people seemed to seek her out if only to annoy her to no end.

“Aren’t we always, Louis? People just can’t seem to keep their noses out of our fabulous lives,” Bethany said, smiling. Her life pretty much remained under wraps, but then again, she never really wanted everyone in her business. She wasn’t known for being slightly anti-social for nothing. Beth nodded toward the stage, “Do you sign up over there then? Or do you just go up and sing?” Even mentioning the idea of singing brought butterflies to her stomach, but she figured it was better to just go up there. I suppose my voice isn’t that bad…

Bethany nodded, agreeing with Louis. “I personally like the undiscovered talents. Y’know, the person everyone thinks will fail actually does very well.” After a beat of pause, Beth spoke again, amending her previous statement. “Though I do like the fails as well, you’ve got to admire their courage.” Courage she wasn’t sure she had, but might as well see if it was hiding somewhere down inside of her. Looking over the crowd, her stomach flipped again. What was she getting herself into? The logical part of her brain told her she had nothing to be afraid of – she knew the words to practically every Chasing Quaffles song, and she trusted Louis when he said that she would have a good time. Stupid personality quirks.

“Alright,” Beth said, turning to the waitress. “This Greek chicken wrap and a butterbear, thank you.” Besides loving fruit, Bethany was also a fan of anything Mediterranean. Their food always seemed to be the best. And with the way her stomach was complaining, she really deserved a small lunch-ish type thing. Giving her the menu she was holding, Beth glanced over at Louis. “Have you decided yet?"

[louis bill weasley]

Louis chuckled a bit at her comment, knowing exactly where she was coming from with that one. The majority of the school didn't take the Hufflepuff house seriously, since they had the reputation of being the extremely nice, rather dim-witted, pushovers. Admittedly, there were a number of people in the house that helped to bring that reputation about, but Louis thought to think that they were much more different than that. Of course, that was a reputation years in the making and the efforts of just him attempting to change the situation probably were unlikely to yield any serious results fast, but that didn't stop him from trying. "Yeah, yeah. I think we could go pretty far this year. I mean, we're a little weak in some areas, but I've had some ideas that I've been meaning to pass on to the captain to see if they could help at all," Louis said with a bright nod. Even if he wasn't on the team, he was, at times, probably just as invested in the game as they were. The fact that he had come up with a few play ideas and other such things probably shouldn't have come at a surprise in the least. It was just part of his nature to notice things like that and attempt to give ways to fix them.

To be honest, Louis couldn't even imagine having a small family gathering for the holidays. He was so used to the loud, obnoxious days at the Burrow that anything else would have just been bizarre to him. A small smile brushed over his face at Beth's mention of no one bothering you in your room. Louis had definitely never felt that one before. If his room wasn't being invaded by a cousin, sibling, aunt, uncle or parent, it was a very odd day indeed. "Aha, you definitely would have been different, I think. You learn to be very loud when you want something and all thirty of your other family members are talking at the same time. It's a crazy mess sometimes, but it's always exciting. Definitely always a different experience each year, but we all get along. Even if we have our differences, we manage to work it all out pretty quickly. It's nice, you know? Having them around. It's like I always know there's someone there if I need them," Louis explained, a wide grin consuming his face. If there was one thing that Louis loved more than anything, it was his family and anyone that knew him at all knew that he was quite devoted to them all. Even those that he didn't speak to as often were just as much a part of the family in his mind and he would do absolutely anything for the whole lot of them.

Louis snorted slightly in amusement at her comment about big egos. He himself had never been particularly egotistical, but he knew that quite a few of their classmates most certainly did and that Beth wasn't always too fond of them. Louis had no trouble joking around about such things, but when it came down to it he was generally quite the gracious and humble sort of guy that rarely went about reveling in his own successes. He was the sort that would attempt to just push his own success to the side and focus on other people instead. It was easier for him to help other people feel good about themselves than it was for him to make a big deal about himself. "Oh, no, no. Not me. Louis with a big head would just be too much for this school to handle, since you know, he's already awesome as it is. It would be a disaster if everyone found out about it," he commented with a sly grin and a bemused wink.

As far as he knew, they weren't ever really the talk of the town, which Louis was pretty glad about. However, the thought that they could be was enough to bring a laugh to his face. "Oh, you know it. We're just all kinds of popular around this place. People love talking about our crazy adventures all the time," Louis said with a serious nod. As if. Looking over towards the stage, Louis bit his lip for a moment, not sure exactly how to go about singing for the karaoke. He was pretty sure that there were some sort of sign-ups, since that tended to make sense. "Err, yeah, I think we sign up over there and they'll call us up when it's our turn. I'll go write us down and I'll be right back," he commented, hopping up quickly to go get their names on the list. Moving up to the stage, he found the list of names that they had started and jotted theirs down at the bottom of the list with a song title from the Chasing Quaffles. Satisfied, he headed back over and sat down at their table with an excited nod.

Louis had to admit that Beth did have a point with that one. It was always quite nice to see when people actually did well up there on the stage. Nice to see, sure, but definitely not the most fun. "Yeah, that's true. A good mix of fails and good singers is probably the best way to go. Sometimes you need a break from the people that are well, less than talented," Louis nodded, laughing a bit. As far as he knew, they probably would fall under the category of fails, but at least that would serve to bring a bit of a smile to the faces of the crowd around them and that was precisely what Louis loved to do. Unlike Beth, he had no hesitations when it came to hopping up on the stage and belting out a song or two. It was all in good fun and it wasn't like they would seriously make fun of him for it, since most people were there for the same reason, to have a good time. Of course, he couldn't discount her hesitations at all, since he understood it.

Looking over the menu for a moment more, Louis bobbed his head for a moment before deciding on what he wanted. "Okay, I got this. I'll have a turkey sandwich with a butterbeer," he said, looking over at the waitress with a grin before she took their menus. Louis pretty much always went with a butterbeer when he was there, since they always made the most fantastic butterbeer they could hope for. It always hit the spot when you were hungry or thirsty or well, anything really. Leaning back in his chair for a moment, his head swiveled up to the stage when he heard their names called. "Would Louis Weasley and Beth Ackerly come on up to the stage, it's your turn my friends!"

[/i] the man working the sound system called out. Looking over at Beth with an excited gleam in his eyes, he got up and offered her a hand. "You ready for this?" he asked, his eagerness quite apparent in his voice.
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