A Table by the Window

[David Calloway]

"We should probably start heading back. Do you want to go to the lake?"

[Amira Radke]

"Sure, let's go."

[David Calloway]

"Okay," David stood up and waited for Amira. Then the two of them headed out of Hogsmeade and towards the lake.

[Arya Rith]

It took forever, but Arya finally did it. She finally convinced Blake and his father that Blake was in desperate need of a break. Any thirteen-year-old child should not be worked to death. Arya was exited to see Blake; it seemed forever since she last saw him. Arya stood by the two-person table by the window and set her light violet parasol on the seat where Blake would sit. She wore the dress that Blake got her and checked the back of her skirt to make sure her petticoat was not showing. Arya touched her black hair bow to make sure it was not crooked. She hoped that Blake would show soon. Arya turned and saw the table filled with other Hogwarts students, wishing she was part of the large group but she would rather see Blake more. It seemed once in a blue moon she would get to see him and she would not let the opportunity go to waste.

[Blake Deimos]

Blake entered the pub and immediately spotted Arya, looking rather splendid in her dress. He felt a small sense of joy in knowing she liked the dress he had chosen to send to her. Shoes again making no sound as he walked, he made a beeline for the table wearing a pure white dress shirt whose sleeves ended at the elbow and a white and silver trimmed vest over it, well fitting and also white slacks completing his ensemble for the weekend. There was a chain that swung between the ends of the collar tips connecting in an 'x,' a small ankh the reason for the chain's swinging movements. "Young lady Rith, you look as radiant as the day we met."

[Arya Rith]

Arya brought her fingers to her lips and let out a giggle as she saw Blake. Not because he looked silly- no, anything but that, but she was exited to see the young boy once again. "Young sir Deimos, you look as handsome as I remember," Arya curtsied to Blake before moving near him and reached over to the seat to pick up the parasol. "I'm very happy you could come, how have you been?" Arya asked as she took a seat and set the parasol on her lap.

[Blake Deimos]

Blake took his seat gracefully and sat without any creak or scraping of the chair when he pulled himself into the table to be at an appropriate length from it and whatever should appear on their table during the course of their reconvening. "You flatter me Ms. Rith when it is you who should be at the receiving end of any flirtatious commentary. I have been well enough and very deeply involved with father and his company. And what of you, Ms. Rith? Do you fair well?"

{I actually have been very busy, so I apologize of I stop speaking for a length of time miss.}

[Arya Rith]

"You are far too kind Blake," Arya said to Blake and shook her head and held her hands up to her chest as if she denied his compliments. "Well I hope you return to school soon. If you are at the company for any longer, would you be allowed back to Hogwarts or have to repeat a year?" Arya asked Blake. She would dread to see Blake fall behind in his studies, despite being an intelligent, young, wizard, too many absences at Hogwarts had consequences. A curl dropped over Arya's ear and she brushed it back, "as for me... I've locked myself up and studied. The OWLs are coming up and I am confident I will receive at minimum an E," she sat up straight and beamed a grin. "However I decided that I needed a break, well. .." Arya looked out the window and put her back against the chair. "After curfew I get my breaks, for as short as they are, but they have been pleasant none the less." She took her direction off the outdoors and looked back at Blake. His appearance greatly changed. He was not wearing his frilly clothing, but now dressed more... business casual, for lack of words. Maybe time away from Hogwarts was not good for him. Blake's new style was unfamiliar to Arya and she was not t he one who adapted to change easily.

[Blake Deimos]

Blake's same tinkling laugh rang out, his dulcet tones just as soothing to any ear. He spoke softly to Arya with his proud and upright posture never leaving the presence of his spine, "Far too kind says the woman with honey sweet words. I'll be returning as soon as I can, I promise dear lady to you like many of the others who have inquired. I am keeping up with my studies via owl and occasionally, Engel will come to the school and deliver things personally." Inwardly this made him smile, Engel often being the owl they sent. "That is why I returned not too far ago. I had to speak with my professors of the new term and arrange for that work to be sent as well as prove I could accomplish the practical part of my wand work. It would do no good to be an expert in theory and have no grasp in the practical, yes?" He politely waved to Madam Rosmerta and ordered himself some tea and crumpets with strawberry jam, "And what ever the young lady wishes, I will be footing the bill." Blake tossed the relatively long tail of loose curls from his shoulder and let it hang from the nape of his neck held together by a simple leather strand. "A break you need indeed young lady Rith. With a capable mind like yours, you are sure to do well or better, do not fret so deeply. Tell me, anything new worthy of news to be told?"

[Arya Rith]

Arya's stomach growled when Blake ordered. Her eyes lit up when Blake requested strawberry jam- oh how delicious that sounded, but with toast, rather than crumpets! "I'll have the same," Arya turned to Madam Rosmerta, "except no crumpets, just toast with strawberry jam please... two slices, not one," Arya said and held up to fingers. When Madam Rosmerta left, Arya set her hands in her lap and looked back at Blake, "thank you for taking care of the bill, Blake," Arya said, not arguing about who paid the bill. Blake was confident that he would pay and Arya would not refuse that offer. "Thank you Blake, I do hope I do well. Most people haven't been studying and I'm surprised there is not a study group for the OWLs, perhaps I should start one," Arya tapped her lips and focused on the silverware that was on the table. She looked back to Blake and blushed, "not really... I mean, I've been talking and seeing Kiba lately," Arya's eyes directed away and she covered her blushing cheeks, "but it's nothing serious."

[Blake Deimos]

"Kiba, Kiba..." The name was familiar. He then recalled a certain incident, a tripping incident actually, that involved the boy. "Kiba, yes, I remember him now. Fairly shy boy, or stand offish, but decent all the same." His aura had seemed decent enough in the few times he had encountered the boy within the vast school they attended. "Nothing serious? Your flushed face states otherwise and suggests your feelings stem further than you wish, or you wouldn't have made a move to cover yourself and divert your eyes from mine. I wish you the best of luck on your journey with another, young Ms. Rith." Madam Rosmerta returned with a tray and set their order on the table along with a pot of tea, some cream some sugar, and any other necessities. "Thank you Madam Rosmerta, that will be all for now." Blake spoke to the lovely woman with a vivacious personality sweetly, a smile on his lips to charm her. The barmaid smiled just a sweetly and pet the boy on the shoulder as she left. He poured two cups of tea and placed them both on the saucers meant for them, sliding one gently in front of Ayra. "A study group would benefit all the OWL students, perhaps you should."

[Arya Rith]

Arya shook her head and let the curls lightly smack her cheeks, "no, no no!" Arya started to whisper, she didn't want anyone to her. She leaned over the table, "I mean, we aren't anything serious, I think Kiba is a great guy and he's amazing. I mean, I don't know much about him, but there's... something about him that's amazing," Arya bit her bottom lip and looked to her left to make sure nobody was watching them. She saw Madam Rosmerta come with their snacks and tea and she sat back at her seat and nodded and said thank you lightly to her. "We just talk, we had a picnic the other night at the Astronomy Tower at night, but Pansy saw us and made our food- which was spaghetti, and it was so cute Blake, Kiba was so exited, he loves spaghetti-" Arya was grinning wildly when she mentioned Kiba's love for spaghetti but her grin transformed into a pout when she talked about Pansy, "and we had a conflict so our dinner picnic could not occur. And it was my dinner too," she let out a sigh and her bangs floated momentarily. Arya took the napkin cloth and put it over her lap, "and that was the last time I saw him," she said and gently took a piece of her toast and bit into it, crumbs falling down onto the napkin. "Anyways..." Arya changed the subject, "I am going to suggest it, maybe post a bulletin somewhere. I also suggested a Culture Carnival to the Headmaster! He said he would try to fit it in between the tasks of the tournament that is going on, so I hope that goes into plan. I would love to do Japan!" Arya set her haf-eaten toast down on the plate and reached for the hot tea.

[Blake Deimos]

Blake had spread his own napkin over his lap and nodded politely as Arya spoke. He smiled the whole time though the expression in his eyes didn't vary nor did his lips twitch in the slightest. "If young Lady Parkinson had a reason to cease your picnic, I am sure she meant no harm. She's a Prefect and does have jurisdiction over the students when needed. Were you two out of the protective boundary of the rules?" He question curiously, wondering if it had been Slytherin spitfire for the sake of being in control or if the Prefect girl had a reason. With practiced and natural movements, he sliced his crumpets to spread the strawberry jam delicately onto the half piece he held in hand. There was denial in her tone and that ceased his interest on the topic of Kiba not because he was bored but because he knew he wouldn't get anywhere with someone who denied their own feelings. What did catch his attention was her idea and not too subtle change in conversational route, "A Culture.. Carnival was it? Elaborate." He stirred his tea with a small spoon and poured the smallest amount of sugar he could manage in since he did not have access to honey to sweeten his tea more naturally.

[Arya Rith]

Arya sipped her tea and set it back on the saucer, "yes, a Culture Carnival... well, festival, I think. A carnival has rides and we of course, would not have any rides at Hogwarts," Arya said and looked down at her lap and brushed the crumbs away. "Well, what I originally had in mind is that students pair up and pick a country, of course there will be a sign-up sheet to ensure nobody picks the same country," Arya started to move her hands around as if it helped collected her words, "but anyways, two students pick a country and they set up a display. They talk about how the culture is in that country, both in the wizarding world and muggle world and they dress in the attire of that culture and the teams can have food, maybe do a cultural dance of some sorts, you know, things like that." Arya took another sip of her tea which tasted better than usual. She reached for the back of her hair to make sure her curls were not going flat. Thank goodness for magic because if she had to use a curling iron to curl her hair... she would have kept it straight. "The idea sounds nice to me, at least."

[Blake Deimos]

"It sounds enthralling-- bewitching even." Blake tilted his head to the right while he thought about it. It did seem fascinating, exploring the culture of another part of the world and presenting it to your peers. "Tell me, are the pairs from the same house or are they forged from different houses?" He grabbed his hair and pulled it over his shoulder again, a new habit that was forming for him but that he had been trying to control. Fidgeting was not becoming. She had avoided his question about Pansy he had noticed in their silence and it did not bother him nor did it spur on his curiosity. It may have been a sore spot with the night turning bitter for her and her 'non' date. Madam Rosmerta came over and asked if they needed anything else, to which he replied a small pot of honey. He loved sugar but he would not feed himself more than the amount he needed when he could substitute it in things he ate or drank frequently, like tea. Madam Rosmerta then waited to see if Arya was in need of anything more. "I do not know which country I could choose if I was to participate, though I have an idea of who I would partner with." Emery. He missed him. Actually, Emery had been the only person he owled before he came to the castle for another Sunday. It had been so last minute he couldn't owl anyone else like he typically did before coming. Emery hadn't replied and he expected that honestly since the boy was always so busy, so into his studies. He loved that in him. He thought all this while patiently looking at Arya, smile still on his lips.