merlin's third law

[Shayna]

The Three Broomsticks was unnaturally crowded today; Catalina knew it was only to be expected. The Wierd Sisters were playing in Hogsmeade in a few hours, and the pub was full of people trying to get a bite of dinner before the much-anticipated concert. Catalina, however, had arrived earlier in the day when the place had been empty with a few heavy books for "light" reading, looking forward to a quiet evening of studying. Unfortunately, she had miscalculated the date of the concert and was horribly disappointed once the throngs of students began to trickle in.

Her table was the only one not occupied by people other than herself; Catalina had given death glares to all those who dared to approach her. The population of Hogwarts knew very well that she could turn into a viscious beast (quite contradicting her normally serene and calm demeanor) whereupon being interrupted when studying for an exam. "The Third Law Of Merlin states that..." Cat began to recite to herself, slim fingers moving quickly down the page of her Charms book.

Thoughts interrupted once again by the pulsating murmurs of the Three Broomsticks, Catalina shoved her book aside and threw her arms up into the air helplessly. "I'll never get finished at this rate," she muttered to herself, sounding quite disoriented as she took a swig from her mug of butterbeer. Peering down into the empty thresholds of her cup, the Spanish girl contemplated ordering a firewhiskey (the stuff really was rather tasty) but decided against it. The last time she had overindulged in the spicy drink, she had found herself swimming haplessly in the lake with only the squid for company.

"Anything else, dear?" came the breathless voice of Madame Rosmerta, who was looking fit to burst with two trays on each of her hands, both carrying a startling multitude of food and drink. "Er, a firewhiskey," Catalina said hesitantly, ignoring her earlier inhibitions. Dropping a few golden sickles into the waitress's coin pouch on her waist, Cat settled back with her drink, flipping a page and shooing away a couple of seventh year boys who had spotted the empty seats beside her. "Now I can study," she said finally with relish, looking to immerse herself in her studies once more.

The truth was, for the past week, Catalina had been studying like a madwoman: even more than normal. Nevertheless, she refused to think of a reason for her sudden overdrive into work and attributed it all to the upcoming exams.

[Brandy]

Dylan had been looking forward to the concert all week. He made sure to stay out of trouble at all costs. He was very afraid that Snape would have him serve detention during the concert and he'd be stuck in detention while everyone else was out having a blast.

When it was time to head down to The Three Broomsticks, he met Bridgett down in the entrance of the castle. When he saw her, he smiled. She looked lovely.

"Ready to go," he asked as he held out a hand for her to take. When she took his hand, they walked down to Hogsmeade together. As they walked it seemed as though the entire school was walking along with them. They sped up a little so they could get a good place to sit and eat before the concert.

When they got down there, they walked into the pub and found a nice little cozy corner that seemed to be empty. "Before you," he said as he motioned for her to sit down. When she had sat down, he took the seat that was directly in front of her. He had his back to the rest of the pub and his front to the window. He sat there looking out the window. He saw more and more students heading down to find good seats. "Seems busy tonight huh? I guess thats to be expected anyway," he said with a smile. "So order whatever you'd like. Its on me tonight," he finished before picking up a menu.

[Morningstar]

For the whole week, Bridgett had been looking forward to the concert. She made sure that she had the perfect outfit to wear. She decided on a pink chiffon print dress with a black short sleeved shrug and black leggings. She had curled her hair and put a pink bow clip in her hair.

When Dylan met her at the entrance, she couldn't help but get a bit nervous. This was going to be their first outting as a couple. She was afriad what everyone was going to think about them going out.

"Yup, I'm more than ready." she said with a smile.

Once they got there it was crowded. She wasn't surprised at this because half of the school was huge fans of The Weird Sisters. The two of them sat in a nice cozy corner.

"Yes, it is very busy." she said as her heart started to race. She was getting even more nervous. "Thanks, I'll just have a firewhiskey right now." she said as Madame Rosmerta took their order.

[Shayna]

Taking a sip of the burning liquid, Catalina felt her throat rip with fire as the whiskey singed it on its way down. Nevertheless, feeling in a far more pleasant mood than before, she dipped her quill in a pot of ink and began taking notes. Unfortunately, this and the three butterbeers she had indulged in before required a sudden and immediate trip to the washroom.

She couldn't leave her table. Not now, in such a busy time: someone was sure to take it. Desperately, Catalina looked around for some source of inspiration. "Jake? Jake?" she questioned quickly, eyes falling on a little third year boy who was ogling at her in the corner; presumably wondering what the hell she was doing with all those books when there was an upcoming concert.

"Hi, Catalina," he said apprehensively, making his way towards her with a tone that quite clearly stated that he was baffled by the fact she knew his name.

"Would you mind looking after my table for me?" she questioned sweetly, batting her eyelashes. "And I'd really love it if no one else sat here, see, I'm studying for exams. You know how hard that is."

"Of course! No problem!" the boy said immediately, sitting down in the seat formerly vacanted by her. "Thanks," gushed the Spanish girl gratefully as she turned to leave.

An unwelcome sight greeted her. The Slytherin who had caused her so much mental stress, and that new girl--Bridgett, was her name?--were both sitting at a booth, quite oblivious to her presence. "No," she moaned to herself. Catalina did not need this extra stress; not now. Still, if she walked by quickly enough, they wouldn't notice her.

Biting her lip in uncertainty, Catalina pushed her way through the various crowds of people, her hip narrowly brushing the edge of the wooden table at which Dylan and Bridgett were sitting. "Oops, sorry!" she squeaked as her elbow knocked a container of salt over in her hurry to get to the washroom.

[Brandy]

"I'll have a butterbeer," he said after Bridgett ordered. In no time the cups were in front of them and they were drinking. "So," he said anxiously. He didn't have much to say and starting a conversation made him nervous. What if this had all been a mistake? What if he shouldn't have asked her out? What if she really didn't want to be there with him?

His thoughts were interrupted by a rude figure pushing past them, knocking over their salt. "Hey," he griped before noticing who it was. It was her, it was the girl whose presence had filled his thoughts. He was desperate to think of anything else, but the only thoughts that crossed his mind were thoughts of Cat. What is she doing here? He tried desperately to cover up his nervousness that arrived because of Cat so he grunted a little and turned back to Bridgett.

"So, as I was saying before we were so, rudely interrupted ," he emphasized, "I'm really looking forward to seeing the concert. I heard that they're playing a double set tonight. That should be bloody awesome."

As a little basket of chips arrived at their table, Dylan took one. He poured some ketchup on the chip and he shoved it in his mouth. When he was nervous he had a bad habit of filling his hands with something. It just so happened that stuffing his face was the easiest thing to do.

[Morningstar]

(Sorry, didn't see that. EDITED)

Bridgett took a long sip of her firewhiskey. The burning liquid felt so good going down her throat. It helped her calm down so much. As she was drinking someone knocked into the table causing Bridgett's firewhiskey and the salt to spill. After she cleaned up the sip, she looked up to see that the clumsy person was Cat. When she saw her, she could help but glare. Bridgett now knew that the night was probably ruined. 'How horrible, we just got here.' she thought and put on a fake smile.

"Oh awesome. I've never seen them in concert yet, but I heard they are amazing. I can't wait!!! Thanks for inviting me to this." she said with a smile and she glanced at Cat to see if she was still there, luckily she must have gone to the bathroom.

Thankfully Dylan didn't look too bothered. Even though Bridgett thought that was a good idea, she knew that once Cat got out of the bathroom she was going to say something to them.

She took a chip and took a small bite out of it. In all reality she wasn't hungry. Her stomach was tied in so many knots.

[Shayna]

((Rachel, Catalina went to the bathroom XDDD))

Furiously stalking off to the bathroom, Catalina emerged moments later only to find that the pub was more crowded than it had been before. Apparently in the two minutes Catalina had spent in the restroom, twice as many people had squeezed their way into the Three Broomsticks.

"Bloody great," she hissed to herself, now in a perfectly foul mood. Catalina wanted nothing more at this point than to go back to her seat, pack up her books, and go back to the castle. Unfortunately, the Wierd Sisters had seduced so many people into coming to their concert that even attempting to venture out of the area would be quite literally impossible.

"Pardon me," Catalina found herself saying for the tenth time as she squeezed in between various people. In time Cat found herself standing in front of Dylan and Bridgett's table again, and she swore inwardly while trying to find an escape route.

There was none. She was /trapped./ So many people had squeezed around her that Catalina was forced to grab onto the edges of the table to avoid being trampled. "Move!" the Spanish girl said in an unnaturally loud voice to a fourth year Slytherin in front of her. "I need to get back to my table! Oh damn, the seventh years have probably scared off Jake by now...MOVE, you incompetent ignoramus!"

All Cat received was a glare, and she weakly looked around again. "Er," she began hesitantly, considering taking out her wand and hexing her way through the crowd. The thought of leaving her books alone was just too much to bear.

[Brandy]

"I've seen them in concert four times. This is the first time I've ever been with a girl though," he lied. He had been four times, but he had taken a girl before. He took his very first girlfriend to one of their concerts about five years before. He decided not to bring it up on their first date.

"I like it when they do their last sets, they're just awesome," he said as the doors flew open and about fifty more students came in and sat down. The pub was more and more crowded with every passing moment and before they knew it Dylan was silently thanking Merlin that they had gotten there so early.

They sat there and Dylan at his chips asking, "Are you sure you don't want any" about a dozen times before giving up. A few moments later, the table got bumped and Cat was standing against their table once again. "Oh its you," he mumbled as his heart beat at what seemed like a thousand beats a minute. He tried desperately to hide his interest and it worked.

He turned back to Bridgett and he said, "So the concert sounds like loads of fun." Then against his better judgment he turned to Cat and asked, "Are you going to the concert or are you just here for the beer?"

He motioned to a now very tired looking Madame Rosmerta and he asked for another round. When she came, she had brought three drinks. He had only asked for two, but he understood how she could have thought that they wanted three.

"You might as well," he mumbled to Cat and motioned for her to take a seat. It was up to her to which side she could sit on.

[Morningstar]

"Oh awesome. I've always had something else going on when the concerts were. I'm so happy things worked out for once." Bridgett paused, "Well, it's time to start." she said with a playful smile after Dylan mentioned the girlfriend thing.

"I hope that their last set will be even more awesome than before." she said with a smile.

"No. I'm not really hungry. My stomach hasn't been feeling the greatest lately. I shouldn't be eatting that much." she said as she put her hand on her stomach.

Her smile quickly turned into an open mouth look of shock. She couldn't believe Dylan just asked Cat to sit down by them. Bridgett thought the two of them would just talk, not actually ask her to sit down. She wished they would have just starting fighting. Then one of them would have gotten mad and wanted to leave. Honestly, Bridgett would have been fine with leaving at the moment. Sadly, she knew that wasn't going to happen now. She was stuck. Why had she told Dylan she liked him? She should have just kept her stupid mouth shut. This is what happened when she shared her feelings.

[Shayna]

"Oh no--" began Catalina as Rosmerta served three drinks to the table. Dully, Cat sat down in the chair offered to her, realizing that an escape wouldn't be the smartest option at this point. The crowds of people had thickened to the point where it was difficult to even sit down.

She let silence reign for a moment, fidgeting uncomfortably in her seat. Bloody brilliant; in a single stroke, Catalina was right in front of the single person she wanted to avoid most in the world right now. Cat didn't need nor want the stress that she was sure would follow the evening; most of which would come from his insults, half of which Catalina knew she didn't merit.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your date," she said truthfully after a long pause, glancing at Bridgett's expression. The Spanish bella wasn't quite sure if she had used the right term, but why else would they be sitting together? "I'd go, but..." She waved a hand around her. "The crowd's insanely big."

Again, her worried eyes drifted towards the general vicinity of her table. What if someone was--heaven forbid--spilling /chips/ on her books?

[Brandy]

"Yeah well you intruded on our date. Now you're here and invited so we just have to deal with it," he said as he looked over at Bridgett. It was obvious that the previous comment was directed at Bridgett and suddenly there seemed to be so much tension in the air that you could cut it with a knife. He wasn't sure why it was, but it was there and it was unmistakable.

Dylan picked up another chip and he ate it before motioning to the basket. "You're more than welcome to have some. They're here and all and Bridgett doesn't want any." He didn't come out and tell either of them, but he hated it when his girlfriends wouldn't eat in front of him. He couldn't understand why they'd be so nervous. A chip or two wasn't going to make them gain five thousand pounds and he wouldn't think any less of them because they had eaten.

After a moment his eyes fell to Cats although hers weren't on his. Could Bridgett tell what was on his mind? Did she have any idea that he truly did like Cat? That the only reason why he acted like he hated her was because he was afraid of his own feelings about her? If he admitted that he liked her, he'd have a world of trouble with his family and most importantly with himself. He couldn't love something about her that he was told to hate about himself. It just wasn't possible.

He looked at the clock on the wall. The concert would be starting soon and that meant that the pub would start filling up even more. Pub concerts were like that. People generally filled up to where there was standing room only.

He leaned over to look around to the other side of the booth he saw a short little witch with green hair pointing her wand at the wall to magically expand it a little bit. As soon as she did that a gush of students filled the space. She seemed to get a little upset and she drew a line with magic and said, "NOBODY BEYOND THIS LINE." She then expanded the wall a little more and after a few short words an entire stage was set up in the space.

"Looks like they're getting ready to start soon," he said before picking up another chip.

[Morningstar]

'Alright, just forget it. If I throw up, I throw up.' Bridgett said as she grabbed a handful of chips and ate them one by one. With each one her stomach made a growl. They both didn't like the idea of her eatting. Still, they were going to have to get used to it. It was eatting on accidently hurting someone...eatting was better.

"It's okay, we don't mind. I've heard that the Weird Sisters are great. You shouldn't miss this concert." She said as she tried to smile.

She just sat there, ate and drank. She couldn't think of anything else to say. Once in a while she would glance at Dylan or Cat. Whenever she glanced at Dylan, he seemed to be staring at Cat. Bridgett soon realized that the rest of the night was probably going to be like this. She could have done anything she wanted and Dylan probably wouldn't even notice.

She watched as the stage appeared and she couldn't help but smile. At least the concert should be good. Maybe tonight wasn't going to be a complete waste of time. She really was hoping that things would start to look up.

[Shayna]

Catalina regarded Dylan furiously. Had he really just invited her to sit and then insulted her all in one stroke? "If my presence is so debilitating then I'll leave," Cat snapped irritably, her nearly nonexistent temper rising for the second time that night. "I never intruded, if you forgot, you invited me to sit here."

Attempting to rise out of her seat, Catalina was knocked down again rather violently as a bulky man from behind her turned his body to face Rosmerta who had swished by again.

"Ouch," she muttered, rubbing at her now sore arm. Brilliant. The night was turning out to be far better than she had anticipated. Absentmindedly, Catalina resigned herself to the fact that she'd be forced to sit here for at least five more minutes--maybe then she'd manage to slip into the crowd. "I actually didn't come here for the concert," she said finally, her words directed at Bridgett.

Guilt ate at her ravenously; Catalina felt downright horrible for intruding on what would have otherwise been a nice evening for them. "I came here to study, and I completely forgot about the concert..." Frowning, she waved at the crowd again. "Studying's kind of hopeless now, don't you think? Anyways, as much as I'd like to, I think I need to get back to the castle and finish up an essay for Flitwick that's due in a couple of weeks. So..."

Standing up again, Catalina looked around and froze in horror as she saw preparations for the concert being set up. Once that started, she'd never be free. "Tengo que irme," Cat said in distress, lapsing into Spanish as she was apt to do. "¿Por favor, puedes hacer una trayectoria así que puedo conseguir mis libros?"

No answer. She was stuck yet again.

[Brandy]

Dylan looked at Cat incredulously. "You have to finish an essay that is due in a couple of weeks? Thats pretty pathetic," he said before shoving another chip in his mouth. "I mean come on, take a night off. Have a break or er Have a night off and take a break. You couldn't be so impossibly stuffy that you can't be parted from your books for one evening."

He shoved another chip in his mouth as he looked to Bridgett for some backup. "Oh yeah, I forgot you probably agree with her. You're a Ravenclaw." He rolled his eyes without giving her the chance to reply. He was suddenly taking everything defensively because he was feeling the tension. He didn't know what to do. He was fighting the feelings he had for Cat and again he was being a total ass to cover them up.

"I'm sorry Bridgett, you didn't deserve that," he said as he looked down at the table. "I'm just so," he said before he zipped his mouth. "I'll explain it later when the Gryffindor isn't listening to us."

He knew that he was being utterly impossible. He was being nice one minute and a jerk the next. He just couldn't let either one of them know what was really going on and why. If they only knew..or if he knew what was going on in their minds things might be entirely different.

"So Bridgett, you should tell Cat all about how you're making friends here now that should give you guys five mintues or so. I'm going to try and slip to the restroom before the concert starts." With that, he stood up and started to shift his way through the crowd.

[Morningstar]

Bridgett just sat there confused. She didn't get why Dylan had become so defensive. Before she could say anything, Dylan was headed to the washroom. That meant she had to play nice. At the moment she just didn't want to play anything. Not only was she feeling sick to her stomach, but she now had a headache. Even though she knew she shouldn't drink anything, she gulped down the rest of her firewhiskey.

"So?" She said as she faced Cat. She had no idea what to say. She really didn't want to think of anything to say, she just wanted Dylan to come back and hope that they would be leaving soon. All she really wanted to do was go back to Hogwarts, crawl into her bed, fall asleep and pretend like she had never agreed to go out with Dylan.

"How far are you on your essay. I myself finished it before I came here. It was really a pain though. I thought I was never going to get it done." she said with an eye roll.

Another firewhiskey had appeared and Bridgett took a sip of it. As she did her head started to hurt even worse, but the firewhiskey was calming her down.