Dining Hall

John's back was towards the door, not being able to see who just came in. In fact he had his handles full at the moment with a pesky 4th year slytherin student. "Excuse me," he said to the fourth year who picked up a champagne glass he just nicked from a waitress, who set her tray down after someone spilled pumpkin juice down her blouse. John did not hesitate to grab the kids wrist, before the glass touched his lips. "You are not of age," John said once again sternly.

The boy glared at him as if he could not fathom being touch by a filthy mudblood adult. He retorted, "Your not my mother!" Which John quiet calmly responded, "But I am someone who can hex you silly till Sunday."

"Oh John! It's been a while."

She called out as she saw his back, and not the students that he was arguing with, and certainly not the alcohol that the student had in his hand. She had been sending letters back and fourth to him for a while, and now that he was here, she had no intention of looking anything like a Headmistress.

(ROFL xD)

The kid tensed up, his eyes darted rapidly to the glass, John than someone or something behind. "Yes. Yes! Of Course," he quickly respond before releasing the glass to John. He ran the instant John let go. John smirked thinking it was all his doing, setting down the glass on the table, before recognizing a long forgotten voice. He turn around, his hair still askew and clothes wrinkled, but compared to Eirina the most well dress man would look like a beggar in rags. "Hello, Eirina," he could not hide his smile at the sight of her. "It has. Did you like the care package I sent?" he asked, wondering if she got the tea packages, and the glass blown glasses he sent her while in France for a weekend doing research on a new book. The owl that he sent the package seemed a little bit ditsy.

Eirina's eyes went wide, recalling the package. It was too much, he didn't need to send her anything, and yet all of that he sent? The glass blown cups? It was amazing, and certainly not necessary. She felt bad, too, because she had never got him anything. So what better for her to invite him to a ball? It wasn't a problem, not when she was paying for most of the school, and she enjoyed it.

"It was more then I could ask for, and you really, really shouldn't have!"

(sorry for the slowness, my parents are talking to be about college)

"Not at all," he said pulling out the closest chair for Eirina. At the next table, a group of Hufflepuffs were staring at them, with their mouth a gap, which John was oblivious too. As he gestured to Eirina to sit in the unoccupied chair. "What are friends for?" he asked rhetorically. He never saw himself as the ball room type, with suits and ties. Upper class did that, but he was happy to join Eirina, so she had someone to talk too, and it was another excuse to do something other than Ministry hunting on a Saturday night.

Eirina smiled and took a seat, her smile now disappearing into a calm face. She looked John up and down, his messy hair and older suit, but she didn't mind. She wasn't the snobby type who judged people based on their wealth. In fact, most wealthy people weren't very nice. At all. But not all, so that is also a judgment that she saved.

"Does your hair just not cooperate? Permanently standing?" It wasn't meant to be an offensive question, she was just wondering. She actually though it was cute and funny, and could even remember her own hair when she was in Hogwarts, a little tuff in the back of her head had a hard time going and staying down. Which explained her tendency toward ponytails, and now spells to help her keep her hair well maintained.

Taking the seat right next to Eirina, John's back was to the Hufflepuffs, so he could not see them staring and giggling as they gossiped about Eirina and her man friend. John did not usely turn pink, unless given a few drinks, but Eirina made him blush alright. John mindlessly trying to flatten his hair on his head once more. "Well, my hair is usually neat, but...well...this what you get for falling asleep in the middle of the day. You get bed head." In fact the last few weeks he had been snooping around, getting friendly with some of the Ministry members and tailing a few suspected of one form of crime or another till the wee hours of the morning, so yah John is bushed. "I keep odd writing hours."

It was apparent that if Eirina commented on his attire, naturally he would comment on hers. "Well, you look lovely this evening. Do you have a date afterwards that I do not know about?" This time he heard the girls giggled loudly, but John just assumed that they were laughing at a rumor, or someone tripped and fell on their face.

"You're too sweet, and no, I haven't had a date for a good year or so," She immediately imagined Vincent, and just as quickly pushed him to the back of her mind. He had gone from her life right now, and she didn't plan to see him anytime soon. It hurt, yes, but she had the hope that maybe she'd run into him one day...it always seemed to happen that way between them.

"How is your writing going? If you don't mind me asking, what are you writing about?"

Dating? It seemed so long ago since he had to woo the opposite sex, maybe even a life time ago. Thinking back the last person he had dated was Sally Walters, and that ended in marriage than an unhappy divorce. Now midway through his 30s wooing seemed more difficult, or he had become in experience for being away for to long.

But his pathetic love life did no retract from him his passion for writing. "It is going well. The reason why I visited France was to look at their architecture. I want to capture France from both at its height, and France's low points through its architecture." He always had a fancy for talking about writing in general and books. "Have you taken to the quill like I've been telling you too?"

"Nope! I hardly even do my own paperwork!" She realized what she had said, but he could always take it as wizarding taxes and such, working papers, "But France, wow, it really is beautiful there! I've never gone for an extended period of time, just short visits to a friend, but it sounds like you really enjoyed yourself. I didn't realize how much work went into writing a book. I must say, I'm impressed."

She smiled, and then heard something behind her. Kind of like a buzz, but she ignored it. A few people had started walking away, too, but she paid no mind to it. It would be later that she would realize it had been the start of the concert, but not yet.

"Still stubborn, I see." Of late he has meeting a lot of stubborn people of later, more in fact stubborn women. He could not help but smile at thinking of a list of people it included: Eirina for one, Michelle but she was the head of the Order so that was fine, but also with Madison, which quite frankly, thinking about her gave a sour taste in his mouth. "I am trying to dabble in some fiction writing like Madame le Prince de Beaumont. She wrote a fantastic muggle story of a beauty falling for the beast. Have you read it?"

"I don't recognize her name, I do recognize the story you're describing. It's the one where the beast is actually a prince, right? And something with a rose..." She thought on it, and started getting flashes of the muggle movie. It had been remade, but she thought of the older one, made by Disney. She was pretty sure, too, that the story was also replicated in, or from, wizards.

"I think I've seen the old version, the maker being Disney I believe, from the muggle world back in the...oh wow I don't know...1991? A little less then a thousand years ago?"

"Is it that old?" he said in amusement, seeing how she readily replied to his answer. "Read anything else interesting?" he asked, now noticing the increasing amount of people, mostly students leaving the Dining Room. Looking at his watch it was five minutes to 9. "Is the concert about to begin?"

"Oh, it is! That would explain the hustle and bustle. Come one, let's go in!"

She smiled and stood, watching as the many people starting to cluster at a door, all of the women sighing and a few waving their fans, the men standing tall and sometimes fixing their ties. And then there were her kids...all of who were preventing the adults from going in by their rude pushing and shoving to get in. Most of then, she knew all too well, didn't even care much for the music itself. They just wanted to make sure they sat next to who they wanted to sit next to, and weren't left out or on the end seat, next to a stranger.

John followed her to the door and waited patiently for those who was their first ignoring the rowdy children clamouring through the door. To make sure he did not forget anything he looked back at into the Dining Hall which was almost void of guess. The waiters and waitresses went around collecting glasses of forgotten drinks or removal of stain sateen table clothes. But their was a group of boys lounging in the back throwing what seem to be stink pellets at the wall. He turn to Eirina, "One momment, while I deal with this," he said pointing at the few boys not looking ready to leave. He walked to the back of the room to the gang of boys. Within a minute all of the grudgingly got up looking absolutely miserable as they proceeded out the door. John return to Eirina's side. "Sorry about that. I wonder wear their chaperones are?"

Eirina, while John's back was to her, glared at the boys. Surely that would send the message, and fast. Eirina didn't usually glare, either. She was more of a...words type of person. Yelling, critiquing, so on and so forth. She didn't need much of her silent features when she had a mouth on her that could express anything.

"Yeah...I'm starting to wonder that too..." She had three, three other chaperons beside herself, and even that wasn't enough! She was slowly getting a little bit frustrated, and was keeping an eye out to see if she could event catch the eyes of Madi, Michelle, or Lacetta. So far, no luck.

As the four boys hurried on through glancing at John and Eirina with increasing alarm, their was no one left in the room except the workers, himself and Eirina. Even the door was already open, he held the handle, gesturing Eirina on through. "After you."

(I'll post in the Auditorium now!)