| Details for So You Want To Be An Auror (Apprentice)? |
| Summary: | Having asked Kat for a recommendation letter to the Auror's appreticeship program Julian meets with her to discuss his request. And Kat make sure that he really wants to do this, in her own, inimitable way. |
| Date: | 1938-06-02 |
| Location: | The Three Broomsticks |
| Related: | Initiates and Wannabes |
| Characters |
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Hogsmeade, Three Broomsticks Pub
Sun Jun 02, 1938 ((Sun Mar 03 18:30:42 2013))
It is a spring night. The weather is cool and drizzling.
Despite the obvious patina of age, The Three Broomsticks has a warm, inviting ambiance. This character the pub has attained is, no doubt, thanks to the years it has been steeped in the environment of this particular village. Just one evidence of the village's influence on the pub can be seen in the dark paneling inside the building. The wood was once the outer walls of the home that housed Hogsmeade's founding family. Put to good use once again after the founding family bequeathed it to the pub, the paneling has served the pub just as well as it once served Hogsmeade's founders. The Three Broomsticks has flourished under its current proprietor and is always open and ready for a customer or visitor.
The dark wood surface of the floor glows with a polished sheen from much cleaning, and exposed ceiling rafters, which appear to be original, cross the ceiling in tidy squares. Wood tables of varying sizes litter the room, and matching chairs are scattered among them. Several secluded booths fill up the space along one wall. A flavorfully aged mahogany bar takes up most of the space near the back wall with a series of mirrors and shelves of varying heights hanging behind it. Those shelves behind the bar are lined with memorabilia depicting the life and people of the village as well as items which are special mementos to the pub's owner.
Late afternoon, the sky is setting a drizzle upon the land. It's not too bad for traveling, but it certainly isn't ideal, depending on the type of traveling one must do. Randy Macmillan is at one of the tables, avoiding sitting with the other school kids at this point. She keeps her eye on the door and bounces her knee, waiting. Her right hand is threaded through the handle of a mug full of ale. The head of it has dwindled down since it was served and the heat from her hand is creating a foggy effect on the glass.
The flames in the fireplace flare and turn green, quickly followed by Kat stepping out from then and smartly moving into the main room of the pub. She takes a moment to fastidiously flick off any remnants of ash from her sapphire blue dress before looking around the room. When she doesn't find the person she's looking for she says, "Does anyone know where Julian Edwards is?"
Sound of flaring flames gets Randy's attention, because it's also something she'd be listening for among the bustle of the pub. The girl is wearing a red sweater with faint yellow stripes decorating the edge of her sleeves which fall over her hands, some jeans rolled up a little at the cuff since they are a little too long for her frame, and some suspenders. Essentially, everything is a touch long for her. Her hair is down though and at Katherine's query, she steps up, mug in hand, "Aye," she waves with her other hand for the woman to come over to her table so they can talk.
Katherine raises her chin slightly in an 'Aha!' kind of gesture and steps over to Randy's table. Once she's there she notices the state of the younger girl's drink and she frowns a little bit, "You do know that ale tastes awful when it goes flat, right? I'm going to go get a drink before we talk about Julian and I would be happy to get you a fresh one if you would like." Then she waits for her answer.
Randy tilts her head to the side with an amused smirk, looking at the drink, "Ah. I hadn't noticed," very unlike a Macmillan. "I'd appreciate it. Julian's just running late is all," she explains. She takes an experimental sip, scrunches up her nose for a moment and nods, "Aye. I'm in," on that offer. She puts her mug down and takes a step to wait and pull the chair out for Katherine when she comes back. Ingrained habits.
Katherine smartly moves over to the bar, weaving through the crowd typical of a Hogsmead weekend with practiced ease. Once at the bar she orders a new mug of ale for Randy and a glass of vodka and pumpkin juice. Once the drinks have been delivered she makes her way back to the table, "Oh, by the way, name's Kat. Katherine Sykes. And please, none of that Ms. Sykes crap."
"Ahhh," Randy says at Katherine's introduction. "I'm not really the type to call you Ms. Sykes," she says with a smirk. "Name's Randy." The little girl Katherine might have or might not have been familiar with was named Marie, and looked like a boy. "Thanks," she grabs the ale from the woman and sits down. "Are you going to be recommending Julian for an apprenticeship I take it?"
Katherine takes a seat of her own, one corner of her lips rising into a half-smirk, half-smile. "Well, you're a brash little thing, aren't you? I approve." Taking up her glass she sips at the dark, cream colored liquid in it and takes the time to think, "And a little on the intrusive side too, Randy. Why should I talk about my dealings with Julian with you, one way or another?" Both her statement and question are expressed in a very matter of fact tone of voice. If there is any inflection at all its a very slight hint of amusement.
Randy just smiles, eyes slightly twinkling as she raises her mug for a sip. "Life's too short to wait for answers or not be who I am." She's not put off /at all/ by Katherine's demeanor. In fact, just the opposite. "I don't really care what Julian does, but I do hope he gets the apprenticeship. Just curious," she says as she leans back in her chair, not taking her eyes off of the Auror.
Katherine lets out a short laugh, actually delighted at the younger girls reaction. Her smirk turns into a full smile as she asks, "Well, since we're getting a bit intrusive I guess it wouldn't be that bad for me to do it too. You wouldn't happen to be Julian's, and I quote, 'dear' would you? The one he was meeting with last Hogsmeade weekend?" And fair is fair, so she also answers the question that was posed to her, "And yes, I am meeting with him to discuss the option even if I haven't made a final decision yet. What do you think? Should I recommend him for it?"
Randy just guffaws at this notion of her being Julian's paramour and nearly chokes on her next sip. "No. Not at all." Her hand hits the table. Oh yes, she will remember this one and tease Julian mercilessly later. "He's not my type," she mentions. "Well, I say you have us spar out in the meadow and you recommend the winner. But only after 4 drinks."
OK, Katherine /likes/ this girl and its obvious since her smile is remaining as a genuine smile instead of going back to her standard half-smiling smirk. "Are you telling me that Julian needs to get you drunk… to be able to win a duel?" The delay in her question is intentional and accompanied with a saucy grin that makes it really hard not to interpret exactly the way its intended.
"I'm in the dueling club at school, but I never compete." Randy considers for a moment, the mirth still dancing in her eyes and demeanor as she hams it up just a little. "To be honest, I wouldn't even know, because I don't think he's ever seen me fight. And, I've never seen him spar outside of those silly dueling rules….." her eyes level back down to Katherine's and she smirks, "But we'd just have to see then. I know some people who fight better with a pint in them than not."
Katherine gives Randy a little salute with her glass as if to say 'Yep!' followed by taking another sip from it. "Well, I guess one way to find out then would be to recommend him and see how he does if he's lucky, or unlucky, enough to get into some trouble out in the field. See if he's one of the people that fights, freezes, or runs when under stress." After taking a moment to cross her legs, being careful to properly smooth down her skirt while she does it, she adds, "So, if you're not Julian's 'dear' what were you doing here today… And we got caught up and you never did mention if you know where he is instead of being here on time for his meeting with me."
"Well, hopefully a slip in the field won't cause him too much blood. I like the fellow," Randy says dryly before taking another sip of her ale. She's kind of a fast drinker. If she's not talking, she's drinking. "I could also scare him to death and see how it goes," she offers. "I actually just got out of a meeting with another Auror…on the way to Hogsmeade. Julian let me know he would be running late, but he didn't say why." She shrugs.
Being fashionably late is one thing. Being legitimately late for an appointment is another all in itself. The spastic spring weather had completely thrown off his wardrobe for the day, and thus had to pick out something else. On top of that, writing some letters to send out to family and the like to explain some of the goings on in his life and at the school lately… he was running behind schedule. Badly. However, he does finally make his way to the Three Broomsticks, slipping through the door. He's wearing a fedora atop his head, and a heavier looking pea-coat over his white shirt and dark-colored tie that he's prone to. His eyes scan over the bobbing heads of other students, peering about… until he spots who it is he's looking for. As he approaches, though, he pauses… and looks toward Randy. "Ma— Randy," he remarks, quirking his eyebrow slightly, before looking back to Katherine. "Miss Katherine, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to let the time get away from me as it did," he remarks, removing his fedora to run a hand through his hair. "I had some letters to send out. Mostly family, y'know. Since the news about what happened a few days ago is really starting to get out there. Gotta make sure m'mum's at least assured that all's well."
Katherine smiles up at Julian as he comes closer to the table only to have her smile fade away as she reminds her about the recent events on the continent. With a nod she accepts his apology and motions him to a free chair at the table. "Well, Randy here has been keeping me company. Telling me some /amusing/ stories about your times at Hogwarts." Her smile comes back as the hybrid smile/smirk she uses so often as she obviously tries to recover the good humor that had been going on at the table before the reminder of Dumstrang.
Randy nods, totally colluding with Katherine with complete ease. "Aye, You know, the good old days," she leaves it up to Julian's imagination and shoots him a surreptitious wink. "I should probably leave you two to business…" She turns to Katherine though, tilting her head, "Unless I should order three more of these?" she says cryptically, raising her mug.
"Good old days, eh?" Julian looks toward Randy for a moment, an eyebrow quirked, before he moves to slip into the chair that Katherine's indicated. He looks between the two women for a moment, and when a Barista comes by, he makes a quiet order for some kind of ale. Once ordered, he looks between the two of them again. He's shifting, getting out of the jacket… letting it hang over the back of his seat. He's wearing a band of mourning on his left bicep. "I daresay that my dear cousin's been boring the ever-loving death out of you, then," he looks toward her, tilting his head slightly toward Randy. Once his ale arrives, he moves to take it, and takes a sip.
Katherine nods her head slowly a couple of times as the relationship between the two becomes clear then she turns to Randy and says, "I quite liked that idea actually. But I think another two should be enough before we run that little test we talked about." And turning her attention to Julian, a finger running along the brim of her glass she adds,"OK Julian. Tell me a little bit about why I should endorse you for an apprenticeship with the Aurors?"
"Right, since you're calling the shots," Randy concedes, lifting her ale with a slight dip of her head. She quiets up for the interview portion, and nurses her ale with the express purpose of /not/ letting it get flat again. At the question, her eyes flicker towards Julian. She's quite curious to see what his answers will be, eyebrows slightly arched.
Taking a sip or two of his ale, Julian shrugs his shoulders a little bit, taking a small breath and considering the question laid out before him. Noticing Randy's… quiet interest, he purses his lips slightly, shrugging his shoulders again. "I could go into the guff about wanting to protect the community at large and doing the Ministry proud," he remarks, taking another sip of his ale as he looks toward Katherine. "However, s'not quite the case. T'fact of the matter is, I got family on both sides." He gestures toward Randy, "M'mum, and m'cousin, and not to mention another whole slew of kinfolk and brood on this side, of which I could probably trace you back t'bein' my Fifth Cousin, Once Removed, or something to that nature," he remarks idly… "And then on m'da's side. People I still may not associate with as much, but still care for." He pauses, then, leaning back. "I want to be in a position where I can make sure they're safe." He pauses, then, raising a hand, "While, of course, being an upright model of Ministry employment and a winning contribution to the Auror Office."
Katherine finds something in that answer very amusing, which is clear by the way she snort trying not to spew her latest sip of her drink by laughing before swallowing. After she's gotten control of herself she waves a dismissive hand in the air near her cheek and says,"Well now. Here you are thinking you're giving me less of an answer than I'm looking for and its 10 times better than my own. Want to know why I joined the Aurors? Because Daddy didn't want me living off his money, he wanted me to be someone he could brag about, and I couldn't stomach the idea of sitting behind a desk all day, every day in a Ministry office. The important thing is that people working with you be able to count on you to have their back. Its a dangerous job and having to worry if your partner or the members of your task force aren't up to the job or might turn on you just makes it more dangerous. Now, drink up. I've heard you're a pretty good duelist but I haven't seen it. And your spunky little cousin says she can give you a run for your money so we're going to see if you two are all talk or not."
"You have to drink three. I'm on my second." Randy says as she waves for the tender. She signals 3 with her hand and points to her ale. He gets her drift, because soon he's bringing over three fresh mugs. Randy downs the last quarter of her second one. "That's the rules," she says with a smirk. "So you're Daddy's little rich girl then?" she asks, leaning back to look at Katherine as if through a whole new light, and by her tone, teasing of course. "Hmm."
Well. That was unexpected. Taking another sip… and then a nice, large gulp of his ale, Julian purses his lips quietly, letting it sink down. He takes one more to finally finish it off, and he breathes in quietly. He listens to Katherine's remarks on the whole thing… and he nods. He then looks toward her, and Randy both for a moment, quirking an eyebrow… but he says nothing. At least, until the stipulation of Three Ales is brought into play. "… Why've I got to be near-drunk?" he asks quietly. Though he doesn't make a motion to turn down the order, and he reaches for one of the ales, claiming it and steadily nursing it down.
Katherine grins as Randy makes sure the second part of the idea is still in place then turns to answer her question, "Well… That depends on your definition. If you ask Daddy and somehow get him to give you a clear answer he'd probably say I'm Daddy's Little Disappointment. If you want an idea why ask your cousin here about our first meeting."
"This is why you still have the name Tucker," Randy digs playfully at Julian. "You never know when you'll have to fight," she quips and then starts in on her third ale. "I swear that you aren't really related. I can probably down this faster than you, and I'm a girl." She's just talking trash before they battle. Her eyes are dancing and she's got a big grin on her face. She turns her gaze back to Katherine, and then back to Julian. "So what's the story? I mean we have to finish this ale first, so…" entertain me? She shrugs.
Of course, Julian had only begun drinking in the last few weeks, especially since his stay at his father's during the Spring Break. That day after Ivy left is still foggy. And so, Julian continues to drink, getting through his second ale quickly, and breathing in as he looks over the brim of his mug at Randy and her poking at. "S'really unbecomin' of you, cousin," he remarks quietly, continuing to sip quietly at his drink until it's finished. "As for how Miss Katherine and I met… s'over at the Hogs Head," he remarks idly, "bein' a very skilled card shark and pretty much playing the entire table she was at for their money." He snickers a little… "Not that I'm sayin' you weren't doin' a damned good job of it." His face is getting a little red and his ears are warm. Yep. He's on his way.
Katherine laughs merrily at the recounting and nods,"Hey, at least it all went to charity… Well, most of it. If you count buying the bar a round as a legitimate charity. Which, having been at a bar and without money, I do." Leaning back in her chair a little bit she looks into her glass which still has a third of her vodka an pumpkin juice in it and then just chugs it down before placing it delicately on the table and daintily dabbing at her lips with a napkin.
Randy has had…well, lots of practice. She may only be pint sized, but it's clear she started well before hitting the legal drinking age. Or maybe she hides it well. She only has a slight hang on some of her words once she's three fourths into her last pint. "I love games. I've never played poker though. Maybe you can teach me sometime?" she asks. She downs the rest of her ale and then puts it on the table. "You ready for this?" she asks Julian, rising to her feet. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out coin to leave on the table. "I know just the spot we can go." It is a meadow off the beaten trail to Hogwarts, rather secluded.
There's a quiet snort at Kat as she remarks on things, and he shakes his head a little bit. "I guess you could call it charity," he comments idly… and then he looks to Randy as she rises, and he holds up a hand, making a small tsking noise. "Oho. No, not quite." At least Julian's manned up to admit he's not quite ready. And with that, he moves to take his third and final ale… and he looks into it for a moment, before moving to absolutely chug it down. This probably won't bode well for him later, but he does it anyway. And down it goes, steadily. He's not completely uncivilized in his chugging… and when he finally finishes it, he places the mug down on the table lightly, and he reaches up to wipe his mouth, before sliding to stand up. It takes him a moment to actually compose himself, but he does stand straight. He likewise takes a couple of knuts out of his pocket to pay up, tossing them onto the table. "Lead t'way, then."
Nova 's been wondering a bit, successfully dodging most of the same sized students that are swarming the town this weekend. She's dressed casually in loose fitting pants and a tight shirt and vest. Her hair's pulled back into a thick long braid that accents her Native American heritage. She'll glance around the room, looking to see if there's anyone she knows.
Katherine gets up from her chair as Julian finishes his last ale. After leaving some money on the table to pay for her drinks she starts following the two students to the door but then she spots Nova and waves at her with a smile, "Nova! How are you." Finessing her way to through the crowd she makes it to the other woman's side, the skirt of her simple sapphire blue dress swishing as she goes. Once she's reached her she mumbles something into her ear.
Randy notices Nova as they start to move for the exit. Her eyes look the woman up and down once, but since Randy doesn't give a shite about Quidditch, she just sort of moves on to the door to wait for Katherine. She'll just watch the two women from the door.
Of course, Julian's too focused on following Randy and keeping his focus on actually walking. As Kat does her little sashay thing through the crowd, he turns his head just briefly… and begins to move on toward the door, just slightly reaching out toward the facing once he's there, and breathing in deeply. "Why'd I let y'talk me in to this," he whispers toward Randy quietly, shaking his head a little bit. "Never… again."
Nova raises an eyebrow, trying to place the woman…."I am well. This is my first time here at Hogsmeade. It is… interesting." Nova will glance at the 2 students and then back to Kat, unsure of what is going on. Nova tries to not smirk, "I guess?" She seems a bit more amused now, and will tilt her head. She'll follow Kat when she walks away to see what is going on.
Meadow on the outskirts of Hogsmeade (TP Room 2)
Sitting on the outskirts of Hogsmeade this meadow was probably a farm at some point in the far past considering its almost perfect square shape. Surrounded by forest on all sides the meadow itself is covered in either soft green grasses and wild flowers or snow, depending on the season. Its close enough to town to make it a comfortable hike if you know where you're going but far enough so as to make it a perfect place for a tryst or a shadowy meeting.
After following Randy for a few minutes the small group comes to an out of the way meadow near the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Turning to face Randy and Julian Kat says,"Alright, My Pretties. Standard duel, I'm sure you both know how it works. I don't want to see any truly harmful spells although embarrassing is fine. If I see anything I think will put either of you in danger I'm stopping the duel and disqualifying the person that used the dangerous spell. Questions?"
Randy might not have a difficult as a time standing up straight as Julian, but she sure is manifesting her drinking in her mouth, "Wow, I thought you'd be a lot more cool," and then she sort of laughs and tries to stop. Her eyes are wider as if she didn't expect those words to come out.
Nova 's eyes widen and she'll try to not smirk. She's still young enough to think this is hysterical but something in the back of her head is warning her it could be bad for her career if one of these students dies dueling while drunk. so, being who she is, Nova shakes her head softly and mutters something in a foreign language.
Oh yes, Julian is probably stumbling just slightly as he makes his way along the pseudo-path that Randy has lead them down. As they get their set of rules, he rubs his nose a little bit, sniffing. He's red-faced, and a little bit anxious. Having left his jacket at the pub (oops), he just loosens his tie a bit and unbuttons the topmost button of his shirt, loosening the collar so he can breathe. He then takes his wand out, with his left hand, and nods quietly. Unlike Randy… even if he is drunk? He's coming in ready to go.
Katherine smirks at Randy,"Oh, I am. But putting one of you back together if someone looses control of something too powerful is more bother than its worth." Chuckling at herself she pulls out her wand, looking back at Nova and giving her a wink, then says,"Ready? Duel!" Regardless of how much she might be joking around she's watching the two students like a hawk and her wand is held almost as if she was already halfway through a cast. Clearly she's not about to let anything happen to these two if she can help it.
Of course, drunk or not, Julian's a competitive duelist. He knows how to go hard or go home when it comes to these kinds of things. And as Katherine sets the game forward, he turns quickly, wand out, and he begins to jab his wand forward as he cries out, "Bombarda!" The jet of light that shoots from his wand is aimed at a point near the tip of Randy's feet… and is meant to cause a small explosion at said point. Almost powerful enough that she may think that land mine or something to that extent has gone off in front of her.
Randy has a lot she's been hiding from the student body, though Julian would probably have seen Randy practicing once, maybe twice. The girl's wand is out and at ready in time for her to whip it around, with a, "Protego," just spoken. The shield comes up to block most of the blast, but not keeping the dirt from flying up into her eyes. She blinks and starts to walk in Julian's direction blindly, though yeah, that dirt wasn't helpful. "Really? How is that a friendly spell?" she says sarcastically as her eyes tear up to deal with the intrusion.
Katherine arches an eyebrow at Julian's use of Bombarda. "Julian, I'll let you get away with that one because of how you used it but be warned, that bordered right along the line of the 'no dangerous spells' rule." Being a hyper-aggressive duelist herself it would even be a little hypocritical for her to disqualify him for the use he just made of that particular spell.
In the rather near distance a very distinct and loud CRACK, sounds in the air and a soft rush of wind sways the grass in the meadow where a petite blond woman suddenly appears. She groans and scowls in slight pain upon seeing the sunlight, making her pull her round sunglasses over her eyes. Cooper glances, left and then right over the mostly empty meadow. "This isn't London…," she says dryly, and her nostrils widen as she takes a deep breath of air through her nose. "It's too…fresh…." And this is why you shouldn't Apparate hungover, kids. (But dueling drunk is just as bad, Julian.) The sounds of magic spells in the distance though are a good sign that she's still within magical boundaries and she turns to see two kids, a familiar Quidditch player and and even more familiar female figure across the way. And she trudges sloppily over to the group, tied up in a mess (as it always is), brow furrowed from a splitting headache that is the morning after consequence of a heavy, heavy night of drinking.
Nova 's wand is out. she's so rarely the not drunk, responsible one, she's now nervous. Maybe while they're busy she can just slither away? Muttering again, she'll plant her feet a little better and wait.
The warning strikes home, and Julian nods slowly as he begins to wind his wand back again. "Fine, fine," he grumbles, and as he begins to pace forward, he waves his wand in a slashing motion… and as he does, his next spell comes forward: "Aguamenti!" This time, it's water. That's not too horribly painful, right? Well, it is when it comes out of the tip of the wand in the same amount of power that a busted water hydrant would provide. Which is what he intends. Bowl her over with the water, and knock her off her keel. Disable her, and corner her. Effectively winning the duel. Shame this has rarely worked for him, mind… but, being drunk… who knows?
"Protego," again, just another calm shield. Randy is such a boring duelist, or maybe she's sizing Julian up, or maybe she's just drunk and doesn't want to get bowled over by Julian's Aguamenti. Her shield absorbs the blast beautifully, but she gets knocked back into a staggered stance, like someone about ready to punch or something. It's boxer's footwork. The water sprays up over face and body, just making her…wet and muddy. Vision finally free.
Katherine claps for Julian's choice of spells this time around,"Very nice! Both of you." Then she spins towards the sound of Appareting people and grins when she sees Cooper. "Cooper! Come join us and watch the fun!"
There's something about this scene that says: don't mess with it. So after Cooper slowly observes each individual, she figures she'll stay out of it for now. It could be the sunlight or it could be her headache, but she doesn't recognize Kat immediately. Still, she wants to know what's going on so who should she ask? There! The ripped one! "Pardon, but … where are we?" Cooper half grumbles, half slurs to Nova. But she jumps as soon as her co-worker catches her. Coop, lifts her lenses and squints at the fellow Auror. "That you, Sykes? Merlin's beard what's going on?"
Nova watches the duel, and will turn towards Cooper. "Near Hogsmeade…" Nova wonders if everyone here is drunk? Maybe she needs to be too, to understand what the hell is going on…She'll then look over to Kat…is she related to her team mate?
The praise falls on drunk, deaf ears as Julian continues to focus on the task at hand. Even though he's tipsified and the like, he still knows when it's time to go in for the kill. And as he does, after muddying up Randy's face and pretty much keeping this duel alive, Julian decides it's time to potentially put an end to it. And so, there's a jab of the wand, and he calls out: "Stupefy!" This time, it's a jet of red light that he casts toward the older Gryffindor, and as he does it, he steps forward slightly, giving force behind it willfully.
Randy suddenly switches it up from her staggered position, not a word. She stays there, but shoots off an, "Accio Julian" right as Julian pulls off his Stupefy. The summoning charm was timed well enough to cause Julian's attack only to nick her offhand, but she's not paying attention, because she winds her body up snap quick to launch forward and punch him in the stomach.
And of course, by the time Julian realizes what's going on, it's far too late. Drawn in by the magical attraction, Julian staggers and flies forward, crying out. Trying to use Depulso to knock himself away, even! "Depul—" But no, there's now a fist firmly planted in his solar plexus which knocks the wind right out of him, and he lurches forward, and then staggers back… but raises his wand to get ready again, despite his windedness.
Katherine blinks a couple of times as she watches the exchange, wincing a bit as Julian gets punched. "Well. That was inventive…" But, since there's no lasting damage done and she didn't explicitly prohibit physical contact, she chuckles a bit and lets the duel continue. Without taking her eyes or wand off the combatants she answers Coopers question, "It is me, yes. Welcome back by the way. As for what's going on, well, its just a friendly duel between cousins. Setting up the pecking hierarchy you could say."
"Hogsmeade… No way," Cooper looks all around her to catch a glimpse of the wizarding village in the distance. Was it really true? Her nose scrunches up as she scratches the nape of her neck. Still she watches the two kids go at it, tilting her head curiously as the Stupefy zip's off and instead Julian zips in closer to Randy. There's a wince that comes when the punch lands. "Don't think they can do that in an officiated duel, can they? Sock the bugger?" Cooper sniffs, casually asking Kat. But she doesn't seem too interested in bringing justice to the duel. "Thank you," she nods briefly to the fellow blonde, and ahhhhs at her explanation of the situation. "I see. Well, she's certainly pecking him good, isn't she?" She adjusts the shades on her nose as she refers to Randy. Innuendo intended.
Nova nods to Cooper, tilting her head at the duel, "If this is about family, then anything goes." she'll relax a bit , hand still holding the wand, but not at the ready. She's always thought a punch settles disputes fast than wands in some ways, anyway. She'll glance between the two women, clearly they know each other.
This was the Claire Cameron School of Dueling that Julian had started pulling out. Go for the throat; go for the knockout. Perhaps Julian's come to realize why it was that Randy had closed the gap between them. And that just wasn't going to do… because while he may be a Quidditch player, and a Beater at that… his physical prowess at actually doing something besides swinging a club was a little beyond him. It's then, of course, that as he considers Randy, he lifts his wand again— and casts, again, "Stupefy!" The red flash of light blasts forward with force as he flourishes the wand, meaning to put a little 'umph' behind the hex.
And Randy was pulling out some tried and truuuuuuly underestimated moves. Julian probably knows now it was kind of Randy not to punch him in the face. For all she lacks in size, she's not lacking in power so the results of a punch to the face would have been clearly visible for all to see. At least until he made it back to the school's infirmary. She tries to throw up another shield, murmuring, "Protego," in the next beat of the fight, but Julian's just a little bit quicker on the draw. Her shield goes up! But not before his stupefy shoots through just in time to hit her square in the chest. She falls back to the ground, knocked out cold.
Having been watching for something like this since the beginning and even more closely once punches and Stupefies started flying, Kat is ready for the falling girl, in this case. With a quick flick of her wand she calls out, "Levioso!" stopping Randy's fall. Then follows it up with a "Renervate!" awakening her. "Nice match. I like how inventive both of you got. But Randy, careful with splitting your attention too much in close quarters, it slows your reaction and casting time." Turning to Cooper with a somewhat evil smile she adds,"No, they definitely can't get physical in an official duel. But then, this isn't an official duel, now it is?"
Cooper hmms and nods slowly at Nova, and with a half shrug of one shoulder she replies, "Fair." Keeping one hand over her eyes to shield from the sunlight she watches the rest of the duel play out. Her eyes raise with brief interest to see the Stupefy lands, but she's not too worried about the girl falling for she knows her dear co-worker has this down pat. "Bravo," Cooper gives a slow clap to the performance. But her eyes narrow upon observing their movement for a moment. "Kat… where did you pull these kids from? They're a bit sloshy, like they've had a bit to drink." Because you know, it takes one to know one. "Aren't kids supposed to be in school?"
Nova puts her wand away and will shove her hands into her pant pockets. This was interesting. She'll wait to say anything, as besides drunk people, and some family thing, she's still not sure what's happening, and more importantly, why she's here. She'll smile some though, it's something to tell the team about, she guesses.
Katherine puts one arm companionably around Julian's shoulder and the other around Randy's shoulder and guides them over to Nova and Cooper,"Well, there-in lies the story. This young man here would like to apprenticeship with us so I thought I should see what he had under the hood before giving him my endorsement. And his cousin here thought it would be fun to duel with him, but only after a few drinks. So, three ales later, here we are."
Randy seems fine to walk, for the most part. Waking up from the Stupefy has left her a little disoriented. She says /nothing/. /Nothing/ Julian. But she does kind of lean a little into Katherine to make sure she looks like she's walking just fine. "Aye. I thought it would be fun. We've never dueled before," she colludes easily. "He's good with his wand," Randy concedes and glances over to Julian to offer him a little grin.
"'ullo." Julian is slightly sloshed, yes. Because he's a lightweight. As he's guided along by the shoulders after the duel, he steadies himself then he holds out his wand first… But then, realizes what he's doing, and lowers his wand and wand-hand to instead raise his right hand toward Cooper, at least. "'dwards. Julian Edwards, ma'am." With the combination of adrenaline and alcohol and every other chemical in his body flowing at a high rate, even after the duel, he's a little flush-faced and wide-eyed. "Nice t'meet you." He looks toward Nova, regarding her for a moment… blinking. "… Aren't you… Tiva? From the Arrows?" He squints. Where the Hell did she come from? And… why? There's a slow stare around. "… What'd you do, Sykes? Sell tickets?" Hiccup.
Eyes obscured behind the round shades, Cooper gives both kids a silent once over and nods in slight approval. "Well. That's one way to make them earn it," she shrugs and holds a clammy, hungover hand for them to shake. "Genevieve Cooper. Good hook." She compliments Randy briefly and then turns to Julian, "And good duel Mr. Edwards. Only, there's a five ale quota you need to reach before you're even considered for an apprenticeship." The deadpan on her face means she's completely serious about it. "I'm glad to see you're teaching the future generation well, Kat. I ho-." And suddenly Cooper pauses, her lips pursing as if she's trying to hold something in, meanwhile green hues begin to flood her complexion.
Nova nods slowly to Julian, trying to not laugh at this whole situation. She'll rock back on her heels slightly, "Yes, I am….Are duels common like this?" She'll ask looking at them all. This is not how it's done in America.
Katherine grins at Julian and shakes her head,"No, these are just friends we ran into on the way here… Or that ran into us as the case may be." She's about to tease Cooper a bit more when she sees her going green around the gills and, knowing perfectly well what that means, she edges sideways so that both herself and the two students are no longer standing right in front of her. "No, this is not the way its normally done here either Nova. But its a lot more fun than the traditional way. Cooper, how are you doing sweety? Had a little too much tonight?"
"He has to get this from his father," Randy explains, as if to say, it's not in the family. "And thanks, me Mum taught me," the Macmilllan girl says with a twinkly eyed grin. Her eyes widen suddenly at Cooper's disposition. "Incoming." She looks over to Nova, but doesn't dare move except in the direction she's being carefully guided. "Randy Macmillan. Nice to meet you," she offers.
"T'punch… caught me off guard, s'for sure." Julian admits that quietly, and he looks toward Randy for a moment as she mentions his ability as a duelist… or rather, how good he is with his wand. He says nothing, because he tends to ignore the innuendo of such statements… but he does notice one thing: Cooper. And her getting green. As he notices it… he too begins to get green, despite the introduction between the two. And he begins to fight his gag reflex. "Oh, Merlin's Beard," he croaks out quietly, fighting it.
There's a deep groan and a grumble from Cooper's throat as she tries with every effort to keep her stomach down. A hand massages her temple as a slightly glistening sweat breaks on her forehead, meanwhile her breathing grows heavy and labored. "IneedtogetbacktoLondon," she quickly mutters out while pulling forth her wand. And after a few more silent seconds of hesitation, there emits from her a loud "Bleh!" It's sound cut short with another CRACK! Cooper disappears in a light cloud of smoke leaving a light spray of vomit on the group's feet. With the natural discomfort that comes with apparating, it is almost guaranteed the Auror will have tossed the rest of her cookies during the ride there.
Katherine blinks in surprise a few times at Coopers sudden disappearance then blinks a few more as she realizes her troubles aren't over quite just yet. Dropping her arms from both student's shoulders she quickly steps away from Julian, grabbing the back of Randy's shirt as she goes to get her away too, "Julian, if you're going to upchuck look at the trees! The trees Julian!" Which should put the boy in a position where he's facing completely away from everyone.
Nova blinks and shakes her head. Everyone here is so weird. She'll start to laugh, pulling out her want and cleaning of her moccasins. She's been around Quidditch players long enough to not let that bother her. Nova will look to Randy, "Nova Tiva, it's good to meet you too." She'll even offer the girl a smile. Some students are OK, it seems. Nova shakes her head again, "Perhaps first should be used instead of wands of there's drink involved…I find there's less….after effects then." She'll stop even trying and just laugh.
Randy is just sort of handled out of the way, her arms going out as she stumbles back with Katherine. She's not one to have that daisy chain reaction like the rest. "Wow. It was only three drinks," she says in astonishment. "I never would have sugges-" she waits to see if he pukes, just standing there next to Katherine, grinning. She can't help herself. It has nothing to do with Julian's predicament surely.
Pursing his lips as he fights the impulse still, Julian remains overall quiet, at least until it seems to have settled. "Ugh," he groans quietly, reaching up to quietly rub his head slightly after realizing… there is VOMIT on his shoes. As Nova introduces herself… he looks to her, quirking an eyebrow. "Thought so," he remarks quietly, and he looks toward Katherine for a moment. He just says nothing… but he does turn to stare at the trees for a bit, trying to steady his brain and his stomach while focusing on something stationary…
Katherine lets out a big sigh of relief and then turns to Nova, "It was nice seeing you again Nova. One of these days I hope its in a situation where we can actually talk instead of times like this or socialite events where you have to flit from person to person constantly, never having a real conversation. But right now I think I better escort these two back to Hogwarts… Or at least Julian here." She smiles at Julian, taking the possible sting out of her words and adds,"But you've earned your letter. I'll send it to you via owl, along with a sealed copy for you to send with your application."
"So are you going to teach me how to play poker? Winner takes all?" Randy asks Katherine with a grin, completely unfazed by all the puking, punching, and drinking. She just looks like she's got slightly flushed cheeks, a giant sized grin, and maybe her look isn't all that restrained. It's just flat out flirty. Okay, so the alcohol gets to her in different ways.
Nova nods, still laughing, "Ok. I'll see you later!" She'll start walking back towards the town.
Either Kat's not noticing Randy's flirtatious attitude or she's not bothered by it. She starts guiding the students towards Hogwarts, voices fading into the distance as they go,"Of course I'll teach you! I always need people to play with and the more people that know it, the easier it is to find them."