Take Pause

((OOC: Richard is an NPC I made up for this thread))

Audriana had been searching for a man named Richard for days, including many hours spent all morning. Thus far, she had come to a few dead ends, but was getting incredibly close. Her stage of the game, she decided, definitely earned her a break for lunch. As it were, she didn't have anyone to just meet up with at the Leaky for lunch. Jake, one of her few friends, was likely looking after his daughter, and she rarely asked him to take time away. She understood extremely well how much a girl needed her father. Growing up without hers, it made her feel guilty to tear him away just to spend time with her.

Walking into the pub part of the Leaky, she sat down at the bartop and greeted the server standing behind the bar. Audriana wondered vaguely how the owner, Neville, and his family were doing. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she looked up as a server approached and ordered her usual, go-to meal. Waiting for the order to be ready, she fiddled with her necklace - the one her grandmother left her - spinning the charm around on its chain and thinking about her next steps in her search for Richard.

Joshua entered the leaky cauldron looking pretty tired, he walked slowly towards the bar.He saw a girl he never saw before in the leaky cauldron.He took a stool and sat down looking at his watch.When the bartender came back Joshua saluted him."The usual, please",he said to the bartender.He looked around but he didn't see many people.There was a table were a family was eating and the witch next to him.He wasn't sure if he should talk to her or not because she looked pretty shy and might not liked to be approached.

The bartender opened a beer and poured it into a glass and he gave it to Joshua. Joshua decided to talk to the girl near him. "Hi,I'm Joshua"When the girl turned around to reply he saw her eyes, his wife eyes they looked the same, hazel eyes with a shy look well that's the way he saw them, he felt sad but didn't show it. He thought he shouldn't make people feel bad because of his tragedies so he kept a secret, his wife and son died. He was suicidal for a while when he knew his wife, son,father, and mother died in the same year and in that moment he felt the same way because of the memories brought to him.

Audriana looked up sharply when the man who had sat down next to her introduced himself. Releasing the necklace, she let it fall back onto her shirt. He seemed almost cautious about approaching her in any way, which wasn't surprising. She often cared more about her jobs than her looks, so she had a feeling her curly hair was a bit of a mess right then. Then again, she never had the confidence she perhaps should have.

"My name is Audriana." She replied. The server brought her a sandwich and her typical butterbeer with ginger and she smiled at them in thanks.

Looking back at Joshua she wondered briefly if she'd seen him before. Since she wasn't sure, she looked at him carefully as she took a drink from her glass. "Are you in Diagon Alley often?" she asked. Most of her jobs involved meeting clients in either Knocturn Alley or Diagon Alley, so she imagined she may have seen him in and around those areas.

Joshua took a drink of his beer and said "Nice to meet you,Audrianna." She said something else after that."I went there recently to buy a wand since my first one broke.Also to buy some books."He wandered if she had gone to Hogwarts or other wizarding schools.If she was in Hogwarts he had never seen her or at least he didn't remember her at all."You studied at Hogwarts I suppose?Let me guess Ravenclaw, right?"He thought she had to be much younger than him to have been in Gryffindor or she had to be in another house.He took another drink.

Audriana listened as she took a bite of her sandwich. It was always fantastic.

"Gotcha." She nodded in return. She decided not to offer up information about her spending time in Diagon Alley unless he asked.

He seemed to be assessing her, so she sat up straighter. "I was actually in Gryffindor," She replied lightly, "Though I acted more like a Ravenclaw sometimes." Aud shrugged gently. "So you were pretty close." She added.

Looking at him, she thought back to his introducing himself and his general attitude before saying, "You were in Gryffindor, too, weren't you?"

Joshua took another drink from his beer.Why do you ask do you go there often?I come here when i need a beer or I need something like books or ingredients for potions."He took the last drink of his beer since it was empty.
He had been wrong about her she wasn't a Ravenclaw, but she acted like one."Yes, I was in Gryffindor too, but you seem familiar but I don't know if you resemble a muggle friend or I saw you in Hogwarts."He lied saying she resembled a muggle friend and he referred to his wife."How old are you?"

Audriana put her sandwich down in surprise when he continued on about her question. "I'm simply around here most days and hadn't seen you before that I know of." She replied gently.

She looked at him more closely when he said he was a Gryffindor. "Did you play Quidditch?" She asked finally, raising an eyebrow at him. He seemed the type, and she remembered someone in their house who resembled him and was on the team. She had gotten into Quidditch over the years as well, though she didn't go out for the house team until her seventh year and her friends finally talked her into it. Before then, she was often around the practice field playing two-on-two with her friends or other small games like that.

She was a bit surprised by his question, but understood that it was because he wanted to know what year she was in compared to him. She nearly laughed, though, thinking of what Natalia used to say about never asking a woman her age. "I'm twenty four. Turning twenty five next month." She added, in case that might help. "I was the youngest in my year, since my birthday was right before the school year started. I graduated seven years ago."

"Oh, yeah I don't come here often and I hang around for fifteen minutes so there isn't much chance of seeing me around, I'm kind of a loner, I like hanging out with people, but I didn't make magical friends in Hogwarts so I'm making them now.So most of the time I spend it with my dog and I also fly around for fun."It was obvious that Joshua was pretty lonely at times.

"I actually played Quidditch I was a beater."He liked protecting so he could also have been the keeper.He tried to remember if he had been her teammate.

"Oh, we have the same age, but I'm already twenty five.I think we never met because I was afraid of talking to girls."

Audriana took a drink in order to hide her frown. It was strange how similar she was to Joshua, someone she barely even knew. "You and I have that in common." She replied, referring to the lack of friends, "Though I'm not one to go about searching for them."

Deciding to avoid talk about her lack of trust in people - pretty much ever - she chose to move away from talk about relationship issues and go on to his mentioning being a Beater. "Ah," She replied lightly. "Chaser." She gestured to herself. "Joined my seventh year."

Aud stifled a snort, attempting to at least appear ladylike. Not that she really was, of course. She spent far too much time on her own, or being involved in athletics or her job to actually be much of a prim and proper lady. "Not to worry," She said, surprised at how amicable she could be with him. "I didn't do much talking myself."

"Yeah, me neither but recently I've been too lonely so I want to make a few friends."He liked her as a friend and he knew she didn't want anything more neither did he.He knew he would get hurt if he loved someone this had happened lots of time, but not by the people he loved he got hurt by their death.

"OH!, I think I remember you are Audrianna Swan,great seeker, by the way.Have you fallen of your broom because I remember you were very balanced."He reminisced about his quidditch days he loved the sport."Why did you join on your last year only?"