[Three Broomsticks] Have I found you, flightless bird [Conall]

Finally, a damned Hogsmeade weekend! Tess needed a butterbeer more than she had ever needed anything, and made her plans with Egan for them to meet up at the Three Broomsticks after he finished doing the essay he had to write for Defense Against The Dark Arts. Tess, however, was completely caught up on her homework, and spent the first half of her morning getting ready in her dorm room. She curled her hair, lined her eyes, contoured, highlighted, shadowed, and lipsticked. But at the end of it all, it almost looked like she hadn't done much at all. She couldn't bring herself to wear dark makeup, but she still believed, after all of the growing up that she had done, that her face needed a lot of work to make it worth looking at. The only thing she had going for her was an extremely even complexion, so she didn't have to cake on foundation and concealer like many other girls did. Her dress, though plain, was sure to be nice looking enough for a Hogsmeade weekend, accessorized with a jacket and a scarf. She had learned to convince herself that she wasn't dressing up for anyone in particular, and that it was for her alone, but pigs would fly before Tess did much of anything for her own benefit. Fixing her hair one last time, she glanced in the mirror, and headed out to the small Wizarding village with a few galleons in her pockets, ready to have a bit of fun.

Upon arriving to Hogsmeade, she had plenty of time to kill before Egan would be heading over to meet up with her. Instead of sitting alone somewhere, she passed the time by window shopping, enjoying the warm weekend in early October, but eager to get off of her feet. She made her way through the doors of The Three Broomsticks, eyeballing a seat close to the fireplace before making her way to the counter. Leaning into the wood, she waited for the bar tender to make his way over to her and let her order a drink. Butterbeer wasn't quite as strong as some things that Tess liked to drink, but getting shitfaced while waiting for her best friend to arrive was probably... not the smartest idea she'd ever have. After all, she wasn't even drunk when she kissed him, and she was glad that she wasn't drunk at the upperclassmen party, because Merlin only knew if she would've tried to do it again. Egan himself was too busy kissing Jack, which was odd, so she just... left.

She looked down to the opposite side of the bar, and what her eyes landed on was enough to give her a heart attack. Two seats away, sitting at the bar, was Conall freaking Regan. She immediately struggled with the thought of whether she should run in the opposite direction or find some way to get his attention. Clasping her hands together (which were becoming more and more clammy by the nano-second), she resisted the urge to chew on her bottom lip. Covered in lipstick as it was, her nervous fix wouldn't be able to help her here. She shifted uncomfortably, pretending she didn't see him at all, staring at a spot on the wall, and wondering if he even remembered her or knew who she was.

Hectic.

It was the perfect word to describe his life right now. With Quidditch going full force, Professors were pilling him with coursework, and above all Conall Regan was a single man sitting at the bar in The Three Broomsticks. Enjoying a pint of fire whiskey as he was dressed in a white button up shirt with grey trousers. Why did he dressed up when he wasn't meeting anyone? Because he bloody well felt like it. Conall took great pleasure in looking his best even when his life was moving too fast for him to catch up. Wasn't the last year at Hogwarts suppose to be the easiest? At least that what he had assumed last term when he was a sixth year and enjoying the easier, slow paced of life. Minus being sick for the first half of the term because of that damn Death Eater.

Setting his glass down on the counter, Conall leaned back against his bar seat and caught sight of a familiar figure on the opposite side of the bar. Tess Gorman. Of course he remembered her, it was hard to forgot the face of the younger sister of the woman who had given birth to his niece. Sometimes Conall wondered if Murphy had married...whatever her name is...if Tess and him would've spent more time together. She seemed like a decent girl and Lorin was on friendly terms with her. At least he was sure that was the case. Getting up and removing his jacket, Conall placed it on his seat so he wouldn't lose it, and moved towards the Gryffindor. The red dress she had on was quite flattering to her curves, and he couldn't help but admire the way it looked on her. Of course it held nothing to the way Lorin looked in a red dress...but that was another matter.

"You look lonely," he moved in front of her vision so that she wasn't staring at something on the wall, "why not come join me on the other side of the bar. I'm sure you would rather talk to an associate than a.." Conall paused and looked to where she was looking with a raised brow. "A fly? Beetle?" Smiling slightly, the seventh year crossed his arms and looked back at Tess. "I do hope I would be much better company than some type of small creature that can't even talk back." He was slightly joking with her, hoping to relax the younger girl. After all he was getting pretty lonely in his spot at the bar and it would be nice to have some kind of company to talk to. Not waiting to see if she would respond, Conall moved to head back to his seat. If she wanted to join him she would follow, if not he would just finish his glass of fire whiskey and perhaps go find Cabhan or Lorin. One of the two would entertain him some way or another....in different ways of course.

Sitting back down, Conall leaned back into his seat and pretended to not care if Tess joined him or not by sipping on his glass with a casual demeanor about him.

Surely Conall didn't just move into her line of sight by his own accord. She blinked and he was there standing right in front of her, breaking her connection with the piece of stone wall before her. She blinked a couple of more times, and when she decided that it definitely was real and not a daydream she smiled at him, albeit awkwardly. All of a sudden, the talkative Gryffindor was at a complete loss for words. Here Conall Regan was, her knight in shining armor, her favorite daydream subject. He had talked to her first. Surely she was dreaming with her eyes open. She was sure that Conall didn't even know her name, let alone that she existed. Maybe she had just recently become a little less transparent to him. Maybe it was her makeup or her hair or her dress. She would have to wear this exact same outfit again some day. Or would that be weird? Creepy?

Breathing a laugh, she looked down at her butterbeer shyly. Was he seriously inviting her to go sit with him? Instinct told her to politely decline and play hard-to-get, but if this were any other boy, she might've considered it for a second. No way would she ever pass up the opportunity to share conversation with her beloved over a butterbeer. Finding her voice, she smiled softly and nodded. "Okay!" She squeaked, but he was already walking away. Merlin he was so cool. So dreamy. She followed him like a lost puppy, taking a moment to grab her leather jacket from the back of her chair with one hand and her butterbeer with the other. As she walked the length of the bar, she mentally tried to collect herself before anything stupid came out of her mouth. She had to be extra careful, and maybe if she was really lucky, Conall would ask her to come out with him again sometime. A girl could dream, right?

She slipped into a seat beside him, being careful to keep her lady bits covered by her dress on all sides, trying to stay as classy and lady-like as possible. Rich pureblooded wizards from old families liked classy ladies, didn't they? It must've been why Conall liked Lorin so much. Lorin was as classy as they came, and she made Tess look like a bumbling fool on a daily basis. Lorin was graceful and Tess was clumsy. She could only hope that Conall wouldn't notice how strongly she exuded awkwardness.

Making small talk, she nodded over at his glass with a sweet smile. "Firewhiskey?" She asked, looking at the amber liquid. Tess loved the stuff, but typically opted out of getting it while at school since she didn't handle her liquor very well. She was still a very cheap drunk, despite all of the drinking she and Egan did over the summer. Perhaps it was her smallness or the fact that she was a girl, but Tess wasn't difficult to make sloppy with drink. Firewhiskey was cinnamon-ny and warm and delicious, and Tess preferred that to any regular whiskey or vodka. There was something about it that made it taste less like alcohol and more like something Tess could actually enjoy drinking. Perhaps that was why it was so dangerous. She crossed one leg over the other and glared at her butterbeer, thinking that her next round might be a Firewhiskey instead.