One of the things Kirby liked best about summer was the fact that he had the time to go somewhere midday on a weekday. Though a place like Hogsmeade was never desolate by any stretch of the imagination, it was certainly more settled down than it would be on a weekend or in the evening.

On this particular afternoon, the Three Broomsticks was humming rather than booming, with only a few people lingering from the “lunch rush.” Pints were being finished, the bartender let out a hearty laugh, and in the midst of it all sat Kirby Krause. The sixteen-year-old was alone for the time being, waiting for his friends Vulpes and Aurora to join him for lunch. They had just returned from Egpyt, and Kirby was dying to hear all about the foreign land. Of course, one couldn’t tell by looking at the boy, his face idle and calm as he took small sips of his pear cider. He had not yet ordered food, opting instead to politely wait for his mates. His narrow, sloping shoulders were slouched as always, weight resting on the left elbow he had propped on the table.

His mind wandered to his two friends. Between him and Vulpes, the Slytherin (in Kirby’s opinion, a huge lapse of judgment by Sorting Hat... it was obvious Vulpes should have been a Ravenclaw) was certainly the more flamboyant of the two, all dyed hair and daydreams. Kirby often found himself trying to get his friend to come back down to Earth, particularly during class... with mixed results. The Icelandic Aurora, on the other hand, was more like the redheaded boy, though with more fondness of outdoor activities. They shared of love of art, which was the main thing they bonded over, as well as patient temperaments.

Kirby craned his neck toward the fireplace, where Vulpes and Aurora were due to arrive by Floo. He was eager to see his friends, no matter how soot-covered they turned up.

Aurora was positively beaming the past month.  Usually so stoic and unperturbed, her sudden shift in expression made others do a double-take, as if unsure it was really Aurora smiling nonstop.  It was no surprise, however, to most of her peers that she was now dating Vulpes Connor.  On top of that, she had just spent the best vacation in the most beautiful place in the world (next to Iceland, of course) with the people she cared about most.  Eric was back into working mode and Aurora was hanging around with Vulpes and his family since they returned from Egypt.

It was now time to Floo over to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.  Her and Vulpes were to visit their friend Kirby and catch up on the latest events of their summer.  Vulpes, of course, was eager to announce Aurora and he were officially a couple, which made her smile and roll her eyes.  Kirby, though, was mostly interested in hearing about Egypt, she figured, since he had to stay behind to work on a mural in Diagon Alley.  Aurora would have loved to contribute as well, but the call of Egypt was a little louder, and she couldn't ignore it.

Popping out of the fireplace, she dusted herself off and stepped out, ruffling her long hair.  Looking around the tavern, she spotted Kirby and gave a friendly wave before striding over to the table and sitting down in front of him.  "Good to see you again, Kirby!" she smiled brightly and shook his hand, looking him over briefly.  He's gotten a little tanner, I see. she noted and looked at her bare arms.  I never noticed until now, but wow, am I dark... she thought in amusement and waited for Vulpes to appear.

It had only a week since he had returned from Egypt, and Vulpes was already restless. He supposed it was due to the fact that he actually had friends now, that caused it. Also the soon to be arrival of the entire family wasn't something he was looking forward too this summer. Earlier this week he had read in the paper that there would be a Tetrawizard Tournament, that included Salem.

And that meant Vexillarius would be talking nonstop about it when he and his family showed up in Brighton later that evening.

Growing rather anxious (and really hoping to avoid Vex for as long as possible), Vulpes jumped at the chance to see Kirby, even if it meant traveling by floo. It was around lunch time when Aurora came out of his fireplace in Brighton, and only a few minutes later did she step into it again to head for Hogsmeade.

Vulpes was held up for a minute, as Cytherea was begging him to come along, she was so bored. She was also now on his case about 'fixing' his hair, wanting to cut off the blue tips like she had with her pink ones. But one exhasparated look at his mother, and she pried his sister off him, allowing him to step into the fireplace...

...And land flat on his face in the Three Broomsticks. "Ow..." Vulpes muttered picking himself off the floor and dusting himself off. "Never going to get used to that... Kirby!" he exclaimed, catching sight of his friend. "How are you?"

"Aurora," Kirby greeted fondly, grinning warmly at his friend as she approached. He sandwiched her hand lightly between his when she offered it in a handshake. "It's great to see you again, too." There was little time for one-on-one conversation between the two, for not long after the ever-graceful Vulpes did a bellyflop onto the floor. The redhead twisted his whole lanky body toward the fireplace in an instant. "Hey, mate- you alright?" he called, not quick enough to rise before Vulpes picked himself up and cheerfully greeted him.

"I'm doing fine," he answered, taking another sip of his cider. "But what about you two? How was Egypt? I want to hear all about it." His voice was enthusiastic, yet subdued- though that was threatening to break with eagerness. Egypt seemed so exotic (and why shouldn't it- it's on a different continent), and the stories the two were bound to have had to be terribly exciting. Tombs, pyramids, and all that... Kirby was waiting with bated breath, the corners of his pink lips turned upwards in a small smile.

Aurora smiled fondly and shook her head at Vulpes's entrance, letting out a slight giggle.  For someone so gifted at physical activities like parkour, Vulpes was really ungraceful when using Floo.  "He's fine.  Gotten into worse scrapes than that," she commented lightly and gave Vulpes a knowing look.  Waiting for him to take a seat, Aurora took in her surroundings quietly before replying to Kirby.

"Egypt was amazing.  The sky... it was unbelievable how beautiful it was, you'd think it's a painting." she said whimsically and twirled a lock of auburn hair around her fingers idly.  "And the tombs.  Despite the smell and underlying realization that you're in an enclosed space with dead people, it's actually quite thrilling." she added with a hint of humor and crossed her legs comfortably.

Aurora wondered how Kirby's painting went, seeing as she only got back the week before and didn't really have the time or opportunity to visit Diagon Alley and take a look.  Studying Kirby's face, however, she could see something that hadn't been there at the beginning of summer.  She couldn't quite place it, but he looked happier, and she knew it wasn't just for the eagerness of hearing about Egypt.  I'm suddenly more interested in learning about his summer so far, she thought and smiled in anticipation.

"Yea the tombs kind of creeped me out, honestly," Vulpes chimed in now massaging a shoulder. It was amazing, it really was. He could leap from two story buildings and roll to his feet. He could navigate an urban environment, hop fences, jump railings, like it was nothing. But floo travel? Face first. Every. Single. Time.

"Actually the most exciting part of the trip was probably the first day," he continued giving Aurora a small smile. There was a very large part of him that wanted to outright tell Kirby about him and Aurora. But it just seemed so rude to do so. So for the time being Vulpes left it alone. "But that's nothing really."

Vulpes stretched his shoulders. "What about you mate?" he asked. "How was the painting? What else have you been up to?" In actuality Vulpes was more curious to hear about what happened on the home front while they were gone. So much could have been done that he could have missed.