Sebastian Toussaint had been looking forward to this trip every since he'd turned seventeen and was able to travel without any unnecessary adult supervision. Since he'd been behaving as of late, and his grades were superior, getting permission from his parents didn't take any convincing. It helped that they intended to visit Austria where one of his family's hotels were located. So really, he did have supervision, just the kind that was slightly less annoying than parentals.

Because he was family, there was already a suite available for them to use, full of all the magical amenities, plus a few commodities personalized to the Toussant's liking. Naturally he was the first to arrive, but Bastien held off on picking a bedroom until the girls chose theirs, and instead grabbed a butterbeer and admired the view from the balcony.

It took a little bit of convincing, but Rula had eventually gotten her parents' permission to go to Vienna. Fortunately she had a day or two to spend with her family before the trip started - which was good, because she wanted to spend time with them too. The vacation would only be for a week, but she'd missed them too, especially after all that had happened that term.

But once the day arrived, she was all packed, said goodbye to them, and then stepped into the fireplace to floo to the hotel. Once there, she asked for the number of their room and quickly made her way up to the suite, dragging her suitcase behind her. She soon found it, and she put the key in to open the door, and...

"Baaaast!" Where was he? Had Aslan and Oskar arrived yet?

The knightbus drive from Oxford to Vienna was short, but not short enough. The blue eyed conductor had been a little too curious, a little too kind and the free frozen hot chocolate he'd forced on the Gryffindor tasted of pity and Swiss Miss.

She'd had very little choice other than to chuck the drink and commemorative cup out the window when he hadn't been looking, all the while quietly lamenting her inability to apparate. When the Knightbus finally stopped it was with quiet relief that Aslan stepped out and onto the busy sidewalk.

Vienna. It wasn't a city she had ever expected to see in her youth. back then anything outside of London had felt too far and too expensive but magic made everything accesible. With just an outstretched arm and her wand extended out Aslan could be thousands of miles away.

Then again, she spent the majority of her time miles alway. Days and months went by with Aslan Evans only just tethered to her real surroundings.

she was in no rush to head to the room, a fact made obvious by her refusal to move at all from her spot on the sidewalk. She would admit to no one that part of her stasis (was that the correct word? It didn't feel quite right) was the budding suspicion that she had arrived first and while she enjoyed Bastien's company, the idea of being alone with him was as appealing as the gum stretched across the bottom of that muggle's shoe. The feeling was unusual and quite unmanageable, but as Aslan stared up at the incredibly beautiful building with her friend's name on the door, she felt it as keenly as ever.

What a mess.

Getting permission for the Vienna trip had been somewhat difficult, due to the fact that Oskar's father fully expected that he spend the summer working for him, in anticipation of taking on a more hands-on role in the family business. Mr Imago had seen little use in his son taking a holiday, and Oskar could hardly put forth an impassioned argument, given that he lacked certain key emotional components.

But Oskar was quite skilled in the art of manipulation, courtesy of Mr Imago himself, and he had had plenty of time to convince his father that it was all in the name of keeping up appearances. His mother had been the one to drive the point home, and ultimately Oskar was permitted the time for a holiday with Bastien and the girls, to all intents and purposes as a 'reward' for working hard for his early NEWTs.

Being the youngest of the group, Oskar did not have an apparition licence either, and his father felt it appropriate that he refrain from illegal apparition unless absolutely necessary. As such, he made his appearance through the floo, which brought him directly to the suite they were staying in. After setting his bags by the side of the fireplace, he cleaned the soot from his clothes and moved towards the noise he could hear.

Ah. "Rula," Oskar said, by way of greeting, inclining his head towards her. He was not yet sure where Bastien was, but was sure that he would be drawn towards Rula's voice.

Was it too late to step away? Too late to turn tail and gather herself up? Aslan grit her teeth together. The city was beating beneath her boots, the thud and thump felt like a rush, a push, a shush and she needed quiet.

Aslan tossed back mess of dark hair as she slid her backpack off and reached deep within. Magically extended, it took some time before she was able to fish out her Walkman and the tangle of gray headphones. Hastily, with fidgety fingers she untangled the headphones and dug them into her eardrums, her thumb brushed over the plastic and metal of the muggle device before settling on the red rectangle that would bring the music to life. She stared up again at the buiding, a testament to her friend's prevliage and luck and thought of her old home and all the circumstances she had weathered to get here and afford this trip...

She clicked the button. Morrisey flooded her ears and with his words her thoughts began to fade. She swayed, her head nodding along with the slow beat.

Aslan Evans wasn't going anywhere.

No matter how distant he appeared, the seventeen year old was always aware of his surroundings. This included Rula opening the front door of their suite, and shouting his name.

He knew the sound of his best friend's voice anywhere, and naturally was drawn to it. His Bott blue eyes lighting up excitedly, Bast set down his butterbeer and made his way through the suite to where his friends were gathered, glad to see Oskar had also made it.

"Oskar," He inclined his head at the other boy in greeting, and then broke his courtly facade when his eyes turned to Rula, scooping her up into his arms and spinning her around. "I'm glad you guys made it!" Hopefully unperturbed by the staff. When he set her down, he dusted off the bit of floo powder still attached to her clothes. "I left the room untouched so that you ladies could have first choice." Hence his bags still being in the sitting room.

The sooner they all got settled, the sooner they could go out exploring.

Speaking of..... where was Aslan?

There were footsteps, and then someone walked in - but it wasn't Bast. It was still a familiar face though. "Hi, Oskar!" She grinned, but before she could offer any further greeting, Bast appeared.

Still grinning, she threw her arms around him, accepting the spin and then letting go once her feet were back on the ground.

"That's very nice of you." The letting them pick first, although it wasn't a surprise. Bast was always a gentleman, and it was one of the reasons he was such a good best friend. "I'll wait until Aslan gets here before picking though." He'd said ladies after all. She doubted Aslan would be super picky or fussy about which room they chose, but it was the nice thing to do to wait for her input. "She should be here soon, right?" Hopefully she hadn't run into any trouble along the way?