Despite how disgusting she thought The Hog's Head to be, Gabriella pushed open the door and headed inside. Curiosity had gotten the best of her, and since she had never gotten the chance to go inside during her student years, she thought she could at least give the place a look around during her staff years.

A quick glance showed her that a good many students had already made their way inside. She smiled and nodded towards a few of them then made her way up to the counter. Surely she still had another "Free Butterbeer" coupon somewhere. If not, it'd be absolutely no problem to simply pay for the drink. Reaching the counter, yet still fumbling inside her pockets, Gabriella waited for her turn to talk to the shopkeeper.

Reese didn't really want to come back into this horrible place that was known as The Hog's Head, but she had one of those "Free Butterbeer" coupons that she wasn't going to let go to waste. This visit also gave her another opportunity to annoy talk to the barkeeper. So, without further ado, the door of the shop opened and in stepped the Slytherin Prefect with the coupon being grasped in her left hand.

She headed up to the counter to wait for her time to get her butterbeer and as she waited, she noticed a familiar woman standing near her. How lovely. She hasn't talked to the Healer since her little argument with Jack in the corridor. "Hello Healer Ashford," she greeted the woman with a smile. "Lovely day to be in Hogsmeade, isn't it?"

It was only when she heard her name that Gabriella glanced away from her pockets. She'd been referred to as 'Healer Asford', so she was positive it was a student who'd approached her. "Ahh, Miss Upstead, hello," she greeted. "Yes, it is a lovely day to be in Hogsmeade. So lovely I've decided to come in and try one of the butterbeers this place to offer. I see you're here to try one, as well?"

Just then, she finally found exactly what she'd been looking for---one of those coupons she and her co-workers had been handing out for weeks. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed. Now all they needed was for the shopkeeper to come along and take their order.

Vindictus pushed open the door to the establishment and almost retreated at the sight of so many students. He glanced around in hopes of seeing another adult. Strike that. STAFF MEMBER.

Grumbling to himself, he found that his own two feet made the decision and he found himself walking towards a vacant table tucked away in a corner. Maybe I should use that coupon in here and 'forget' to give it to a student. OR I could save it for later and see if I could use the confettied one that's in the baggie.

Reese held the coupon out in front of her to examine the little writing at the bottom of the coupon that she hadn't really noticed before. After reading the part that said 'Nontransferable', she raised an eyebrow. Did that mean she couldn't give this coupon to someone...or that she couldn't switch coupons? Either way, it didn't really matter seeing as she was about to use it.

"I actually tried one last Hogsmeade visit," she said. "They aren't bad, but you do want to wipe the top of the bottle before you drink it. Just in case it has dust or something on it." She glanced towards the counter, hoping that the barkeeper didn't overhear her. Looking back at the woman, she grinned when she noticed that the Healer had found the thing in her pocket that Reese had noticed that she had been looking for previously. "Free butterbeers are the best," she added.

Ili hated to run late for anything; even drinks with friends. It had a way of putting her in a foul mood. Though as she made her way towards Hogsmeade, she was determined to have a good time.

As she entered through the door of the pub, she was nearly knocked to her feet by the barrage of smells the little building was emitting. 'Dear Merlin, didn't anyone ever clean this place?' she wondered, stepping inside.

Spotting Ellie standing nearby, Iliana forced a smile and walked over to meet her. "Hey Ellie," she said. "Sorry I'm late."

Alexa glanced around and grimaced. Good Merlin why were all the teachers and what not coming into the Hog's Head all of a sudden? Well at least Mr. Grumpy pants wouldn't be so darn rude with the kiddos while adults were around. That made her grin... a little. She then turned her attention back to said Mr. Grumpy and waited for her butterbeer.

Vindictus continued to sit at his table brooding. Too much estrogen in this place. Not enough testosterone. Now where are the other guys?

And his hand twitched as he fingered the coupons in his pocket.

Gabriella took a quick glance around the room as she waited patiently for the shopkeeper to come her way. The sound of the door opening got her attention, and she turned to seeing Max, the Flying professor and Quidditch official, making his way in. She waved and made a mental note to go and see him as soon as she got her butterbeer.

"Oh, yeah?" Gabriella replied, turning back to Reese. She made a face, though, when the girl mentioned wiping the glass before drinking from it. Eww. Had the shopkeeper not heard of washing dishes before? "Eww, thanks for the warning." Speaking of the shopkeeper, just where was he? The place did seem busy, so she just figured he was with another customer. "So, Miss Upstead, what are your post-graduation plans?"

Ellie---now this was definitely a friend, rather than a student, addressing her. A turn of the head confirmed this, as Gabriella had come face-to-face with Iliana, the Care of Magical Creatures professor. "Ili!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly at the woman who'd quickly become such a good friend to her.

"I don't want to hear anything of you being late. You're not late at all, as I've just recently arrived," she said, waving her hand in a 'don't even mention it' manner. "I see this place seems to be the place to be right now. Will you be having a butterbeer, as well?"

Without saying a word Samuel snatched up the coupon and studied it just like he had done all the others. You just can't trust these kids. He was so hoping to have a student come in and try and pass off a fake coupon to him. Oh he could just imagine the things he would do to them.

Unfortunately that wasn't going to happen right now because the girl's coupon was authentic. Samuel stamped it and slid it back over to the bar along with her butterbeer.

"Enjoy" he grunted. There was more to say, really.

Finally!!

There was an adult in his pub and quite a nice looking one too. Samuel dropped everything and hurried over to the young woman. He halted midway when he noticed a child standing beside her and it was the one that had come in the last time Hogsmeade was open to the kids.

The one with the big mouth and the wimpy boyfriend. Samuel rolled his eyes as walked the last few steps and stood in front of the woman.

Placing his elbows onto the counter, Samuel gave her his best smile which was his lips stretching into a thin line across his face making him look more like he was in pain rather than happy.

"What can I get for you today madam?" he asked, totally ignoring the kid standing beside her.

His eyes flicked towards the door to see another adult walk in and a male one at that and his grumpy attitude started to lighten a little bit. Samuel liked having adults in his pub, he was not good with kids, not at all. He turned his attention back to the woman in front of him when yet another good looking woman walked up and Samuel immediately straightened up.

Now he was paying attention.

Alexa smiled widely as the grumpy old barkeep snatched her coupon and looked it over. Teehee... He was just too easy a target. Taking her butterbeer and stamped coupon she sweetly said, "Thanks so much" She decided to sit at the bar and drink it... maybe she'd get a rise out of the man yet. Pulling the sleeve of her peacoat over hea hand she wiped the rim of the bottle and took a deep drink. Free butterbeer was great!

No sooner had she greeted Ili, Gabriella picked up on the sound of a male's voice coming from somewhere just behind her. Oh, good, the shopkeeper had finally arrived to take their order! Whirling around in her chair, Gabriella said, "Oh, hello there. I've got a coupon for a free butter...somewhere," she said.

A moment later, she found the coupon laying face-up in her lap. Only, it wasn't a coupon for free butterbeer! It was a coupon for a free piece of dessert at Madame Puddifoot's. "Oh, nevermind that. I'd just like a glass of butterbeer, please," she said, stuffing the dessert coupon back into her pocket. "I believe this little young lady wanted a butterbeer, as well," she added, nodding towards Reese.

Iliana returned her greeting with a smile so big it practically lit up her face. "Thanks Ellie," she said, giving the Healer a quick hug. She looked around the place, noting that it was indeed quite packed and nodded her head. "Oh well, I don't mind standing room only. I was just happy to get the invitation out."

She glanced up at the barkeep and raised her hand slightly to catch his eye. "Just a glass of ice water please."

"No. Snapped in half, the only thing that could fix it is getting everyone in Hogwarts to say 'reparo' at the same time." Jenny said to Avery, My, my. It did snap hard. "It snapped while I was writing, I moved my arm on something hard and I heard 2 cracks and...well it broke!" Eeeh, truth! "Soon, I hope. My mother went to Ollivander's to get me one. She needed a new one herself. I don't know why. I think she picked it up while she was looking for something, and accidentally thought it was a letter, so she probably gave it to her owl and the owl dropped it. Well that was rather confusing." Heh! So much truth. She laughed.

Constantine decided to slip into the Hog's Head for a little rest and relaxation. He had spent all morning chopping up firewood for his fireplace. He wasn't too big on using magic and enjoyed the exercise. He looked around as the door shut behind him. Ah, there was Iliana! He threw her a smile, he had left her a bundle of firewood as well.

Hmm, and there was that Healer. And Max too! What good luck he happened upon. "Hey Max," Neo called, walking over to where the man was.

"Neo, have a seat!" Max called out and slapped the table with his hand. "Thank Merlin you showed up. Too much estrogen in this place as well as teenage hormones."

He chuckled gently as he pulled a chair out and took a seat. "What are you griping about, man? A little estrogen never hurt anybody," he grinned and then spied all the students. "Teenage hormones...well, I'm sure we were all like them when we went to school. I wasn't," he shrugged, leaning onto the table. "What's with the caterpillar growing on your face?"

"Oh, ha ha. Good one, Neo," laughed Max. "It's a mustache and lemme tell you, I've been getting tons of compliments on this little bit of facial hair that I unveiled at the Quidditch World Cup. Fan mail is through the roof!" What he failed to say was that his wife hated it.

If that thing on Max's face was a mustache, then Neo was a King. King Constantine, ruler of all things...green. Heh, it had quite a ring to it!

He gave Max a skeptical look when he stated that his fan mail was insane because of the...thing. "It looks like it could come alive and eat your nose, mate," he pointed out. Not to mention, he resembled Kazimeriz a little.

Shudder.

"Oh, shut it Neo. You're just jealous," Max grinned. "You're looking at the winner of last years Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile award! And I owe it all to this distinguished mustache."

Oh yeah, he was green with envy. Eyeroll. "You keep telling yourself that," Constantine smiled sarcastically. "I bet I could beat you for hottest man of the year," he joked, full well knowing that he in no way apart of that category. "It's all about the scruff, mate. The scruff is where it's at...not some bloody snake on a face."

"Pfft. Whatever, Neo," Max quipped and glanced over at the bar which was crowded with students and a few Staff members. "I'm tempted to use a blasting spell to get those kids away from the bar 'cause a Butterbeer sure sounds good right now."

"Ooooh I think you feel threatened now," Neo laughed before looking over a the bar. Such an odd man. "Or, you could get up off your butt and go to the bar yourself and order," he grinned, throwing Max a side glance.

Avery couldn't believe that story. It was not good to break your wand. "Well at least you are getting another one rather soon. Can't practice magic without a wand after all." Avery was actually having a good time with Jenny, not something she was expecting to do. "Jenny lets do something crazy" Avery blurted it out, she was so starved for adventure that she was willing to bring anyone in on it with her. She just hoped Jenny didn't think SHE was crazy.

"Hardee har har," laughed Max. "Do you want a butterbeer? I'll get the first round while you keep this spot student-free."