I'll Drink To That [OPEN]

[ana]

It was funny how quickly things seemed to change in life. One moment, you were working and surrounded by family that loved you unconditionally, and then next, a war threw you for a loop and everything felt like it had been destroyed. Anastasia Grayson glanced around the overcrowded restaurant and became slightly self-conscious that she had chosen to wear a dress out tonight. The bar was largely populated by men...dangerous looking men for that matter, and she felt like she was rather far out of her element. She should have opted not to go out tonight...or to at least bring along a friend. Not that she really kept that many friends around anyway...most people didn’t understand Ana.

”Here you are, Miss.”

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The bartender set down a beer in front of her and she offered him what she thought to be a cool and collected smile. However, coming from Ana, it ended up looking a little forced and a little wild. She was never very good when it came to men. Or people in general. Often, she was too shy to even say anything at all, so the fact that she was at least offering her version of a satisfied smile showed some sort of progress, right? In many ways, Ana had never stopped seeing herself as the freak of the Wizarding World. There was something about her ability as a Seer that made her feel different. It made her feel unwanted and dangerous out of control of her life. It scared her just as much as it scared everyone else. That was for sure. She bit down on her lip and lifted the glass mug in front of her, admiring the frost patterns on the outside of the glass, ”Thanks.” She muttered, not even aware that the bartender had walked away a few minutes ago. She was too busy being lost in her own little world.

With eyes that seemingly saw nothing and everything at the same time, she scanned the outskirts of the bar, looking for a friendly face. Usually there was someone there from the ministry that was lurking in the shadows. Too afraid to show their face because they weren’t sure how their boss would feel about them drinking on a weeknight. But tonight, she saw no one that she recognized, a thought that concerned her slightly. Even knowing that there was someone there that recognized her was a comforting thought during the wee-hours of the morning, but tonight she had no one. ’No one to hear you scream.’

”Bloody Merlin-” Ana muttered aloud and banished the thought from her head. Sometimes she wondered why her mind came up with such awful scenarios. It was most likely due to the fact that she had spend her entire life hiding who she was from the rest of the world because she was afraid of a repeat of Hogwarts. The way that the kids had all laughed at her and called her a freak. She had to pull out of class and continue her education by her mother’s side. It was completely and utterly humiliating. If the future was meant to be seen, then everyone would already know it. Her ability - although her mother called it her ‘blessing in disguise’ - had turned out to be a real pain in her arse.

She wasn’t aware that someone had come up behind her until she felt someone’s cool breath on her neck. Immediately she felt her skin prickle and her hands twitch, spilling a bit of beer onto the bar. Ana set down the glass and moved to turn around, coming face to face with a man that looked like he was on the drunker side of life tonight. She could already feel her skin getting a little clammy, but she knew that in the left pocket of her trench coat was her wand, waiting, ready to strike if need be.

”Hey baby-”[/i] The man’s words were slurred and dangerously close together and Ana could already smell the alcohol radiating from his pores. This wasn’t going to be pretty for either one of them if he continued. She tried to make a face to discourage him, but it seemed as if he was too drunk to even notice, ”What say you we both get on out of here and-”[/i] He placed his hand on her forearm and Ana immediately felt every muscle in her body retract and tense up. She felt like she couldn’t move. The man tightened his grip and Ana stared into his dark eyes, confused. What was this? Some sort of trap? Who had sent him? She could feel the panic beginning to set in as her eyes traveled up his arm and to his clouded eyes again. This was a dangerous game to be playing, she knew her mother wouldn’t approve of putting herself at risk like this.

”I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” It was a half-hearted attempt to fake some sort of confidence, but Ana was sure that she had failed miserably. What she had tried to disguise as confident and authoritative had come off as childish and whiny. She had never been a very good actress. Her eyes scanned the bar again, desperate for someone to come to her aid, hoping that someone might take pity on the poor, unfortunate looking girl in the corner being harassed by an absolute creep.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/size]

[KATIE ANN BELL]

Katie was thankful to have a night off from Quidditch. It turned out that things went badly with the Harpies. Luckily, just as that opportunity seemed to pass her by another had opened right in her face. The Appleby Arrows were in the market for a new chaser, and as fate would have it, that had been her favorite team since she'd first laid eyes on the sport. They pushed her harder than Oliver Wood ever had, but she was thankful for the practice, the chance to get better, and the wind in her hair. She was thankful for her teammates and the fun she was able to have every single day. Thus far she'd done a damn good job, helping lead the team to a current record of 5-1.

She'd always adored Quidditch, and despite the fact that she always told herself she'd be a great Auror, which she still thought she would be, she knew she'd always be a better chaser. She was always more graceful in the air than she ever had been on her feet. And they didn't need a clumsy, eighteen-year-old auror running around and getting in everyone's way. It had been a few months since she'd thought about that day, the day her life seemed to crumble down around her feet. This was one of the first times she'd looked back and realized that they were right to send her home. It was a momentary victory as a smile spread across her face.

"What's so funny, Bell?" Derek asked from beside her, and she shook her head, the grin never falling from her face.

"Don't worry about it, King. Just your face," she said sticking her tongue out at him. Katie was certainly the newest member of the team, but she'd fit right in since the day she got there. There was only one other girl on the team, the keeper. Camille. She was a nice enough girl, but she wasn't quite as loud as Angelina and Alicia had been over the years at Hogwarts. So, instead, Katie often found herself surrounded by the rambunctious boys that were on the team. Katie had always been more fond of mischief than behaving. It was one of the reasons she'd become such good friends with Fred and George.

The thought of the twins saddened her slightly, but it was quickly dismissed as she remembered her conversation with George. He'd promised her he would try to get better, and she believed him. It was an intense day, that day, but she felt like a huge weight was lifted off of her shoulders, and that she was able to move forward without worrying quite so much. The lines of communication between her and George were open, which was so much more than what she could have said a few months ago. No, a few months ago George seemed to be as gone as friend. Well, no, it wasn't quite so permanent as that, but that's certainly what it felt like. It felt like that with all of her friends, really. They'd all up and disappeared, leaving her to fend for herself and get eaten up by the big bad world of the Ministry by her lonesome. Of course they all knew how it would turn out - Katie failed out of Auror training for being too loud, too clumsy, too opinionated, but above all, she was too impulsive. Good thing impulse was a good thing in Quidditch, then, eh?

Katie was pulled from her thoughts as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She watched carefully as the man approached the woman from behind. It was going fine until he decided to lay a hand on her. She could see the woman tense up even from where she was, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"What's up Bell?"

Katie looked back up to another one of her teammates, Tristan and grinned wickedly.

"I'm going to go have some fun," she grinned, and the group of boys let out a rumble of knowing chuckles.

"Just be careful," Derek urged with a glare before making a slight face. Sometimes it felt like he couldn't choose between threatening and actually being worried for her safety. Personally, Katie thought he worried far too much. Katie had trained to be an Auror, for quite some time. Just because she didn't quite make it, didn't mean that she hadn't picked up every lesson they'd ever taught her. She took a final sip of the firewhiskey that had been sitting in front of her. It was a small glass, and mixed. She could drink it straight, but who in Merlin's name would want to do that? Not her, certainly.

She rose from her place and walked over to the man, poking him on the shoulder. He released the woman's arm, momentarily distracted as he turned to see Katie standing there with the sweetest smile she could manage. The man smiled at her, and you could tell just from looking at him that he was pissed off his ass. Katie made a slightly disgusted face, and then he began speaking. He suggested they go somewhere, but Katie didn't allow him to finish his sentence. Her expression changed completely as she punched him right in the stomach as hard as she could. The man was larger than her, sure, but he was drunk, and an idiot. The man doubled over before letting out a roar. Katie let out a loud laugh before looking over to the man at the bar. She raised a slight brow at him.

"Oi! This guys is pissed beyond repair, Rob! Get him outta here," Katie shouted and the man glared at her before two people came over and escorted him out of the bar. Katie spent a lot of time on this bar. Maybe too much. Every time they had off from practice she and the boys, and even sometimes Camille would get together and have a nice drink together. The boys at the table were laughing their heads off and Katie smirked in their direction before she looked toward the woman at the table, vaguely recognizing her from somewhere, but exactly where she couldn't place. Still, she should probably see if the girl's alright, right?

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?" she asked generally curious. The woman had looked almost terrified when the man laid her hands on her, and Katie knew that feeling far too well. She knew what it was like to be hit, hit by someone you loved, hit by someone who supposedly loved you. But that wasn't what was important right now.

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[ana]

The man’s arm was turning over her wrist, and he was mumbling something to her. His voice was dark and husky and it terrified Ana, it terrified her because those were the kinds of voices that her mother had always told her to watch out for. Men who came onto her, so obviously drunk and in need of something that they wouldn’t take no for an answer about. She could feel the panic setting in even more as she realized that there was going to be no escape from this one. With her wand arm trapped, it was impossible and then all of a sudden, a small blonde was poking him, forcing his attention away from Ana. She immediately jerked her wrist away from him and pulled it close to her body, terrified as to what had just happened. She watched with interest as the scene unfolded in front of her, paying careful attention to the girl. She seemed so strong and confident with every action that she took, offering the man a smile and then punching him ruthlessly in the stomach. She could feel the gasp leave her body.

”Oh my god-” Was all that Ana managed to get out before the man was being escorted away by two other men. It was all a little bit much to handle and Ana’s hands instinctively pulled her drink close and she took a giant swig of it, eyeing the blonde in front of her with interest. How could someone so small, pack such a large punch. But she also saw her as a danger. Perhaps even more a danger than the man that had just been harassing her. If she had the ability to take out a man that was double their size, there was no telling what she could to do Ana. She bit down on her lip, trying to look away, but finding herself constantly drawn back to staring at the girl. It had been a long time since she had been in the company of a girl that looked like she was close to her own age. Ever since Ana had dropped out of school because of...the incident she had tried to avoid everyone that would have known her at school. There were just too many hard feelings that were still left over in Ana’s mind from the whole thing. The ridicule, the constant laughing, the pain of hearing people call her a freak. She had never gotten over it and she wasn’t sure that she ever would.

”Thanks.” Ana breathed into the air between them before the girl could say anything. She took another large gulp of her drink and then set it down on the table, desperately rubbing at her wrist where the man had been holding her. It hadn’t hurt so much as it had scared her. Anastasia Grayson had occasion to be very skittish in her lifetime and tonight was no exception. The little bit of alcohol already in her system was already making her even more unbalanced. Ana Grayson was a powder keg of emotion at this moment. She carefully moved her eyes across the girl’s face, staring into the large eyes that looked back at her. She didn’t see anything particularly malicious.

But she wasn’t sure what to say when the girl began questioning her. She wasn’t sure if it was any of her business anyway. The entire thing had probably just been a misunderstanding. There was no way that they could have known who she was or what she could do, right? She could feel a bit of an edge setting in, her mother’s words echoing in the back of her mind. ‘Don't trust anyone, Ana. The world is not your friend.’ She dropped her eyes to her wrist and then pulled up her trench sleeve so that she could survey the damage. It looked like a mild Indian rug-burn, something that could easily be fixed and would probably go away before morning. But she could see other scars along the edge of her sleeve and she pulled it down slightly so the wrist redness was the only thing that could be seen by prying eyes, ”It’s nothing, really.” She held up her wrist so that the girl could look at it. It really was a small price to pay. Her eyes flitted over to the table from which the girl had presumably come where there were boys laughing and staring. She immediately felt more uncomfortable than before, ”You seem like you know how to handle that type.” She mused aloud and then rubbed her wrist again; a small laugh escaped her lips and then she pressed them together in a thin line.

”I’m Anastasia.” She introduced herself quietly, unsure of what had come over her: introductions had never been her strong suit. But she felt like she wanted to know more about this girl. She wanted to know how she had become the way that she was. Chalk it up to inability to communicate with anyone her own age in so long, but Ana was undoubtedly curious, ”Ana, actually.” She corrected herself.

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[KATIE ANN BELL]

The woman before her thanked her and Katie waved her hand about like it was no big deal. Mostly because it was no big deal. She was only doing what she'd want someone to do for her if she was in that position. But she had been in that position, and positions much worse than that, but there had been no one there to rescue her. So, she'd learned to rescue herself. But there she went forgetting her manners again. Katie, when did you become so rude? Oh wait, always. She'd always spoke before she thought and was too blunt all the time. It was just the way she was. Loud, obnocious, walking, talking, clumsy Katie. Well, on the ground. In the air she was one of the fiercest things to be reckoned with, and she had no shame in letting you know that. On a broom she was wicked and dangerous, and on the ground she was probably equally so between her Auror training and her knowing how to deal with... well almost everything. Abandonment, abusive relationships, life failures, death. Merlin Katie had dealt with so much more than she'd ever even realized, and yet she never held it against any of them. Except her ex-boyfriend. She held him accountable for every single one of his actions and she promised herself if she ever somehow saw him again she would repay him ten-fold what he'd done to her. And it would be slow, and painful, and miserable. How funny, it was a lot like their relationship.

Katie was pulled from her thoughts as Ana held up her wrist for her to see that it was nothing. Katie eye'd the woman's wrist carefully, noting that the guy had gripped her a little too hard. But she was right, she wasn't injured. The burns would probably be gone by morning. The woman said Katie looked like she knew how to handle 'that type.' Scuzzy guys in a bar? Oh definitely. Guys in general? Even more so. Katie Bell was a spitfire. She wasn't afraid of size. She assessed the situation and outsmarted them, outran them, or outdueled them. In this case the choice hadn't been hard. The man had been tanked and probably should have left hours ago. Rob should really learn how to watch his patrons. Tsk tsk. She smirked at the thought before her mind focused on the woman before her again.

"Ah... you could say I've had a lot of practice," she said, only then did she realize where the woman's eyes had trailed to. Ohhh, so that's who she meant. Katie let out another happy laugh before shrugging. "Oh that lot? They wouldn't hurt a fly. Katie grinned. For the most part that statement was true. The group of boys she was on a Quidditch team with were respectable, no matter how rambunctious they were. Sure, they were loud, and obnoxious, and over all generally ridiculous, but Katie never doubted for a second that any of them were shady or bad people. Well, except for maybe Charlie... Charlie could be a bit creepy, but it wasn't entirely his fault. Tristan and Derek were constantly telling her horrible stories about him. Whether they were true or not was a different story entirely.

The woman introduced herself as Anastasia, and Katie smiled at her, quickly changing it to Ana. Katie smirked and nodded.

"Katie Bell at your service," Katie grinned before she looked over her shoulder toward the table. "Oi!" she shouted, pointing to her drink. She waved her hand toward herself and Tristan rolled his eyes before taking out his wand and waving it silently. Her drink rose from the table and landed directly in Katie's outstretched hand. She shot Tristan a wink of thanks before seating herself at the table across from Ana. The woman was older than her, Katie could tell that much, but how much older she wasn't sure.

"You mind?" she gestured to herself sitting at the table. She wasn't sure if Ana knew what she was getting herself into when she started the conversation, but she assumed that when she introduced herself that she was interested in having more of a conversation than just introductions, and Katie'd always been kind of... well, Katie. She was always too loud and she'd always been a bit too bold, both in words and actions. She was blunt and she just kind of acted on impulse. All the time. Okay, not all the time, just... most of the time. At least you knew Katie Bell wouldn't lie to you, and she'd always let you know what you were getting yourself into, even if she didn't tell you directly. Katie stared at Ana for a second, continuously trying to place where she'd seen the woman before, but nothing came to her quite yet.

"So, Ana, what brings you here this evening?" she said, looking around the pub. It was full of less than desirable people, and Ana seemed so... well, quiet. She seemed a bit shy. She seemed like the last person in the world who would be found here. Then again, everyone liked to let loose every once in a while...

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[ana]

Ana was taken aback by the girl’s laugh and she realized that she had been staring at the table from where she came. She immediately felt a little sheepish for being so rude, but it appeared that the fiery little blonde couldn't care less. She looked at the girl grinning and then offered her a weak smile, one that could only be defined as characteristically Ana - it was soft and brittle, as if she was going to shatter into a million little pieces if she accidentally said the wrong thing, ”So, are they your friends?” She was genuinely curious about the lot of boys that she had chosen to surround herself with. It seemed like such an odd choice. Surely a girl like her had plenty of girl-friends to hang around with. And yet she chose the apparent camaraderie of rambunctious boys. What was it like, being part of such a familial group of people? Ana was sure that she had never had anything quite like that...or anything remotely like that either, if she was being honest. She leaned to the left in her chair so that she could get a better look at the men that were all laughing heartily, then she snapped back up to attention and refocused on the girl in front of her who was conveniently introducing herself.

Loud. This girl was very loud. Her voice seemed to bounce off every available surface around and ricochet right back into Ana’s face. That was one of the first impressions that she had gotten from ‘Katie Bell at her service.’ Not that she particularly minded, of course. It was almost soothing to have someone to fill the silence that so often settled in Ana’s world. Not to mention, it was amusing to watch her yell at the boys that were across the bar. She knew how to command herself and take control of the world around her. A welcome change from her normal pace - she found that when she lacked something to talk about, she would almost always close up entirely and then all would be lost. Ana watched her sit down at the table, eyeing her carefully. She didn’t think that she was up to anything and she certainly didn’t give off the menacing vibe, but Ana still felt like she couldn’t trust anyone. Residual feelings left over from her 6th year and whatnot.

”No, of course not.” She answered without thinking and then offered her another smile. Her mind was throwing warning flags in her direction, but she chose to ignore them. She might as well have some company for the night, after all, it looked as if her meeting wasn’t going to be happening tonight anyway. The girl had already seated herself at the table anyway, so it appeared that Ana wasn’t being given much of a choice, despite the question that Katie Bell offered her, ”Go right ahead.” Ana shifted uncomfortably, but she didn’t tell the girl to leave. That was about as good as the night was going to get for her, unfortunately. She still wasn’t acclimated to being around people her own age yet. And - even though Katie seemed to be a few years her junior - she still considered her to be in that age bracket.

”Erm-” Ana wasn’t exactly sure what had brought her down her tonight. It was most likely the prospect of too much thinking. She hadn’t a roommate, she hadn’t anyone to talk to about anything and she was just feeling lonely. It was the social aspect of it all that drew her into the bar tonight. Normally, she tried to steer clear of them, but tonight, she had wanted to go and people watch...listen to other’s conversations, get a feel for the world as it was trying to rebuild itself. But she had found none of that. Instead, she had almost gotten herself attacked by a very drunk man and was now neck deep in a potentially dangerous conversation with a bubbly, enthused blonde that came from who knows where, ”Drinks?” Ana said vaguely and then bit down on her lip. It wasn’t exactly any kind of answer, more of an excuse really. She took a large swig of her beer and then set it down on the table, jumping slightly when the noise made by the glass connecting with the wood was louder than she had anticipated.

‘Oh what the hell, Ana,’ Her mind thought as she stared at Katie. A tiny smile played on the corner of her lips as she ‘fessed up, ”Escaping reality for just a night. Work at the office’s got me down. This is the only place where I can drink without people from the Ministry bombarding me with questions...” It was true. This week had been especially difficult for Ana, especially since she had just found out that she was taking over some of Weasley and Sawyer’s meetings and engagements. She was silently cursing them for going on vacation at the same time. It left her with an office load of work and only two hands to use. No one from the Ministry liked to venture down this way, especially not on work nights, but Ana found that she just couldn’t help it. Sometimes she got so damn overwhelmed, ”Did ‘that lot’ bring you out?” She asked, unsure of what a girl like Katie was doing in a bar that looked like it had seen better days.

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[KATIE ANN BELL]

Katie was thankful that Ana had said she could go right ahead and sit down. She'd already been sitting there, so even if Ana had told her to leave she probably wouldn't have listened. 'Aw come on, what's a little company going to hurt? I'm way less scary than that mug that was just over here.' She smirked at the thought, thankful that absolutely no persuasion was necessary. She asked if the group of boys she was with were her friends and Katie grinned, nodding vigorously.

"Friends and teammates. I'm a chaser for the Appleby Arrows," she said with a grin. Despite the fact that she hadn't been on the team for very long the group of boys became like her family. She meshed in very well the lot of them and was happy that they could handle her... outgoing personality. Katie Bell was definitely your average bull in a china shop, but she enjoyed it that way, and she'd not change herself for anything. She was blunt and the slightest bit reckless... Okay, a lot bit reckless, and she was obviously very, very loud. It was funny to be talking to someone who seemed so quiet. So opposite of her, but Katie didn't mind. She was up for talking to just about anyone.

She waited intently for the woman to answer what she was doing in the bar. She was definitely a few years older than Katie, but so were some of the guys on the team, and that didn't stop her from having a good time with them. But the answer that left the woman had Katie's brow raise as she smirked in amusement. Drinks? Really? That was the answer that the woman drug up from the depths of her brain? Katie sat there, her lips pursed together slightly as she tried not to laugh. She'd already had at least one drink, and given the size of her she wasn't very hard to get drunk. But two wouldn't put her over her limit. She could handle herself, but there was still that affect that alcohol had on people. It was hard enough for Katie to be tactful when she was stone sober, put a few drinks in her? You'll get the most honest answers you've ever wanted, and you'll probably learn a lot about Katie you might not want to know. Hey, you might learn a few things about yourself that you didn't want to know either.

But then the woman began speaking again, revealing that she worked in the Ministry. She was escaping the office for a night. Katie smiled at her answer. She could never imagine having an office job, which is why she went for a position as Auror. They got to do all the fun stuff. Apprehending criminals and stuff. But, alas, Katie didn't make it that far, not that she cared particularly much now. She loved her career more than she could express and she practically wanted to thank the man who sent her home. That day had broken her heart, but it made her better, stronger, and gave her the opportunity to find a career she was much better suited for.

"Well you've definitely escaped all kinds of Ministry questions, but I can't promise you it's saved you from all of mine,"" Katie smirked at the woman before continuing. "I bet an office Ministry job gets wicked hectic and paperworkish," she said pulling a slight face at the idea. Katie Bell had hardly ever been one for homework or paperwork. She was messy and completely unorganized. You should see the lockeroom she's forced to share with Kat. Kat who was so quiet and organized. She did a hell of a job with the rings though. Katie's locker was an absolute wreck. Everything was just strewn about and never in a good way. Katie liked to think of it as 'organized chaos.' Everyone else on the team told her she was full of shit. Oh well!

"I tried to become an Auror a few months ago," she admitted with another laugh. "It didn't work out in my favor. I was too.... ah... reckless, impulsive... too Katie Bell." she said with a laugh. For a moment she thought she might have been talking too much, telling the woman too much information at much, too much information she didn't care about. But then she thought, even if she was, it was already out in the open. Who cared? Not Katie. There she was lacking complete tact again. Okay, not complete tact. Just mostly.

But she was pulled from her thoughts as Ana set the glass down a little too hard. Ana looked practically startled and Katie let out a small laugh. She wasn't laughing at the woman... okay she might have been, but her reaction was just too funny. She scared herself! But then Ana was asking her what she was doing in such a place, in a bar that look like it had been a question now and the smile remained on her face as she nodded.

"Well I wasn't exactly dragged out against my will," Katie said with a grin. "We didn't have practice tonight, and every night we don't have practice it's tradition to go out and get pissed. Then we all apparate back to the complex and have hungover practice. The coach doesn't know about it, but the captain does. It's never been detrimental before, just a little fun. And I never drink enough to give me a major hangover anyway," she said before taking another sip of her drink. She placed her glass down at the table before looking up at Ana once more.

"So what do you do at the Ministry?"

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[ana]

It took Ana a moment to register what the Appleby Arrows were, but, slowly she figured it out. They were a Quidditch team. Which would explain why Katie had referred to them as both her friends and teammates, ”Ah.” Was all that Ana could offer her, she honestly knew nothing about Quidditch apart from what she picked up at the occasional game or from Arch. She wondered how long the girl had been playing professional. Ana’s guess was that she wasn’t more than three years younger than her, which meant that she had to have been pretty good to go pro straight out of Hogwarts. Ana had never been a big fan of the sport, although, she definitely knew a little bit about it. Her little brother was obsessed with Quidditch and if she remembered correctly, he was the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team this year, ”Hogwarts graduate, right?” She inquired as she took another sip of her drink. It wasn’t exactly going down smoothly, but it was better than being sober tonight, ”My little brother Archer has played for the Slytherin team since his second year,” She wasn’t sure why she was trying to establish some sort of recognition with Katie but she thought that it might have something to do with the fact that if Katie could recognize her from somewhere other than the incident then they might be able to be friends. Possibly. She just wanted to share some sort of commonality with the girl...was that so odd? Ana had never really had friends her own age. The War had torn her away from all of them and now she was fighting to build back up some of the relationships that she had lost throughout the years.

Hectic and paperworkish was just the tip of the iceberg. Ana was constantly dealing with people from all over the world who were harboring their own opinions about the way the Ministry should be run. It was difficult enough to deal with people internally who wanted to boss you around, let alone people from across the globe who thought that they knew how the British MoM should be handled, ”You have no idea.” She breathed as she looked around the room and then back at Katie who was giving her quite the face. Ana wondered if she practiced such...interesting expressions or if they simply came naturally to her, ”I take it you’re more of a go-out-and-get-’em kind of girl.” Ana commented and then laughed, ”I’d honestly much prefer the paperwork. Field work was never for me.” She was too timid and shy about everything. That, and she tended to be a bit cold when it came to most people. They didn’t understand why she was so enclosed in her own little shell and she wouldn’t tell them, so it created an unavoidable impasse between her and everyone else.

Ana listen to Katie’s own admission of her inability to become an Auror. It was certainly interesting to hear. Ana knew that she could never be an Auror either, but it was because of the exact opposite reason. She was too reserved and timid to ever apprehend anyone...not to mention those she would be apprehending were her mother’s close allies and acquaintances, ”Even Aurors have to be bookish and deal with hectic paperwork every so often.” She said and offered Katie a small smile. Even though the girl had made it her goal to join the Auror office and had so obviously not succeeded, it didn’t seem to Ana that she needed anyone to feel sorry for her. She looked as if she was having a grand old time, whatever she was doing with her life now.

”I work in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Namely in the International Confederation of Wizards.” Ana wasn’t sure how familiar Katie was with the way that the ministry worked, but she assumed that she had a general idea, considering the girl had attempted an Auror position a few months previous, ”We host conferences with the other seats of the ICW from across the globe and discuss the way that magical affairs should be handled on a world-wide basis.” Ana leaned forward and smiled at Katie, sure that she would find her next tidbit of information interesting, ”Actually-” She laughed slightly, feeling like a proud child showing their mother their O on their OWLs, ”I’m in negotiation for the likes of an Amateur World Cup to be hosted at Hogwarts. Most likely not this year, but in the near future.” She leaned back, hoping that Katie would be impressed. After all, the girl did seem to be interested in Quidditch, considering that she played it professionally.

”Of course, the idea still has to go through a bunch of red-tape and approvals before it can be started, but it certainly has potential.” Ana shrugged and then smiled at Katie, almost enjoying herself, ”What’s a day in the life of a Pro Quidditch star like?” She would have to tell Archer all about this one. Ana was beginning to miss her little Brother. It had been ages since they had spoken - a rift was drawn between them after the incident and her mother’s protection of her from the outside world. Archer had never quite forgiven her for what happened. But perhaps she could stitch their relationship back together as best she could. Ana smiled slightly, thinking that she would like to see her little brother again. She would have to pay him a visit in the very near future.

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[KATIE ANN BELL]

Katie watched carefully as Ana seemed to finally register what the Appleby Arrows were, and Katie nodded proudly when she asked if she was a Hogwarts graduate.

"Former Gryffindor," she clarified, just for the sake of letting the girl know what house she was from. She figured it was kind of obvious as to what house she was from, but she could have been a Slytherin. But she figured Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were both completely out of the picture the second she opened her mouth. And then Ana brought up her younger brother, Archer. Katie smirked. She knew the name well. He was a boy in Harry's year. Wicked on the pitch. Frightening, almost.

"So you're a Grayson then? I remember Archer. He was really good on the pitch," Katie had to admit it, even if she didn't want to. Archer had been pretty skilled on the pitch. She wondered how the Gryffindor team would be doing this year. She missed her days on the team, and most of all her teammates. It was weird to be talking about Hogwarts after she'd graduated, mostly because it was weird that she wasn't going back. It was something she hadn't really registered until just now. She'd spent the past seven years of her life preparing to go to Hogwarts each fall, and now she wasn't anymore. Instead she got ready for Quidditch practices each day. It was a weird, kind of distant, surreal thought, but she pushed it into the back of her head. She loved her life now, and going back to Hogwarts for another year wouldn't change that no matter how much she might miss it. Besides, she didn't really miss the school. It was more the people, and returning there likely wouldn't fix that either. She'd have to move on, and she was more than happy to do so.

Katie felt the slightest bit bad for Ana when she began to talk about the paperwork. It sounded... well it sounded exhausting and boring and monotonous and repetitive. And none of that sat well with Katie. She hated routine and order. She much preferred impulse and mess and fun. One of the seemingly endless reasons she was much better in the world of Quidditch than any other profession. Sure, she had to fall under scrutiny occasionally from wizarding sports analysts or the occasional anchor or something, but Katie would never do something on camera, or off for that matter, that would seriously endanger or damper her career. She loved what she did too much to let it go. At Ana's assumption that she was a go-out-and-get-em girl Katie felt herself grinning a bit goofily.

"I guess you could say that," she admitted, but the grin never fell from her face. Ana admitted that she liked paperwork better and that field work was never for her. Katie could've guessed that just from their conversation. She was a little too... intimidated by people, or maybe it was just Katie that was intimidating. Either way, Ana didn't project the image that she would be all for running around like a lunatic trying to catch criminals. But then she mentioned that Aurors had to do paperwork too and Katie's eyes widened slightly. She knew that they had to file some things, but just the thought of doing any kind of paper work at all, other than signing contracts and autographs (not that Katie individually had many fans at all. She was quite new, after all. But people loved famous people's autograph, no matter how newly famous) horrified her.

"Glad I dodged that bullet then," she said with a laugh, but the small, almost knowing smile that Ana gave her had her smiling even more. This woman was quiet, sure, but she knew what she was doing. Katie knew it was true, too. She knew every time someone was apprehended she'd have to file all kinds of reports about where and when it happened, giving all the precise details. Details were another thing Katie Bell was not fond of. She didn't think before she acted and rarely thought before she spoke. She didn't think in the long-term, and she didn't notice the small things that other people might.

Ana began to explain what she did at the Ministry and it all sounded really interesting, even with all of the paperwork. "Sounds like you have a lot of power," Katie smirked, and she thought it was true. Deciding how things should be handled on a world-wide basis sounded like she had all kinds of power, and it was nice to see that it hadn't gone to the woman's head. But then she began another thought, and the laugh that left her had Katie immediately intrigued, and then she leaned forward and Katie knew whatever she was about to say would interest her, and lo and behold her words didn't disappoint in the slightest.

"Really?! That's so wicked!" said with a huge grin, laughing the slightest bit before she covered her mouth, with one hand. An amateur world cup?! At Hogwarts?! Katie was practically in Heaven at the idea of it. She wanted to know everything. How it worked, what it would be like, how they would determine who got to participate? Oh Merlin. It would be awesome! Ana said that it would still have to go through a lot of red-tape and approvals before it got started, and Katie nodded slowly, finally removing her hand from over her mouth before taking another sip of her drink.

"Oh my gosh. You have to keep me posted on that idea because it would absolutely fly with everyone. It would be fantastic," Katie said excitedly, still very entertained at the idea of what Ana was suggesting. She knew it wouldn't happen for awhile, probably, but, like Ana had said, it very much had potential. And then she asked what the life of a professional Quidditch star was like and Katie smirked slightly, a little unsure of how to explain it.

"Well we have one practice and one scimmage a day. The practices are always different, and so are the teams for scrimmages. And then twice a week we have to go lift at the gym in the complex, and three times a week before practice we run laps around the pitch, just to keep ourselves in shape. It's a lot of work, but we always get at least one night off a week, so we don't run ourselves ragged. Coach calls it our 'rest night,' but as you can see, we don't actually do much resting," Katie chuckled before glancing over to the table where she'd left. The guys were all lost in their own conversation, laughing as usual. She turned her attention back to Ana with a smile on her face.

"It's pretty exhausting, but it's definitely the most fun I've ever had," she said before taking another sip of her drink. She noticed it was almost empty and made a mental note to try not to order another. It was so delicious, though! "What made you decide to go with the Ministry, and the department you're in?"

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