Quiet desperation ( It can't be too bad )

[Guy Styles]

Guy stood on the door step of number 93, Diagon Alley. He caught sight of a sign sign with the shop's name on it, ' Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. ' He didn't know if it was his interest in the shop or the fact that he was contemplating getting a job there that made him stand there, looking just about dumbfounded. He shrugged his shoulders, realized he was blocking the entrance way, and walked inside. The place was rather colorful, and Guy came to the realization that he had never actually set foot in here before through all of his adventures in Diagon.

He decided to look around a bit, knowing that there would still be applications waiting for him to fill out. He turned left, spotting some skiving snackboxes and portable swamps. They looked interesting, juvenile certainly, but also interesting.

Guy looked this way and that, deciding that really he was just biding his time, so he made his way up to the counter. The woman manning the counter must have been in her early twenties, and Guy surprised himself by waiting rather patiently. ' What can I do for you? ' The woman asked as she turned to look at him. It was then that Guy was glad he hadn't worn torn jeans and a plain old painted on tshirt. He looked somewhat decently nice today, shockingly enough, wearing a pair of black slacks and a nice blue polo shirt. Wearing nicer clothes than usual made him feel a little more... adult, which he supposed was good as he was applying for a job and all that. " I was wondering if there were any jobs available. " Again, Guy surprised himself, although this time it was because he wasn't massively failing at this. Maybe he could work here.

Really, the only reason he needed to work anywhere was because the whole music thing wasn't turning out as he had hoped. He had a band together, and they were certainly good, but it was taking some time before anyone else could see how good they really were. His dad needed him out of his own shop, so Guy went to look for a job. He had already asked for applications at Flourish and Blotts and the Leakey Cauldron, but so far this place looked the most promising. Guy glanced up, meeting the woman's gaze as she handed him a form to fill out. ' You're going to want to owl him, ' she pointed to a man's name on the bottom of the paper, ' And set up an interview. ' The eighteen year old nodded his head, thanking the woman. ' No problem. Have a nice day. '

With that, Guy gave a small wave and exited the shop. He grinned slightly, thinking that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes could possibly be the place for him. Oddly enough. He wasn't paying attention to much else, though, as he walked out, and ended up walking into someone. It was a Saturday in the midafternoon, so Diagon Alley was rather packed. " Oomph. " He muttered as he stumbled backwards a bit, trying not to fall over completely.


( Drew + open in general )

[Drew Thornton]

Drew was finding that life after Hogwarts really wasn't all that exciting. He didn't get to hang out with his friends as much, never got to see Felicity at all, and was expected to act like an adult. He had met a few pretty decent people at the Ministry, but most of the time they weren't really folks he cared to hang out with. There were the older, way stuffy guys who spent their time talking about the economy and politics... There were a couple of secretaries on the fifth floor that seemed awfully giggley anytime they caught sight of him... There was the guy who brought around the mail who was cool enough, but slightly brain dead... and there was the Junior Under-Assistant to the Secretary of Head of Department of International Magical Cooperation who always seemed to stand a little too close and put her hands where Drew really did not want them.

Aside from them, Drew had actually found a couple of guys who he actually got along with... fellas that were into some of the same kinds of things he was into. They had asked him to join their pick-up game of quidditch that Sunday. Drew had readily agreed, probably sounding a little more anxious than he would like, not having played since that final game at school. Excited over the idea of hanging out with some cool people and actually playing quidditch again, he had made a trip to Diagon Alley to pick up a pair of tail-twig clippers and some beater-bat polish. While he was there, he found a pair of protective gloves he liked as well and by the time he had left the Quidditch supply store, he had a decent sized bag full of purchases.

He left the store, quite content with the prospect of flying competitively again and not really focused on where he was going, when he collided with a somewhat solid object, making him lose his balance enough to take a few awkward steps back and drop his purchases. It was what he got for not paying attention.

"Dang... You okay? Sorry, man," Drew apologized as he regained his balance and picked his bag back up. It was then that he recognized the young man he had bumped into as one of the kids from his class. "Guy? Dude, I haven't seen you since before summer!" Drew greeted with a grin, always happy to see a familiar face. He and Guy didn't always hang out in the same circles, but that really didn't matter to Drew. "So, what are you up to now?"

[Guy Styles]

The thing about recovery was that you had to have quick reflexes and be able to catch yourself. Guy wasn't so very good at either of these things, but he managed to not stumble over. He caught himself and shook his head, wondering how exactly that had happened. He must not have been paying attention to where he was going, that was all. It took a few seconds to register in his brain that he actually did know who he had bumped into.

" Oh, hey man. I was just applyin' for a job here. " He looking in the direction of the shop he had just walked out of. " I've been working in my dad's shop, but I think he sick of me. " He grinned, half kidding and half... well, not. He wasn't really surprised to have run into Drew, although he could have done without the literal sense of the world, as the wizarding community in Great Britain wasn't all that extensive and grand. " What about you, eh? Where're you at? " Guy couldn't recalled something about Drew wanting to work at the Ministry, but he doubted he had heard it directly from the former Head Boy. He didn't remember having many conversations with him at all, but Guy knew there was no time like the present.

His mind quickly wandered from it's original starting point, meandering down the way of wondering if Drew and Felicity were still together. That reminded him of the squirrel that Felicity was always having around, and then reminded him of skateboarding, which was how they had first met. Weird. He shook his head, wondering what Drew was doing around here anyway. Ministry business?

[Drew Thornton]

"Hey, that's cool," Drew answered, laughing appreciatively at Guy's joke at his dad's expense... or perhaps it was at his own. The Once-and-Always Ravenclaw knew that employment had gotten hard to find and that most of his classmates were searching desperately or hanging onto jobs they had been lucky to find in the first place. Drew understood the need to move on to bigger and better things, but thought it was pretty decent to have the fall-back of a parent to help out.

"Me? I'm at the Ministry," he answered. "Auror Training." The last was said with a lot less enthusiasm than when he had first announced his appointment into the Accademy. Though most peolple who knew him knew he had been after this since he was a firstie, he still got quite a few lukewarm responses to the news. Drew himself was not a big fan of the Ministry as an organization, but also knew he could do more good from inside than on the outside.

[Guy Styles]

More or less, Guy just supposed that his dad wanted him to figure something out on his own. If he needed to rely on the music and art shop for a career than so be it, but the man just wanted Guy to do something. The eighteen year old wondered if working at a joke shop would be included in that, and a small grin lit up his face. He was looking forward to his interview and began thinking about that, making it more difficult for him to concentrate on the discussion at hand. Ever the daydreamer, he had to mentally shake himself in order to focus. " Yeah. and I mean... it's a joke shop, so at least there'll be some laughs. "

Guy didn't really notice the infliction in which Drew announced that he was currently training to be an Auror. He smiled and nodded, announcing, " Man, that's really awesome. So what've they got you doing, fighting crime one bad guy at a time? " He wondered if the Ministry was really as glamorous, or unglamorous as everyone said it was. He crossed his arms over his chest as he began wondering if Drew would become a superhero, much like Superman or Batman. Which of course led him to the train of thought that all the cool superheroes names ended in ' man. ' Weird coincidence in his opinion.

[Drew Thornton]

As Guy spoke about his hopeful employment, Drew got lost in his own thoughts, thinking he could probably stock up on some of Weasley's finer products and get back at some of the senior Aurors who though picking on the new guys was part of the standard training procedure.

"Hardly," Drew answered with a hint of bitterness, but a wide smile nonetheless in appreciation of Guy's reaction. Drew was never quite sure how people would react so it was always good to hear when people thought his career choice was a good thing. Even so, he wasn't about to make it sound more impressive than it actually was. "They've got me mostly running errands. That and paperwork. It's kind of hard to fight the badguys when you're stuck in the office the whole time." He was hoping he would get to see some action, even mild stuff, next year.

[Guy Styles]

Ah, so maybe the job of Auror wasn't as extravagent or interesting as Guy had always envisioned it to be? It was a bit disheartening to him, and he wasn't even the one who had the job at the Ministry. " Sounds like a load of bollucks, mate. How long will they have you doing all the behind the scenes work before you actually get to do some work? " As naive as Guy was at times he still knew that there were ' badguys ' out there, still doing things that were illegal and that needed to be stopped. That was, afterall, why Aurors existed in the first place.

The thought occurred to Guy that Drew must have been doing something before he had stumbled into him. " Hey man, so were you doing something or other? I've got a couple of errands to run if you want to come along. "

[Drew Thornton]

"Eh, hopefully I'll be done paying my dues soon," Drew answered. He knew he needed to get through all of the rules and regulations, learn the ins and outs of paperwork, but he didn't see what fetching coffee had to do with tracking down and capturing dark wizards. "Hopefully by next summer." They couldn't keep him on errand duty forever... at least he was pretty sure they couldn't.

"Me? Yeah, I was just checking out what was new at Quality Quidditch Supplies," Drew answered, showing his hefty bag. "Okay, I went a little overboard, but you know how it is... I mean, it's necessities." His Uncle Mike was like that in Best Buy.

[Guy Styles]

Guy figured that it was good for Drew to keep his chip up about the whole thing, better to be optimistic about it. " Sounds logical to me man. Still, it would make me pretty mad to be fetching stuff for old wizards who could just as easily do it for themselves. " He shrugged his shoulders, not knowing if it really angered Drew or if he was indifferent to it. He would guess the first option, but that was just his opinion.

" Ya been playing much quidditch lately? I never really was one for the sport. Couldn't balance properly. " He grinned, laughing at the image of him perched on a broom trying to be coordinated.

[Drew Thornton]

"Eh, it's a log like riding a bike," Drew told him, not even sure if he had any experience with Muggle things like bikes. Even so, he realized that people always told him ice skating was like roller blading and he was a mess on the frozen stuff.

"But no, haven't been able to do much quidditch since I left school," Drew answered. There really wasn't anyone to play with even if he wanted to considering most of the people he hung out with lately were Muggles. He was nearly dying to get back in the game, but apparently Great Britain didn't have an amature league he could get into. "There really isn't much of a chace to play I guess. How's your music going? You have a band? We could get a group together to go see you one night."

[Guy Styles]

Guy understood the meaning of Drew's words, and he guessed flying would be like riding a bike. If you didn't think about it on purpose it wouldn't really cross your mind, but once you were there it all came back. He liked the idea, though, that some things were unforgettable. " I like tha' man. Never did much bike riding, though. " He grinned and let out a small laugh.

" Sounds like a shame. Weren't you insane up in the air? " He wasn't much of the sportsfan, but he did remember seeing the Ravenclaw team being led by Drew. Guy liked quidditch, but it didn't always hold his interest for the duration of the game. Guy's smile faltered a bit at the mention of his so called music career. He supposed non-existent would be more suiting. " Eh, it's alright. Still tryin' to get a full band together, and in the mean time I've been working at my dad's music shop. Not much to see yet, as I've only managed to find a guitarist for the time being. A friend of mine mentioned wanting to sing, so we'll have to see. " His smile picked back up by the time he was done talking, as he still was optimistic about the whole situation.

[Drew Thornton]

Drew gave a small laugh back, mostly at himself for using an analogy that Guy really couldn't connect to. The Ravenclaw had to try not to do that so much. Still, Guy seemed okay about it, so Drew figured it was all good.

"Yeah, you probably have to be insane to fly up there with those bludgers," Drew answered, appreciating the compliment, but not sure if he deserved it. "But we had a good team the last few years and that makes all the difference."

Drew was disappointed to hear that Guy's band was still in the making. He had already started making plans to get a party going. Drew had a fleeting thought of offering his drummer skills, but he honestly wasn't all that good. "Well, you gotta promise to let me know when you get it going. I think it would be awesome to go support your first gig."

[Guy Styles]

Guy chuckled, thinking that it would probably be like skating. While he enjoyed that muggle sport he had only ridden a bicycle several times. Still, he could relate to it. " Yeah, man... Ravenclaw was on top of their game. "

In fact for most of the time that Guy had attended Hogwarts Ravenclaw had been at the top. The Gryffindor tended to think that the birds had been favored, but seeing as he was out of school he didn't think of it too much anymore. And even when he had been in Hogwarts he hadn't cared very much.

He grinned, then offered, " Well hey, give me your address or some way to contact you and I'll definitely let you know when it happens. It'd be great to see some familiar faces in the crowd at a gig. When I know you'll know. " He was actually pretty excited to hear the enthusiasm in Drew's voice, it made Guy feel yet even more hopeful about it all working out for the better. " So hey, you and Felicity still together? "

[Drew Thornton]

Drew grinned again at the mention of Ravenclaw's winning record. The only time he could remember his house not winning the Cup was when they hadn't finished the season for one reason or another.

"Dude, that would be awesome!" he agreed, already deciding on who he'd invite to hear Guy play. Charlie and Hiro for sure and maybe Franco if the guy could find someone to watch the kid. "I'm right here in London. Hyde Park. Yeah, just send me an owl and I'm so there."

Drew's smile grew wider at the mention of the pretty brown-eyed blonde. "Yeah, it'll be two years on Halloween," he answered, feeling pretty pleased that things were going so well. Sure they had been through their ups and downs, and the separation this year was hard, but he still felt that nothing could ruin what they had. "She's still got one more year at school, but we get to see each other during the hols and all."

[Guy Styles]

It didn't take much to remind the former Gryffindor of the great times he had had at Hogwarts... and talking with Drew just seemed to bring back all of the memories even more. He didn't think about the past all that much, but reminiscing was all in good fun. The grin stayed put on Guy's face at his friend's enthusiasm. It had been a while since anyone had been animated about anything regarding his future, let alone his music.

" For sure man. We should try and get a group together to do somethin' one of these days. See how everyone is back at school. " He hadn't really been in contact with anyone in Hogwarts lately, it was a bit disappointing now that he thought on it.

Guy was certainly impressed by what Drew was saying about him and Felicity being together for two years. " That's awesome, early congrats... you two were always good for each other. " Guy remembered the first time he had met the blonde haired Gryffindor girl and chuckled to himself. " Does she still have that squirrel? Sammy or something? "