[ZARA] Red Flags and Long Nights

[narcissa black]

This wasn't usually the type of place Narcissa Black would frequent, The Three Broomsticks. It was a pretty drab, dull place, she thought. Not exactly respectable. The only reason she was there was because she had heard a rumour that Lucius Malfoy was going to meet a friend of his for a drink in this particular pub and she quite liked the idea of catching him there, showing herself off. She'd made herself particularly attractive today, she thought, though she was convinced she was attractive every day. But today she had to be perfect. Lucius was going to see how sociable she was, but also how beautiful she was. How she didn't fit into such a dull environment as the pub, so maybe he would take her out, sweep her away....

The girl had her fantasies and dreams about all of this kind of romance. She loved it. Couldn't get enough of it. It was unusual, considering her family weren't the greatest advocates of romantic thinking, but they let her get away with it because she looked the part. The blonde, pale, bluey eyed girl was angelic, in their eyes, and she should be allowed her little fantasies. They made her sweeter and more innocent, and therefore more appealing to potential suitors. After all, what man didn't want an innocent?

Her friends had accompanied her so that she wouldn't be alone, but she'd demanded that they try not to upstage her. She didn't want them doing something stupid to take all the attention away from her, when she was supposed to be the one trying to snag Lucius Malfoy. What if one of them spilt something down her, or tripped over, or said something idiotic? It would make her look bad as 'the leader of the group' and she could not allow that to happen. Today was supposed to be a special, perfect day. Today was supposed to be a day when she would finally be swept away by her Prince Charming.

As it happened, the girl waited with her friends in The Three Broomsticks for a good hour before realising that Lucius wasn't going to show up. She overheard a conversation about him heading to a different pub and she glowered at her friend, who had given her the information. "He's not even here? What the hell, Amy," she hissed, folding her arms and glaring at the wall. She ignored the girl's profuse apologies for getting the wrong place and stood up to go. The rest rose around her and she turned on her heel before she saw a glimpse of blond entering the pub.

Immediately she sat herself back down and sipped at her drink, before realising that it wasn't Lucius. Sighing deeply, she was ready to give up. This was an awful place to be and filled with some awful people. She'd seen her 'cousin' there, though now his Mum had blasted him off of the family tree she didn't have to call him that. No, she smirked to herself. She could just call him "idiot" now, or "fool" or "imbecile" or "you." Yes, something along those lines would do just nicely.

As her eyes scanned the place, though, she didn't see him or any of his stupid friends. She did see one girl she noticed hung around with Sirius though. What was her name- Zizi? No, Zara. "Ugh." The blonde rolled her eyes and groaned. This place was really not where she wanted to be right now.

[Zara Girard]

It was honestly a beautiful day. The sun was out, and yet a cool breeze was blowing, allowing Zara unwrap her scar and stuff it into her robes. The weather wasn't harsh enough for her to be clad in multiple layers of clothing and a scarf.

She was on her way to Three Broomsticks with a bunch of her friends, to enjoy a cool Butterbeer. She'd have come with Sirius, but he had been hanging out with James, so Zara didn't want to disturb that, and instead had made her way to Hogmeade with her friends.

Finally reaching the Three Broomsticks, she stepped in, sighing at the smell of Butterbeer and the slight chatter going around the bar. Oh, how she loved the Three Broomsticks. It had been her frequent hangout place since she was allowed to go to Hogsmeade on her third year.

As usual, Zara's eyes looked around the room for a table for her to sit with her friends. There was one, right beside a bunch of girls, and Zara started walking towards the table. And she caught her eyes. Narcissa Black. Zara's eyes immediately turned cold, and she crossed her arms over her chest. How she hated her. She already had a deep dislike for Narcissa. Zara hated the way she thought that she was perfect, she was above all. And then Sirius told her about how he had had to run off and how his name had gotten blasted off his family tree, and her hatred towards his family only increased.

Unable to control herself, she sauntered over to the table instead of looking for another one, and plopped down so that she was diagonally situated from Narcissa. Her friends had followed her, already sensing something was wrong, but did not say anything.

One of her friends went to order drinks for all of them, and Zara glared at Narcissa. "So, Black. What are you doing in a place like this? Don't you always hang out in posh places? Filled with fake, dumb blondes like yourself?" she smirked, knowing she'd insult Narcissa with anything that would point out that she was far from perfect. "Oh wait, you thought dear little Malfoy would make it here?" she asked in mock surprise. "Aw, aren't you disappointed...Guess who spread the rumours?" she sniggered, and her friends laughed. Indeed, Zara had been the one to casually state that the world would end if the likes of Lucious Malfoy would step into the Three Broomsticks. Somehow, the 'joke' had gotten around, and it got twisted as it travelled from house to house. And once it had reach Slytherin, it must've come to the point where people thought Lucius was actually going to the pub.