An Oktoberfest Of Our Own [Open]

High above, the sun shone brightly aginst the clear blue sky, not a single cloud in sight. It was an unusually glorious day. Ones like these were rare back in Austria, where it seemed to rain for days on end. It wasn't too hot nor too cold and Roderich savoured the smell of fresh air after being cooped up in the castle for too long. He walked along the cobbled streets of Hogsmeade, a sweet shop called Honeydukes catching his eye. The Austrian paused, but quickly shook his head, resuming his search.

It was that time of the year again. Thousands were gathering in Munich for Oktoberfest, and Roderich only thought it appropriate to leave the castle and search the picturesque village for a place where he could get a good drink, as he wouldn't be able to attend this year's festival. His mother, always one for festivities, used to drag him and his father to Munich every few years. He remembered the first time; it had been overcrowded and vomit riddled, with thousands of disgraceful drunks stumbling about. And one time, a stranger had offered him a sip of his own beer. The liquid burned his throat and he swore never to consume such a thing again, but as the years passed, he grew to enjoy the festivites as well as the beer. It wasn't as good as Austrian beer, but still.

Now here he was. The pub, that seemed to also double as an inn, was deliciously warm, a bit smoky, but surprisingly clean and welcoming. It was actually...somewhat cosy. He sat himself down at an empty table, having fought his way through the crowd. That was good, a crowd meant that they probably wouldn't ask for an ID. He was almost eighteen anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem. A bar maid rushed over to his table, listing through everything they had to offer, but Roderich quickly cut her off. "Please, a Gösser Märzen will do." She nodded and left, coming back with an open bottle. Roderich nodded his thanks as he gratefully accepted the drink.

It was such a nice day, almost reminiscent of the ones back in beautiful, beautiful France. Almost. The British Isles could never even hope to compete with her glorious home. Still, it would have been a pity a to spend such a lovely day trapped inside that old, gloomy castle. She had heard from some of the students that there was an entirely wizard occupied town close to Hogwarts. Not having anything better to do, since she frankly refused to watch her schoolmates run and fly around like immature brats, she decided to pay the town a little visit.

The way to the town was an okay sight in itself. The nice little cobblestone path was surrounded by trees and grassy meadows, a few rocks peeking out here and there. And it was peaceful, being away from the noisy students of the castle.

After a 10-15 minute walk, Marianne entered the town of Hogsmeade, an unimpressed looks on her face. It was nothing special, just like every other rosbif town she had been forced to see. But she was already there, might as well look around. She found a post office, a stationary, a sweets shop (which she avoided to the best of her abilities, not trusting anything that was made by the rosbif), and a pub.

A pub. A real, authentic, British pub, which seemed to function as an inn as well. Normally she wouldn't step into a place like this, but she was quite thirsty. And a bottle of wine sounded very appealing at the moment.

She entered the smoky and smelly, albeit semi-clean room. She wrinkled her nose. It wasn't the most sophisticated of establishments around but it was going to have to do. She looked around for a table, hopefully devoid of drunk Englishmen, but her search came up fruitless. She started weaving through the crowd, hoping to find a someone decent to sit with. She caught sight of a solitary figure sitting by a table.

He seemed decent enough. She walked over to the table and stood next to a chair, clearing her throat. "Excusez-moi, is this seat free?" she asked, a polite smile on her lips.

Roderich casually observed the pub's patrons, his violet eyes sweeping lazily across the room as he lifted the bottle to his lips and swallowed halfheartedly. He choked a bit, the liquid fire in his throat. It really has been a long time since he'd last had a drink.

Setting the bottle back down, the Austrian leaned forward, lacing his fingers together and resting his elbows on the table. His eyes drifted shut and a sigh escaped his lips. Honestly speaking, he was quite bored. And craving company. Perhaps he should just return to the castle, maybe stop by that shop he saw earlier, 'Honeydukes' was it?

A feminine voice broke through his train of thought. Slowly lifting his head, the Austrian blinked in surprise at the young lady that stood next to the chair beside him, looking at him expectantly. "Pardon?" She was rather pretty, beautiful even. She certainly didn't look from around here, possibly a fellow exchange student.

The idea piqued his interest and he briefly wondered where she was from. Was that not French she spoke earlier? But then again, French was a widely used language. It took Roderich a moment to realise what she was asking of him and when he did, he abruptly stood up, courteously holding out the chair for her out of habit.

Marianne raised an eyebrow as the young male stared at her with a vacant expression. Did he not speak English? Or was her beauty so dazzling he couldn't speak? It wouldn't be surprising but wouldn't he be blushing then? She subtly looked down at herself, wondering if there was something unsightly on her clothing. She couldn't see anything. Her knee-length, billowy skirt and light violet blouse were in perfect condition, a perfect amount of cleavage and legs showing. No, she looked perfect as always. So why was he frozen...?

She giggled as he jumped out and pulled out a chair for her. There were actually Britons who had manners around here? How shocking. She sat down on the chair, giving her companion a beautiful smile, hints of her seductive nature shining through. He was not bad looking at all, quite the contrary actually. Coming down to this boring little town was actually worth it, it seemed. "Merci beaucoup, mon cher."

((I'm sorry it's so short Dx))

Roderich watched as she sat down, a light blush warming his cheeks when he got a flirtatious smile in return. "A-ah, de rien," he said politely, stumbling over the foreign words, not quite used to them. Having pretty much used up his limited French vocabulary, the Austrian sat himself down in the chair next to her.

He didn't know what he had been hoping to get out of this little outing of his, but it certainly hadn't been the company of a charming stranger. It wouldn't hurt to get to know her. "Roderich Edelstein. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" He asked. His elbows were back on the table, his fingers laced together. The Austrian had his head turned towards the slightly older girl, a small smile on his lips.

"Ah, so you speak Francais?" She giggled at the other's horrible accent. It was just so cute! And that blush...Marianne was certain she chose the best table to sit at in this whole place. And he sat down next to her, which meant he wasn't a personal space obsessed Brit after all.

Such a gentleman, he even introduced himself before she had the chance! And his calm posture, coupled with that slight smile, not to mention that he was certainly easy on the eyes...Oh, Marianne liked him already. "Marianne Bonnefoy, recently transferred French exchange student. It is truly a pleasure, monsieur Edelstein." Since she was seated, Marianne merely bowed her head politely, forgoing her usual curtsy this time.

She looked up at the bar maid and ordered a bottle of red wine politely, her longing for the delicious liquid intensifying. While she was waiting for her order, she turned back to her companion. "So, monsieur Edelstein, are you an exchange student as well? I couldn't help but notice that your accent is not British."

Roderich gently shook his head and replied honestly, "Not a word, I'm afraid." His blush seemed to intensify as she giggled, obviosuly finding his accent rather amusing. "Was it that bad?" The Austrian was sure the words had sounded awful coming from his mouth, used to the rough language that was his native tongue.

"Bonnefoy?" The name struck a chord. It sounded extremely familiar but Roderich couldn't for the life of him figure out why. His gaze focused on Marianne, eyebrows furrowed in thought. Elegance, as well as an underlying mischief, seemed to radiate off of her, and he could tell that her clothes, although accentuating her... talents perfectly, were far from cheap - the type of clothes only young ladies from prestigious wizarding families wore on an everyday basis. It made the frugal part of him want to cry. He pushed the thought away for the time being and continued to smile politely. He took her hand and leant forward slightly, bringing it up so he could briefly brush his lips against it. "Well then, miss Marianne, I hope you and I get to know each other better."

The bar maid came back, two wine glasses and an open bottle were set down on the tabletop. His own beer sat forgotten beside him. The Austrian raised a questioning eyebrow. "Austrian, actually. You sound pleased that I am not British." He reached for the bottle and poured the crimson coloured liquid into Marianne's glass before filling his own. He lifted his glass, "To new acquaintences?"

"Honestly? Your accent is 'orrible, but it is understandable. I must commend you for trying though." She said, strengthening her French accent on purpose. Her accent tended to annoy some people, but most thought it was attractive. Hopefully Roderich was one of them.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oui, Bonnefoy." Maybe he knew of her family? She wouldn't be surprised. If you had ever read a book on French history, there was no way you didn't see the name 'Bonnefoy' at least thrice.

She watched as Roderich spaced off, staring at her assets with his brows furrowed. She blinked at him in confusion. Did he not like her chest? She had always been satisfied with the way she looked. Her partners, friends, acquaintances, random strangers had no problem with it either.

She was even more confused when the other suddenly grabbed her hand and placed a light kiss on it. Looks like he didn't find her revolting after all. She smiled at him flirtatiously, licking her lips slightly. "Me too, monsieur Roderich." Hopefully they would get to know each other much, much better.

"Oh, I am, monsieur. I am." She offered no explanation as to why she disliked the British. She lifted her own glass. "And hopefully more in the future." Much, much more. She smiled at him and clanked their glasses together gently.

He sighed, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "I thought so." Roderich, however, found her accent rather endearing. It wasn't too strong to the point where you couldn't understand anything, with just the slightest French tilt that just made her more attractive. Yes, he admitted that Marianne was indeed an attractive lady. And a flirtatious one, judging by the way she smiled and looked at him.

The Austrian politely decided not to comment on her obvious dislike for the British, as it would have been rude, her business was her business after all, but that didn't stop him from wondering why. He understood that they were somewhat uncultured, the barbaric brutes they were, but not to the point where he disliked everything British.

Roderich didn't miss the subtext beneath her words, but rather than find it bothersome, the Austrian found himself taking interest in the lady beside him. Usually, he only flirting with women when nescessary, and with as little contact as possible, but there was just something about Marianne he couldn't quite put his finger on. He lifted the glass to his lips, sipping only a bit of the wine before setting it back down on the table, his fingers gripping the stem of the glass.

She giggled softly, placing a hand on her mouth to stifle the amused sound. "Don't worry, it's actually quite adorable." Really, he was such a charmant boy. Both in looks and in personality, at least the way she saw so far. Good-looking, a gentleman, what more could she ask for? Okay, there was plenty more she could ask for, rather the question was what she would ask for. And those two things were more than enough to keep her interested in him for a while.

She took a sip of her wine as well, the strange yet familiar taste soothing her and making all traces of her previous bad mood disappear. Good company and half-decent wine; coming here was worth it. She set down her glass and crossed her arms under her chest, an unconsciously seductive move of hers. Crossing her arms was a habit she picked up from her years of ballet; using your arms was forbidden when you were training your legs.

It took him a few moments to completely wipe the blush from his face. Really, it was strange how easily flustered the Austrian was. Roderich tried to keep his expression aloof, calm, a pleasant smile on his face. It would do no good to make a fool of himself in front of such an interesting girl, no good at all.

The crimson liquid inside sloshed against the glass as he swirled it around. His violet eyes watched it lazily before drifting back to the person beside him. "You mentioned earlier that you were a student at Hogwarts. What house are you in? You can't be in Gryffindor, surely, or else I would have bumped into you. It's hard to forget such a pretty face."

She narrowed her eyes slightly at the pleasant, calm, and obviously forced smile on his face. While he looked quite handsome when he was smiling, she didn't want to get the same smiles she got from every single aristocrat back home. She wanted real emotions, like that adorable blush which adorned his face mere moments ago.

She raised an eyebrow, a slightly bewildered look on her face. This calm, collected young man was a Gryffindor? From what she had seen of the house so far, most of its members were loud, brash, and childish. Such an interesting man Roderich was. "I'm in Slytherin." The only house suitable for her personality really.

She smiled at the Austrian brightly. "Merci. I believe I would have a hard time forgetting someone like you as well." It was rare to find someone who was handsome and interesting at the same time. Lucky, lucky her.