"I did!!! I was shocked! but ..." ohhh and they were hugging and Ethan was hugging back because it seemed totally okay and like they snogged before AND so a hug was practically nothing. "OH... ohhhh!! You're totally going to make starter next summer after they see how BRILLIANT you are and how much they're missing out by not playing you!" Because honestly, how could she NOT be brilliant. Seeing as she was one of the main reasons he paid any attention to when Ravenclaw was playing.

"You're welcome. I figure it was like ... the least i could do and I'm just ... not so great with this .... emotion stuff?" Ethan found himself biting his lip. He nodded. Oh good. He was out of the doghouse and they were on good terms and she was being totally mature about this. Or at least she appeared that way. "I doooo.... I doo... i definitely do want to keep hanging out with you. But like, no nothing official. I just don't think we need to be like ... exclusive?" Was that the right term? "I mean like, exclusivity and labels are so passé and like so twenty-eighteen." Or well, maybe? Probably, he had no idea but it sounded good.

"So ummm you wanna get some ice cream?" Since she had said she wanted more dates with him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

"I did!!! I was shocked! but ..." ohhh and they were hugging and Ethan was hugging back because it seemed totally okay and like they snogged before AND so a hug was practically nothing. "OH... ohhhh!! You're totally going to make starter next summer after they see how BRILLIANT you are and how much they're missing out by not playing you!" Because honestly, how could she NOT be brilliant. Seeing as she was one of the main reasons he paid any attention to when Ravenclaw was playing.

"You're welcome. I figure it was like ... the least i could do and I'm just ... not so great with this .... emotion stuff?" Ethan found himself biting his lip. He nodded. Oh good. He was out of the doghouse and they were on good terms and she was being totally mature about this. Or at least she appeared that way. "I doooo.... I doo... i definitely do want to keep hanging out with you. But like, no nothing official. I just don't think we need to be like ... exclusive?" Was that the right term? "I mean like, exclusivity and labels are so passé and like so twenty-eighteen." Or well, maybe? Probably, he had no idea but it sounded good.

"So ummm you wanna get some ice cream?" Since she had said she wanted more dates with him.

Nettie felt like her cheeks were on fire as he kept complimenting her Quidditch abilities. "I'm not THAT great," she chuckled. Although she had to admit, Quidditch did seem to come...naturally to her. "You'll have to owl me your schedule, I might be able to come to one of your games! That's the only good part about being in separate leagues, I guess," she said with a grin. They wouldn't be playing against each other, so maybe they'd be able to root each other on!

She tilted her head with a soft smile. "So twenty-eighteen?" she asked with a small chuckle, repeating his statement. "I didn't expect you to be so...concerned with social trends," she teased him. Honestly, Nettie couldn't help but feel like her heart was sinking. Another crush who didn't want to be her boyfriend. What was WRONG with her? Was it something about her? They could go on dates with her, they could snog her - but the second she wanted more, they got cold feet. It had to be something with her. It just HAD to be.

She tried to focus on the positive. Ethan still wanted to hang out with her, and still wanted to snog her...right? But did that mean he wanted to snog OTHER people too? Because...well, she wasn't sure how she felt about that. She needed to think on that. She smiled at him at his offer, however, and pushed that thought aside for the time being. She didn't have to RUSH anything. She had time to think this all over.

"Sure, I'd love to!" she told him as she pocketed the water bottles in her bag. "What's your favorite flavor?" she asked with a grin. Mostly because she wanted to see if they could split a sundae - but also to get her mind off the EMOTION stuff and move on.

Dory took a deep breath of the fresh summer air as she made her way down the street. Summertime was her favorite time of the year... sun, warm weather, and best of all, Diagon Alley overrun with Hogwarts students and quidditch fans! The rainbow-haired American planned to take full advantage of the uptick in activity to pound the pavement and drum up some business for her shop.

She was decked out in full Quidditch World Cup regalia to show off the merchandise available in her shop. She sported several studs designed to look like the various countries' flags in her ears, and her arms were covered in team-inspired temporary tattoos and bracelets in the team colors. She'd even used some of the body paint to paint a lightning bolt on her cheek. In her hands, she held a thick stack of coupons that she handed out to the passers-by. "25% off all Quidditch World Cup merchandise at Paradise Piercings and Tattoos!" she called. "Limited time only!"

If Ethan was being honest, he probably would have said she was great even if she was being compared to professionals. "UH yes. And ditto! Because I'm going to have to return the favor at one of your games." He shook his head. "Another good part is that we're not competition for each other. And we don't have to worry about opposing each other. And we'll have equal chance to be drafted for professional leagues. If we want." Mmhm. Although he hadn't decided about that and it was EONS into the future, but still.

"I'm not? I don't think? I don't know actually..." Ethan chewed on his lower lip. He liked to dress well, but he probably - like most teenage boys - didn't shower as much as he should have. And wasn't necessarily the most fashionable. But he liked to think he wasn't bad looking either.

Also, he probably should have made it clear that he ... wasn't snogging anyone else at the moment. And that he wasn't ruling out the labels for the future, but just for now. It's just, well, he supposed like father like son, he mulls things over for awhile. Impulse wasn't exactly a Denton trait. Even if he did like to think he was more adventurous than his father, but who was he to judge? His father did romance his mother in Florence.

Favorite flavor? Ethan blinked as if she had asked something in French which she might as well have, as he'd been lost in his own thoughts of mulling and such. "Huh. Oh. Ice cream. Uh.... not lemondrop? But we're not fussed. Really anything ... What's your favorite?"


That was when he heard - and took - a coupon from a lady and glanced down at it, before looking back at Nettie. "What ya say? Maybe we can get a quaffle tattoo or something? Although it'll probably have to be temporary..."

Dory smiled as a teenage boy (Ethan) approached and took one of her coupons. "There you go, dude!" she said brightly. "Good for 25% off all quidditch world cup merch at Paradise." She gestured down the street toward the brightly colored toucan sign that hung outside her shop. The she noticed the boy's companion (Nettie) and gave her a friendly smile too. "Would you like one too?" She offered her a coupon.

Then she overheard the boy (Ethan) say something about a temporary quaffle tattoo. She thought that sounded like an awesome idea but stopped just short of saying so out loud. After all, he technically wasn't talking to her. She did, however, nod approvingly. "We have a wide selection of quidditch-inspired temporary tattoos, if you're interested."

When she had got back to the table he was already to his feet and she grabbed her purse and tossed it over her shoulder as they walked out. "I love Christmas time." she smiled softly as the crisp air hit on her nose. It was almost perfect. Would of been even better if it was snowing softly but alas shell take what she can get. "Where are you staying at now?" since he's only been back a few weeks he said yes?

She shivered as a gust of harsh wind blew over them. "Jesus, that sucked." rude wind. Stay away. She's enjoying the cold weather!

Léo grab his briefcase and followed Avery out the door. He smiled. "I remember." He always made sure to make Christmas extra special when they were together. Until he was with her, he never thought much of the holiday. "I found a place on the outskirts of town. Not too expensive seeing as I'm between jobs. It's not too big but it's enough for Atticus and me." It really was all he could afford at the moment. He really needed to get the job at the Ministry.

He noticed Avery shiver. "It's really starting to feel like winter isn't it?" He himself was regretting not wearing a warmer jacket.

"not like you need a huge place anyway, not for just you yea?" she walked along in the soft snow from the days before slowly. "Trust me space isn't all fun and games." not when you've become afraid to part with anything.

"yeah, i love it." she still loved the cold and snow. Growing up with 80° Christmas's the snow was very much welcomed every year. Now what? What do they talk about? ... Them? Him? Her? The cats some more? Ugh why was this hard? She never had a hard time talking to him. This was horrible.

Léo gave a little nod. "That's true. I also don't have many things. Didn't really keep too much from my travels other than my journals." That was one thing from all of his work he kept were his research journals. He knew they would probably be helpful at some point in the future. "I would like to move to a bigger space at some point to be able to get another animal or too." He was always wanting to bring work home with him. Maybe breed Nifflers again.

Léo never really was fond of winter, but he knew how much Avery loved it. He was much happier to stay home in the nice comfort of warmth than out in the cold chill of winter. Again he wished he was wearing a warmer jacket. He was slightly regretting the walk. "What have you been up to lately?" Something to get his mind off the cold and to kill the silence that hung between them.

"well you did just travel for a long time so you didn't really have much." she also kept all the furniture they had bought together. He didn't find any use for it since he wasn't going to be in any one place for too long. "I have that extra couch still. If you'd like it." couches we're nice and really she didn't need both. She really did only just use the one.

"well, I hoped you kept your work research Leo. That'd be silly to lose at that." she smiled as she looked over at him. "ya cold?" he could of turned down the walk or suggested somewhere inside to go.

"Still writing for the magazine. I've moved up a bit in the company so I'm not a junior reporter anymore. But still covering quidditch and Gobstones." her life was pretty boring really. Same thing every day. Never really any changes... Well... Until now.

"I only kept the basics even with an extension charm I only really kept clothes and books." Léo really didn't see the need to carry much else with him. He was mainly doing research, even when he was breeding Nifflers. During that time he spent a lot of his time bulking up on knowledge about dragons hoping to one day work with them. "Thank you. I actually could use it. Haven't had time to buy more than a bed." His place really was scarce of furniture.

"You would not believe how many journals and books I have in my place." He had already filled a bookshelf and still had some scattered around his place. "A little but I will survive."

Léopold nodded as Avery talked about her work. "That's good that you moved up. Doesn't matter if you're still covering the same things."

"i could send it to your place... Or... You could come by and pick it up." shrug shrug whatever. Would it be awkward for him to be alone somewhere with her in private? Would he want to be with her in private? Would he want to kiss her as much as she'd probably want to kiss him? Who knew? Not her...

"yeah I've learned SO much and I've gotten a good rep for my name in the community so I still enjoy it a lot." She still liked getting paid to go to sports game and events. The work was somewhat repetitive but it paid her bills.

"we can go somewhere warmer if youd like... I really don't mind. I don't want you freezing to death on me." then her heart would truly be broken forever.

"I can come by and get it. We can figure out when sometime later." Léo wouldn't mind going back to their her place one more time. It would be nice to play through some old memories. Maybe something would happen. Who knows..

"That's good Avery. I'm proud of you." He really was. It was good that she was moving up in her career. Hopefully he would be as well. The longer he talked with Avery, the less he thought of his interview and the less he worried about the outcome of it.

Léo waved it off. "It's fine. It's not that cold out." He would survive a little bit of cold. Plus it would keep him on his toes and not let anything slip. He couldn't let his emotions escape him right now.

"I can order Chinese or something." one of their favorites back in the day. She looked down at the snow as she tucked some hair behind her hair. "I can ask Dustin to borrow his truck to help move it.. unless you'll charm it.???" she wasn't sure how good he was at concealment charms and didn't want to assume he'd want to do all that.

"yeah i love it. I really do. I also get to go to a lot of games and press events for free so that's a plus." she liked free things. It was right up her Ally and all. A free game and a drink was all she needed to stay happy now a days.

She couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips. "I don't think your body's use to the cold anymore. It seemed to be knocking you out." she pointed at her nose in order to point out his being red as roudolf already. Poor thing.

Léo smiled, memories of the apartment coming back. Everything back then was so good and so easy. Now it was just awkward and filled with what could have beens. "I'll probably just use some charms on it. Magic will be easier than the muggle way."

"Free is always good. That's one thing I've learned since university. Anything you can get for free helps." Léo did the whole broke college kid/backpacker thing so he definitely knew the value of free things.

She was laughing. Normally he would have some kind of comeback, but he just loved the sound of her laughter. He had missed it so much. Léo just pushed his shoulders up, pouting slightly. "I'm fine honestly."

It was another day in Diagon for her.. another day in which she didn’t do much of anything and just wandered and generally felt useless. She had tried to get a few jobs around but other than lawn mowing and baby sitting and dog walking she hadn’t found anything that would help out.

Her elder sister had to quit school to get a full time job, her brother was giving piano lessons to help out.. and she.. was here.

The summer was waning and she kicked at a rock on the street, next year she’d help out, next year she’d be old enough to get a job and help her siblings and pull her weight so they could live easily.. this year.. well this year she dealed she supposed.

She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair and clutched at her sketchbook.. maybe she’d find something to draw to tick the hours away?

Patrick has been sitting watching people with his journal in his hand. He’d been writing more and more lately with his brothers being home and they house being crowded. It felt like the summer before he went to Hogwarts. Brothers everywhere chaos all the time. He remembered just how much he didn’t like it now that he thought about it.

He was writing about his family, going back to school, and how he blew it again with another girl because he was terrible at telling them how he truly felt and not being afraid to show them. Why didn’t his brothers tell him? He was so wrapped up in his journal he didn’t notice anyone else around him which he supposed wasn’t all that great.

Iclyn was looking around for a place to sit when she spotted someone familiar on a bench not to far from her. She bit her lip as she headed over to him, hoping that she wouldn’t be intruding on his quiet time. She wasn’t planning on being loud or even talking if he didn’t want.. she just wanted to sketch.. and lose herself for a few hours in a world that wasn’t sad.

“Can I sit here?” The blonde asked softly as she looked down at Prefect.

She was hoping it was okay.

If not. She’d go find somewhere else to sit.

Patrick looked up smiling. ”Please. Sit join me” it wasn’t often that he got someone to sit down and join him. He pushed his thumb I to the page of his journal and watched her for a second.

He noticed her notebook. He wanted to ask why she was working on whether it be writing or drawing or anything creative he liked to hear about that kind of stuff.

After tapping the wall to get inside of Diagon Alley, Minjae pushed his expensive sunglasses up on top of his head and brushed his red colored dress shirt to get any dust off of it. In one hand he held an empty shopping bag to buy his school supplies and the other hand went in to his black dress pants pocket to pull out the piece of paper that had his supplies written on it.

He did not need to buy many things but he had decided to stay in Diagon Alley for a whole day until the stores closed, to enjoy shopping and chilling without having anyone working for his family around him. Except for his parents, only the family chauffeur knew that he was a wizard as it would be too much of a hassle to fire the man . Luckily, the man was very loyal and in the three years of knowing that Minjae was a wizard he had never spoken about it to anyone, not even his wife. Minjae had always thought he would have been in his House, Hufflepuff, had he been able to go to Hogwarts.

He looked up from reading and swung his bag over his shoulder as he walked to the first store. He hoped he’d see anyone from Hogwarts during his shopping because shopping alone was boring.

A hop in his step, Ewan walked down Diagon Alley with a broad smile on his face. With the summer in full swing, this was his last chance to actually do some shopping at Diagon Alley before he jetted back off to Canada to see his family for the summer so today was all about making the most of it. He’d wanted to buy presents for him family, just to show them how much he missed them over the summer as well as something for Beth, his girlfriend, although that might take a little longer but then again, the perfect present always takes the most time.

Lost in a train of thought, he couldn’t help but be a little surprised as he found himself bumping into someone as he headed down the street. Luckily, he somehow managed to keep himself on two feet and not on the cobbled floor. “Oh sorry, I didn’t see you there. I should have been looking where I was going” With a somewhat embarrassed face, Ewan looked over at the shorter, black haired boy with an embarrassed smile on his face. Adjusting his navy t-shirt and jeans so that he didn’t look completely dishevelled, he held out his hand to the boy, who must be a student at Hogwarts or a wizarding school somewhere, and introduced himself “I’m Ewan”. All in all, this was not the ideal start to his day.

Minjae had been too busy looking down at his pocket to get his supply letter inside it that he had not noticed a slightly older boy making his way over. He had certainly felt the hit though and like him, Minjae stumbled as well.

Managing to stay on his feet, Minjae was oblivious to the fact that his sunglasses had slid down the back of his head and had fallen down on the ground behind him.

Rubbing his arm, he looked at the guy with an concerned look on his face as he apologised. ”Ok” he said. He had apologised, All he could say now was ok. ”Are you hurt though?” he asked as he watched him adjust his t-shirt ”You’re lucky you didn’t fall” Minjae looked at the outstretched hand in front of him and immediately took it and shook it enthusiastically. ”I’m Minjae, aren’t you in Slytherin?” he asked. He was sure he had seen him around at Beauxbaton last year .

Looking at him wish a sheepish smile, he couldn’t help but just reply “I’m okay but my pride has taken a little dent” laughing a little now at his own joke, as usual. Bending down, he picked up the boys’ glasses and held them out to return them, making sure to give them a quick gander as he did so to check that they didn’t break. Thankfully, they seemed to be all in one piece.

“Me? Slytherin? No, I’m 100% Slytherin me” he replied, his mind racing back to his last school year. Strange how he’d managed to go a whole school year without actually seeing Minjae. “What about you? I’m guessing you’re either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff?” continued now with a little more confidence. He couldn’t be in his house because he would have seen him at the sorting and well, if he’d guessed Slytherin, that must have meant he wasn’t in there either or he would have known for sure he wasn’t one. Either way, it didn’t really make a difference to him.

“You heading to one of the stores?” he asked politely, not wanting to leave and seem rude but he did have a lot of shopping to do.

Minjae was glad that Ewan was not hurt physically, he wasn't sure about is pride though. It was just a simple accident. No harm done. He had dealt with fluffy human eating monsters, creepy mist and a scary dragon, although he had not been near the dragon last year... But he had never had anyone bump in to him before so that was a new experience and he couldn't wait to tell his chauffeur about it when he got out of Diagon Alley.

As Ewan picked something up from the ground, Minjae tried to look over his shoulder to see what it was and when Ewan held up his glasses it was at that moment that Minjae GASPED out loud. "Oh nononono!" he chanted as he took the glasses from him. He then began to inspect every inch of the glasses, even holding it up to the sun to see if there was any damage. "My father doesn't know i took his sunglasses. It's really expensive" he spoke fast and it took him a minute to calm down after seeing that the glasses were fine.

"That makes no sense" he said as he put the glasses back on his face, covering his dark brown eyes with the black shades. "How can you not be a Slytherin but be 100% a Slytherin at the same time?" Maybe it was his pride he had been talking about earlier? Didn't Slytherin's have a lot of pride?

"I'm in Hufflepuff" he said, nodding his head. "A 100% Hufflepuff" he laughed. The stores? Minjae looked around. Right, he had to do school supply shopping. "I need to buy a few items, eh..." he took out his piece of paper from his pocket and began to list them. "I need books for my fourth year, a new ink and quill, some food for my owl Brownie and a couple of vials for....reasons..." He could not prank people with hiccuping potions without vials. And he was not going to ask Professor Noble for them of course. "You want to come with me? I don't like shopping alone..."

Guilt. The perfect word to describe how Ewan was feeling right now as he found out the glasses were expensive and not even Minjae’s to begin with. “I did check them and they seemed fine”. He did check them over himself but still. He could most likely have just used magic to repair them if he took them home to his father but then he’d have to admit that he’d taken them so maybe that wasn’t an option.

Did he say guilt? He meant slight embarrassment. “I meant Ravenclaw, not Slytherin” his cheeks a slight shade of red now. “Maybe I’m not a Ravenclaw after all” laughing a little now at his obvious blunder. “I mean a lot of people actually tend to have a lot of traits from the different houses” because in all honesty, sometimes he really did feel like more of a Hufflepuff than a Ravenclaw. At least until he ace’s all of his O.W.L’s as expected and proved that he belonged.

Vials for reasons? Suuuure. That wasn’t suspicious at all. He may be a Hufflepuff but with fishy reasons like that, people would see straight through his goody goody façade, if that’s what it was. “Mhm, school stuff. Sure, I can come. I’ve already got mine. I’m just here to buy a few presents for my family before I head back home for the summer”. He may only need to grab a few things but it would take him all day so wasting time in the street really wasn’t an option today.