Honestly she was used to this, but then again she been here since for awhile. Although she missed Italy and most of all her best friend Auggie. She was sad when she moved away from Italy, they always came to visit each other at each other's places and even spent the day in Rome. Smiling at the memories of that day, she has pictures in her scrapbook of it. Things might change, but memories last forever and always.

Her shirt sticking to her she grumbled under her breath in annoyance, one thing she hated about London it was hot and humid during the summer months. She wasn't a fan of it, she liked the fall and winter more. Okay...she knew she was odd for thinking that, but it was true.

Hearing a familiar voice she looked up and smiled happily. "Auggie! Oh my goodness hi!" Hugging him just as tightly as he did she smiled. "Fancy seeing you as well, I missed you so much!" Been telling everyone that lately, but it's true but missed him like crazy he was her best friend.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

As long as Kiz continued to be favorite, she would continue to laugh at all Cooper's jokes. (Though she would likely laugh even if this weren't to be the case because she found him to be very funny and Kiz was never too far from an explosion of giggles anyway.) "I'll hang it up in my dorm!" You know who else was excited about FINALLY getting to go to Hogwarts? THIS kid.

And. She DID say so! Kinsay attempted to frown at cousin Cooper, though in truth, frowning was even more difficult an endeavor than eye rolling. But in her defense! Cooper was the one that made it difficult to frown, so that was his fault! She made sure to channel all this energy into making the photo frame look nice though, sticking her tongue out in concentration and adding her signature underneath his label. It was a little messy, but she thought that maybe that added to its charm. She looked up again from her doodling, to tilt her head in confusion. "That would be so rude!" Besides, why would anyone want to stick an umbrella!? It made no sense. Clearly Kizzy's brain was not wired for pranking just yet.

She finished up her work, capping the Sharpie, just as Cooper moved to tend to the umbrella. It was good he could pick up on her unspoken request. Kinsay made lots of those. Besides, if anyone were to get it open, she was sure Cooper could. Giving him a sheepish look, she scooted back so that she was sat out of the way and on the edge of the table now, her feet dangling off of it. She liked sitting up here. What she didn't like, however, was all the crunching the umbrella was doing. Maybe it was old? Or maybe someone had spilled their ice cream all over the inside? OR maybe something died in it?!

Either way, Kinsay was prepared for a RANGE of explanations.

G A S P !

Except this one.

Her eyes grew twice their usual size as she looked from the painted fabric to her cousin. "COOPER! Do you know that's the sign of the deathly hallows? AND that I saw one in Ollivanders when I went with mummy? AND the man who wasn't Mr. Ollivander said there was one on the fountain too? AND ........... " She paused, thoughtfully (and to catch her breath). "What does it mean, the greater good?" And. Breathe. She wasn't used to saying so much in one go.

"Maybe I should get you a corkboard for your next birthday or Christmas or just because." Cooper was more about the random acts of kindness and gift giving than he was doing so on an expected schedule. Why limit things to these expected times anyway? Wasn't like being grateful that someone was born or existed with you was limited to one day out of the whole year. "I'm packing a few of them for myself to decorate the dorm." The dorm he couldn't WAIT to be in and somewhat on his own and he was absolutely NOT thinking about how weird it would be to suddenly not have his dad around all the time and ending each day reading along side one another on the couch and all...

Also his mama's cooking. No house elf could do what his mom could do and he was certain of that.

"Yeah. Absolutely," he nodded in half agreement. It WOULD make for a funny sort of prank though IF this 13-year-old were in the business of pranking people. Hopefully Kizzy wouldn't pick up on his half-there-half-somewhere else tone. That somewhere else now coming back around to what was painted on the inside of the umbrella...and he was not the biggest on conspiracy theories and tended to veer more towards giving people the benefit of the doubt. To his own detriment. Which is why he responded the way he did. "I bet whoever did it didn't know any of that, Kiz. Probably just saw it somewhere and thought it looked cool." Though it did make him uneasy and he wanted to remove it immediately. Especially with what his cousin said about it being all over the Alley. "Just some stupid joke...or a prank..." Though his eyes did look back and met hers, his own uncertainty preeeeeeeeeeetty apparent. Cooper had been reading the Prophet every morning at breakfast since he could read - it was important to be a well informed wizarding citizen, even if sometimes the news was skewed - so he knew about Azkaban and all of that. Most of them had been rounded up from what he had read and heard from the Minister on the WWN though. Not wanting to alarm Kizzy though, he went for a more neutral answer to her question. "To do that which benefits the majority...to gain something through sacrifice that outweighs the loss..." he recited casually as he spit on a napkin and tried to wipe some of the graffiti over with a paper napkin from the table.

Maybe it was the fact that she’d actually made an effort for a change but she simply didn’t want this t-shirt to be stained but knowing her father, the stain wouldn’t stand much of a chance. Although, some of her shop clothes had seen better days thanks to some particularly mucky Crups but she didn’t mind thosegetting muddy. Mainly because the Crups were cute beyond all reason but it was also partly due to the fact that the clothes in question were old work clothes, unlike the ones she had on at this second.

Ah. Yes. Ice Cream. With a small sigh, Ingrid was about to turn and walk back into the shop when the chair leg person…uh…Lukas, offered her some of his Ice cream! How nice of him! With a smile, she turned on the spot and eyes his slightly melted ice cream for a moment trying to guess the ice cream flavour. Sure, she wasn’t a fussy but she didn’t want seem ungrateful. Hesitating for a second, she simply flashed him a small smile and eyed the boy for a moment.

“Are you sure? I can just go buy another one?”. Adam buying her a new one didn’t bother her one bit. He’d already had one. Maybe if she hinted again a little more, he’d understand what she was asking of him? “I mean, my brother has already had one so he could just buy me one instead”. So that wasn’t as much of a hint as it was a point-blank statement but sometimes, he was so stupid.

SPOILER!!: Cait!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Granger Danger

Honestly she was used to this, but then again she been here since for awhile. Although she missed Italy and most of all her best friend Auggie. She was sad when she moved away from Italy, they always came to visit each other at each other's places and even spent the day in Rome. Smiling at the memories of that day, she has pictures in her scrapbook of it. Things might change, but memories last forever and always.

Her shirt sticking to her she grumbled under her breath in annoyance, one thing she hated about London it was hot and humid during the summer months. She wasn't a fan of it, she liked the fall and winter more. Okay...she knew she was odd for thinking that, but it was true.

Hearing a familiar voice she looked up and smiled happily. "Auggie! Oh my goodness hi!" Hugging him just as tightly as he did she smiled. "Fancy seeing you as well, I missed you so much!" Been telling everyone that lately, but it's true but missed him like crazy he was her best friend.

Auggie just laughed a little. "I feel like every time we meet in Diagon we come here - " he said as he gestured at the outside seating area of the ice cream parlor. "What kind did you get? Yeah, I missed you, too! But soon we'll be at the same SCHOOL and it will be totally COOOOOOOOOOL!" he rhymed on purpose and winked at her. He and Cait were very close, and had been since they were younger. He still made sure to write to her and stuff over the years, but this year that had not happened as easily since Hogwarts had nearly disappeared into the abyss. Auggie had heard aaaaallllll about it.

"I should go get something!" He said as he pulled away from her and grinned all big and boyishly. He noticed the slight...sweat Cait was suffering from, and it was really no wonder she was eating ice cream. "You're already acclimated to summers in England, then? I'm barely hot!" he teased lightly, gesturing at her cheeks. "You would perish in the Italian heat! When is the last time you visited home?"

He missed his Nonna and his old house and the bEACH.

Caitlyn laughed. "I know right, like it's our automatic meeting place!" It wasn't like they meant to always make it to where they meet here, it just always happens. "I got a hot fudge sundae it's yummy!" Shaking her head she giggled at him rhyming at what he said. "I'm so happy you're here at last, I was miserable without my best friend!" She always wrote him every chance she gotten until the Hogwarts almost vanished and she couldn't write him or her family.

"Yeah... you should, that way I can eat some of it as well." She always did that when he gotten something that she liked or that was better then hers, she always took her spoon and ate some of his. Biting her lip she blushed some and pushed him playfully. "Hey you know that I'm more of a fall and winter girl, the sun hates me!" Crossing her arms she stuck her tongue out at him before chuckling. Biting her lip she shrugged. "Honestly a few Summers ago, I miss it terribly, the beaches were so beautiful there." She missed it there, nothing like here, but it wasn't too bad here.

Everywhere had dementors??? "Even Diagon Alley?? Even now??" Emmerson looked to the bustling cobbled street, having found something else to worry about on this surprisingly sunny day. Did soul suckers fly around on sunny days? Maybe they were safe today.

Emmerson sunk down onto the table, realizing they would not all be going back to Stark House like she'd hoped. If Fifi felt this way, there was a good chance the others did, too. At Hogwarts, they'd probably made more friends and honestly....it must have been some place if absolutely no one else was trying to run away.

"You have to make sure I'm in your house." She said, made sullen by her own defeat. "We have to have the same house, you and me and Kizzy. I wanted to be with Yoyo but she's a Hufflepuff and mum already said I'd better not come home one, too."

"Our dorms could be matching!" Let it be known that Kinsay James would never say no to presents. Who was she to deny? Presents were great. Birthday presents, Christmas presents, just because presents. All the presents. She liked them all. She also liked the thought that they'd both be decorating their dorms for the first time. Kiz obviously knew that they wouldn't be in the same year, but there was still something comforting about starting Hogwarts with Cooper. Having him somewhat around while Phoebe and Teddy were gone for the past three years might've had something to do with that. He was a constant, you know? And she wouldn't have liked it very much if he didn't stay that way.

She did pick up on his somewhat absent tone though. Kizzy was good at noticing things. She also liked to point out that she was good at noticing things. It was important for people to be aware that she knew.

"Oh," Kizzy couldn't tell whether she was disappointed or relieved to hear this. It wasn't a very funny prank though, in her opinion. She looked away from the paint and back to Cooper, noticing his apparent uncertainty. It made her feel uncertain too, though she wasn't really sure what any of it meant. "Mum said it's hate speech." She didn't entirely understand what that meant either, but she knew it didn't mean anything good. Fortunately, Kizzy wasn't easily alarmed. Not usually. Mum and Auntie Lex and Emma's dad were aurors, which meant Kiz and Cooper were untouchable. Probably. And though she didn't read the Prophet, her dad did and he never lied when Kinz asked about what it said. So she knew there were strange things happening too. But again, untouchable. So it was fine. "Oh." The explanation seemed to satisfy her for a minute, but it raised an entire flood of NEW questions. "What if the majority has the wrong idea?" She reached for a napkin too and stood up on top of the table again to help him wipe at the graffiti. She couldn't stay still wanted to help.

Was he sure? Umm, probably? Yes, yes, he was. Otherwise he wouldn't have offered. Lukas nodded. "Yup, I have enough if you want some." More than enough if anyone asked his mum. Three scoops and toppings. "I don't mind sharing. I share all the time with my siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews." And there were a LOT of them.

Obviously he didn't want to ALWAYS share EVERYTHING buuuuuut this was an exception. The girl had tripped and fallen on account of his chair. She hadn't gotten angry at him about it, even though technically it wasn't his fault, yet it was? Plus he may have just made a new friend which was always nice. Everyone needed friends.

"I don't know if you'll like it but it's really good. It's butterbeer, orange marmalade and apple crumble with bits of crushed ice mice on top." It was soooooo good! As if to prove his point, Lukas scooped up another spoonful to enjoy.

Ingrid couldn’t help but smile at the boy now as he rambled on about all of the people he shared with. It almost reminded her of her own family and how they shared so many things together. “Sure. Okay, if you really don’t mind”. With a hesitant smile, turned and headed back into the shop for a spoon, returning a moment later with it clutched in her left hand. Grabbing a free chair, she scooted it over to Lukas and sat next to him, still a little awkward that they were sharing an ice cream but happy that she had some too.

Just as she was about to dig her spoon into the weird, orange ice cream, she hesitated, her eyes getting a little wider as he talked about the many weird and wonderful ice cream flavours and treats that could be found on his desert. “Wow. No I feel bad. This was so much better than mine. Mine was just strawberry”, a small smile on her lips as curiosity finally won out.

Slowly so as not to barge him out of the way, Ingrid dug her spoon a few milometers into the ice cream, not wanting to take too much just in case she didn’t like it, and then hesitantly moved the spoon towards her mouth.

“Huh…Different” was all she could think as the various flavours clashed and popped in her mouth like fireworks on New Years Eve. “There’s soooo many flavours to…how do you focus just on one?” laughing a little now as another flavour, the apple crumble, made it’s presence known.

If he had been rambling a little bit right there, he hadn't noticed. Anytime he was talking about something he loved he could talk forever. This included his family. "Nope, I don't mind." Lukas flashed Ingrid a quick smile. While she had gone to get herself a spoon, he enjoyed a bit more of his ice cream.

Lukas laughed lightly at the look on her face. "Strawberry is amazing." Strawberry was one of his favorites actually but so was mint chocolate chip and the orange marmalade. "Don't feel bad. You're actually doing me a favor... I can get your opinion on each flavor once we've finished eating." Opinions were always a good thing. It never hurt to know what someone else thought about something. Like ice cream. "My siblings and I... and some of my cousins and stuff... we're trying to taste every single flavor of ice cream here and all the toppings." Obviously not all at once because that would be pure insanity as well as a waste of ice cream. Not to mention it would be largely expensive.

There was a definite pause, his spoon hovering half-way between the bowl and his mouth as Ingrid had her first taste of his ice cream. Large blue-gray eyes watched her face as she appeared to attempt separating each flavor from the other two. "Easy," the twelve year old laughed. "I only scoop up one flavor at a time onto my spoon." His voice held a clear teasing tone that he hoped she picked up on.

Her opinion on each flavour? That would be hard seeing as at this point, they had all become one big pile of flavoured mush in her mouth, indescribable and oh so weirdly tasty. “I mean, I’ll try my best but…I’m not sure I could do this justice” she replied, a goofy smile across her face as she gestured to his weird mixture of ice creams. Maybe it was the fact that she really hadn’t grown up eating a load of ice cream. Adam had always been the one who loved that. She was more the one who enjoyed her fruit. Maybe that was why strawberry ice cream was her favourite?

The idea of trying all of the flavours did appear to her though, even if it was just so that she could say that she’d done it. Although, she’d most likely need a lot more pocket money for that and there was no way she was spending it on anything other than books from Flourish and Blotts. “That sounds like a pretty hard thing to do. Doesn’t it make you feel ill eating all that ice cream?” , she was feeling slightly queasy just from the few mouthfuls she’d had already.

Eyeing him for a moment, Ingrid simply rolled her eyes and quietly placed her spoon down on the table, already satisfied with the scoops of ice cream she’d already had. “Well…”, she replied, her voice full of sarcasm and humour. “Some of us don’t need to eat a lot of ice cream” , her smile playful as she grinned at him. “Thank you for letting me try some though. It was…different? I’m not sure I’d have orange marmalade and Butterbeer though”. If she was being honest, Butterbeer wasn’t her favourite either so that did have something to do with it.

Lukas dropped his gaze onto the bowl of semi melted ice cream, the flavors blending together making it difficult to only get one kind. "Mm' I guess that's a pretty fair assessment." Deciding which one tasted best wouldn't be easily done when you ended up with three flavors in every bit and that wasn't even including the topping he had added.

Having a few more spoonfuls of his soupy ice cream that he could probably drink through a straw now, Lukas considered her question. "It's actually not as hard as you think. It only really counts if we're with someone that is also a part of the game so we have proof... AND we finish the whatever it was we got." Even if the flavor was horrible. "Nope? I guess I'm used to it? Or I've got a really strong sweet tooth?" It wasn't like all he ever ate was junk food. When it came to food he liked most things, even fruits and vegetables.

There was only the slightest grin on his lips, while he finished his ice cream. "I don't need ice cream, I like it." There was a difference there. He was perfectly capable of functioning without it. "You're welcome. Different is better then gross," he laughed. And at least neither of them had gotten sick. Now THAT would have been bad. "That's okay... if you're going to Hogwarts maybe we could have ice cream together again sometime. We can even stick to just strawberry." A nice safe flavor.

Ingrid was glad when Lukas didn’t actually press her on what flavour she preferred because it really was too hard to choose. Nodding a little, she considered the rules of his game and frowned ever so slightly because now, he couldn’t actually tick off any of the flavours on his list of ones he needed to try because none of his friends were here. “I guess that makes sense but then you’d always need one of them around when you eat ice cream”. Then again, she usually had one of her brothers or sisters around, case and point Adam, so it might not be too much trouble for him.

“Maybe I just don’t have much of a sweet tooth then” although she’d never really put too much thought into what she actually ate. Usually, her Dad or older siblings would cook and she’d eat whatever was made. She did help prepare the food sometimes too though!

He didn’t need ice cream? That’s not what it looked like to her as she eyed the many different colour ice creams that were now melding together like some kind off alien rainbow. “Sure you don’t need it” she replied, a teasing smile on her lips as she looked at him now.
“Different is better than gross though,” she laughed now, hers matching his. “Sure, we can have ice cream again although I do want to pick” because she simply didn’t want to throw up from his weird concoction of flavours. “Do they have ice cream at Hogwarts?” because it could be a while before she was back at this particular ice cream parlour.

"That's okay. There's a bunch of us so it's not really all that difficult." Between his siblings, cousins and nieces and nephews there was a ton of kids. Not all of them were a part of this game as some of them were very young yet but when you have a large family having proof that something really did happen usually is relatively easy to do.

Lukas smiled. "Maybe not but that's a good thing. Nothing wrong with not consuming a bunch of candy and ice cream." Ice cream was something he loved but chocolate frogs were his favorite. Those he could eat all day everyday if he was able to. He had been given a taste of his first one one his first birthday, courtesy of his older sister Hadleigh and since then he had been hooked.

Ingrid's teasing only made him grin at her even more. "I don't!" he insisted, laughing a bit. "Definitely. This one time we were all getting ice cream and my cousin choose the flavors for us each to try. I swear he was trying to make us all sick!" Never again had they allowed him to choose. Lukas nodded, his light brown hair falling into his eyes. "Yeah, lots. Ice cream, cookies, cakes, pies. All sorts of sweet treats and fruits and things too." Hogwarts was one place they wouldn't have to worry about food.

It wasn’t that difficult? Well, that was good although she wasn’t exactly convinced. Even with her and her brothers and sisters, something like that might have been hard. Then again, it wasn’t her problem so what did it really matter? Smiling, she just nodded, agreeing with him. “I guess that doesn’t sound too hard although I think I’d struggle to eat so much ice cream more than anything” .

“I mean, there’s nothing wrong with sweets and ice cream, I just couldn’t eat a lot of them”. Maybe it was just the fact she never really ate a lot of them growing up. It wasn’t that she didn’t like sweet things but it just never really appealed to her. There was always something else she’d rather spend her money on. Aka, Books.

Holding her hands up in front of herself now, she just continued to giggle, her smile only getting wider as he started to playfully bite at her joke. “Hey, it’s okay! There are worse things to need than ice cream. Imagine if you needed something coconutty. Now that would be the worst” , her expression now showing her distaste for anything coconut. “If someone chose a coconut flavour for me to try, I would actually throw up over them on purpose” . Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic but spitting it out on the floor would most likely happen. She could see her fathers face now in her minds eye as she did It and the frown that would follow.

“Hogwarts sounds amazing!”. Sighing now, she checked her watch and flashed a look at her brother. It was almost time for them to meet their father. Standing up, she turned to her brother who had somehow remained uncharacteristically quiet and tapped the worn purple watch on her wrist. “It’s almost time to see Dad”. With a smile on her face, she turned back to Lukas and hesitated slightly. “I’ll see you at Hogwarts, yeah?”

Emmerson was dressed extra pretty today--which was HARD because the girl always dressed her best and was getting to the point where it was becoming a struggle to outdo herself. Thankfully, the now 12 year old didn't have to beg for Auntie Arisa to take her shopping. The woman hardly needed a reason where her mama needed chains and a good deal of tugging.

The pair found the cutest outfit that just...screamed "ice cream date with the best boyfriend in the world who truly loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life together".

A very powerful message.

Having gotten there first, Emm took the initiative to get them a large sundae for them to share. It was more romantic than sitting across from each other having their own cones. Someone would see and think they were ONLY friends which they were NOT because they were in LOVE. Much like with needing everyone to know Kizzy was her best friend, Emm needed everyone to know that Samuel Summers was taken.

Why wasn't he here yet? Did he remember she'd told him they had a date? Boyfriends didn't forget that sort of thing, yeah?

Sammy was running a little late to this friendly - F R I E N D L Y - date that Emm had brought up. A part of him didn't want to keep the girl waiting any longer because she was one of his closest friends and friends don't do that. But the more practical side of him knew that he didn't want to be here in the first place. And if he didn't want to be here, why should he rush? It made zero sense.

He could only hope she wasn't expecting some kind of gift from him.

At some point, he headed towards the outdoor seating area, dressed in a smart-casual outfit that he put only a little effort into. Sure, he was looking forward to the ice cream more than this, uh, date but that didn't mean he couldn't look good for his friend, right? Right. This was the smart move and he was supposed to be the smart one of their group. Apparently.

He tried to hide how nervous he was with a smile as he approached his friend and took a seat opposite her. "Emm! Hey! Sorry for being late." He took off his blazer and draped it over the back of his chair.

And now, to a very important topic. "You sure you ordered enough ice cream there?" The smile on his face turned into a cheeky grin. You know, so she knew he was joking.

There he waaasssss.

If heart eyes were real, they would be bugging out of their sockets right now. Sammy looked gorgeous. He always did. They were a very beautiful couple, both blonde, both baby faced and both coming from excellent genes. He was the sort of arm candy any girl would want—which meant she had to be prepared to attack people.

And she was.

Of course, she was genuinely glad to see her friend and be spending time with him but the thing was.....she.....really liked him. Samuel Summers did things to her heart like her bradycardia did—only different—and she wanted to spend as much time with him as she possibly could.

Before she left, her mama tried reminding her to keep things light and friendly but how did one look at Sammy and NOT see a wedding and three kids??? It was iMpOsSiBlE.

Emm returned his grin with one of her own. “I got the ones we both like.” The perfect, thoughtful girlfriend. “Here’s your spoon!”

Beneath the table, her feet kicked eagerly as she tried to diffuse some of the adrenaline coursing through her. “I was thinking we could take a walk after. Maybe go to the joke shop or the candy shop. I got you something!”

Violet was feeling a bit better now that she had a dish of ice cream in front of her--violet, her favorite, just like her name. She was so glad it was Uncle Horatio who'd come to pick her up at King's Cross Station. She was still in disgrace after her escapade last year and was supposed to go straight home after she got off the train, but she could always wheedle Uncle Horatio into letting her do things--probably because he hated arguing and confrontation so much.

She looked over at the plump, bespectacled man, who sat nervously picking at his own dish of plain vanilla. He looked back at her with his round, owlish eyes and said, "So....h-h-how was your year at Hogwarts?"

"Oh, fine...it was fine," she said quickly, looking back down at her dish. Yeah, it was just fine, until she got possessed by a ghost. Violet wondered if she would ever live that down.

She never thought she’d love anywhere as much as she did her little slice of home back in Scotland but little Ingrid Luck absolutely loved Hogwarts. Maybe not as much as her small room that she shared with her sisters or the magical creatures that she helped look after but there was just something so…exciting about Hogwarts. It defied all logic and yet, here she was, sitting outside Florean Fortescue’s, slowly making her way through a particularly delicious strawberry sundae as her mind wandered back to the castle and the large grounds that surrounded it.

As her spoon plunged into the delicious, pale red ice cream with small chunks of shortcake, her eyes were on the passers-by, some of which she actually recognised from school and all of which she watched carefully, her warm, brown eyes drinking in the detail of each person. Was her summer boring in comparison to her one measly year at Hogwarts? You could say that. Either way, it was clear that this twelve-year-old was ready to throw away the shackles of summer and start her second year.

The tiny girl's excitement was palpable. She was all wild hair and messy robes and sticky globs of Butterbeer ice cream (with toffee pieces, of course) dripping down her palms as she skipped her way through the tables. It was truly a wonder she hadn't managed to spill ice cream on her shopping bag, but alas, it had been magically extended to hold her new robes and books and everything in between, and she figured she was in enough trouble with her mum as it was. So, yeah. She was trying to be extra careful with that, lest she get in even more trouble right before her FIRST YEAR AT HOGWARTS began.

WOOOHOOOOO. She could SIIIIIING right now just thinking about it.

Okay, okay, she was calm, swear on Merlin.

She spotted a girl who looked around her age sitting at one of the tables and approached her eagerly. Maybe she went to Hogwarts? Maybe she was a first year too? Regardless, this was her chance to make friends. Or...friend, singular. Better than nothing, she supposed.

"Ummmm hiiiii, can I sit with you?" She smiled at the girl. Hopefully she didn't have ice cream on her face. Or in her hair.

Completely engrossed in a weird old gentleman with a rather large top hat and peculiar sun glasses, Ingrid didn’t notice the girl skipping through the tables. Neither did she notice the butterbeer ice cream dripping down her palms. No, it wasn’t until she appeared out of the blue standing in front of her did the freckly, Scottish girl look around at her with a mixed expression. Between the cave girl hair and the lumps of ice cream splattered all over her, Ingrid didn’t whether to take a step back in disgust or burst out laughing.

Giggling a little, Ingrid plopped another scoop of ice cream into her mouth and nodded, pushing out the chair opposite her with her foot as she bit into another chunk of shortcake. After a moment, she finished her mouthful and grinned wide. “You know, it tastes better if you don’t have to lick it off your palms?”, her smile only slightly teasing as she nodded to the lumps that looked as though they were beginning to dry and OH GOD, THERE WERE EVEN LUMPS IN HER HAIR!

With a little chuckle, Ingrid pulled a few napkins over from the pile she’d collected as she bought her ice cream and slid them over the table towards the girl. “For your hair”.

Beth gave the girl a bright smile and accepted her napkin offer. "Thanks," she said, setting her ice cream cup on the table and cleaning her hands and her hair off the best she could. "I know, I guess I didn't notice it was melting all over me. I was kinda lost in a daydream." She said, giggling. She had been imagining walking through the halls of Hogwarts, but she wasn't going to admit that out loud, the girl would think she was weird or something.

The brunette shrugged her bag off, set it on the ground and offered an outstretched hand, hopefully it wasn't sticky anymore, "I'm Bethani, by the way. Bethani Monteleone. But I just go by Beth."

She took a seat on the chair the girl had kicked back for her and made an attempt at flattening her hair, rattling off questions to her soon-to-be (possible) friend, "I'm starting my first year at Hogwarts next term. Are you a student there too? Also, how old are you? I haven't met too many first years yet, or even people my age, really." She continued, "My family is from Spain, so the only people my age that I know aren't even in the country, it's terribly boring. I hate playing alone." She gasped excitedly, "Maybe we could be in the same house!!! That is, if you even are a first year. Not that you look super little or anything, you just look like you're my age, so I just thought-"

She looked at the girl expectedly, was she talking too much? Maybe she should've let the girl introduce herself first. She looked down sheepishly as a blush took over her cheeks, "Sorry, mum says I talk too much when I'm excited."