Diagon Alley was one of those few places that Kay could actually feel somewhat relaxed at. Her spirits were down today because she was missing a few of her colleagues: Gaston, Tristan, Kalen and Foster. She had been out of contact with them given the fact that Hogwarts mails were being inspected daily but she hoped that they were finding ways to deal with the Head Dictator and his minions. She also hoped that Ainsworth was failing miserably at his new posts.

While thinking about all of this, Kaysha settled on the bench. Her bag, filled with supplies from her lessons from that day, sat beside her. The light wind blew her hair against her face but she made no effort to push it back.

Now.

Where was Rose?

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Diagon Alley was one of those few places that Kay could actually feel somewhat relaxed at. Her spirits were down today because she was missing a few of her colleagues: Gaston, Tristan, Kalen and Foster. She had been out of contact with them given the fact that Hogwarts mails were being inspected daily but she hoped that they were finding ways to deal with the Head Dictator and his minions. She also hoped that Ainsworth was failing miserably at his new posts.

While thinking about all of this, Kaysha settled on the bench. Her bag, filled with supplies from her lessons from that day, sat beside her. The light wind blew her hair against her face but she made no effort to push it back.

Now.

Where was Rose?

Desiree's birthday was coming closer, and so was Christmas, so Rosalyn had decided to get an early start on presents for both occasions. It was a good idea to try and beat the holiday rush, and she had been feeling restless at home, so with her daughter in the care of her grandmother, she had made her way to Diagon Alley.

So far the trip had been rather profitable, and quite a few of the gifts had been sorted. Still quite a bit left to do, but at least now she wouldn't feel too bad about it. Of course as far as Desiree was concerned, she had left Gaston some room to buy herself some presents himself, as she knew that he would want to do, in the hopes of winning back the girl's affection. Her poor husband...

Sighing, she walked along the street, though she paused when she spotted her best friend. "Kay! It's so good to see you!" Making her way over to the bench, she pulled the other woman into a hug.

SPOILER!!: Rose! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhittyBitty

Desiree's birthday was coming closer, and so was Christmas, so Rosalyn had decided to get an early start on presents for both occasions. It was a good idea to try and beat the holiday rush, and she had been feeling restless at home, so with her daughter in the care of her grandmother, she had made her way to Diagon Alley.

So far the trip had been rather profitable, and quite a few of the gifts had been sorted. Still quite a bit left to do, but at least now she wouldn't feel too bad about it. Of course as far as Desiree was concerned, she had left Gaston some room to buy herself some presents himself, as she knew that he would want to do, in the hopes of winning back the girl's affection. Her poor husband...

Sighing, she walked along the street, though she paused when she spotted her best friend. "Kay! It's so good to see you!" Making her way over to the bench, she pulled the other woman into a hug.

Kay heard the voice and then felt herself pulled into a hug. It was impossible not to be put into a great mood when one of the besties was around. "Hello, Rose.'' She hugged Rose in return. "No Desiree?'' she asked with some degree of disappointment since she did want to see the little girl. But on the other hand, the two woman would be able to catch up on their lives without any interruption.

"How is she, anyway? How are you?'' Kay eyed Rose closely. "You look just the same as the time you left Hogwarts, as though you haven't aged a day.'' She grinned. "Tell me your secret.'' Even after having Desiree, Rose looked wonderful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Kay heard the voice and then felt herself pulled into a hug. It was impossible not to be put into a great mood when one of the besties was around. "Hello, Rose.'' She hugged Rose in return. "No Desiree?'' she asked with some degree of disappointment since she did want to see the little girl. But on the other hand, the two woman would be able to catch up on their lives without any interruption.

"How is she, anyway? How are you?'' Kay eyed Rose closely. "You look just the same as the time you left Hogwarts, as though you haven't aged a day.'' She grinned. "Tell me your secret.'' Even after having Desiree, Rose looked wonderful.

Rose felt so much happier now that she was with Kaysha. Not that she had been miserable before, but things weren't exactly the best right now, what with her husband and everything... And she had missed her friend so much. "Oh, no. She is spending some time with my mom while I got started on present shopping. Some of the presents are for her." What with her birthday and Christmas being two days apart, that meant there were a lot of gifts for her little girl.

"She's okay on the most part. She's still struggling with everything. You know, with Gaston..." Rose knew that she didn't have to go too far into detail with that; she was well aware that the little girl was scared of her father what with his appearance. It was something that she didn't really like to think about. "I'm okay as well, just happy to see you. What about you?" She SEEMED to be okay and everything. After what had happened at Hogwarts. Well, the Headmaster was an idiot and her bestie deserved a lot better. "Okay, I'll tell you, but only if you tell me your secret." Because Kay was looking amazing herself!

SPOILER!!: Bestie Rose! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhittyBitty

Rose felt so much happier now that she was with Kaysha. Not that she had been miserable before, but things weren't exactly the best right now, what with her husband and everything... And she had missed her friend so much. "Oh, no. She is spending some time with my mom while I got started on present shopping. Some of the presents are for her." What with her birthday and Christmas being two days apart, that meant there were a lot of gifts for her little girl.

"She's okay on the most part. She's still struggling with everything. You know, with Gaston..." Rose knew that she didn't have to go too far into detail with that; she was well aware that the little girl was scared of her father what with his appearance. It was something that she didn't really like to think about. "I'm okay as well, just happy to see you. What about you?" She SEEMED to be okay and everything. After what had happened at Hogwarts. Well, the Headmaster was an idiot and her bestie deserved a lot better. "Okay, I'll tell you, but only if you tell me your secret." Because Kay was looking amazing herself!

That would explain where the toddler was!

Kay grinned. “Not going to spoil her rotten, are you? That’s one of my jobs.’’ Naturally, as one of Rose’s besties, this was her job. Even if she was yet to get around to getting those presents, she would. You see, she hadn’t made up her mind about going Christmas shopping as yet. Being fired from Hogwarts still ruined her mood though she would continuously try not to let it show. “I’ll drop by a few days before Christmas to bring around the presents. I’ll let you know exactly when soon.’’

Rose had to say no more. Kay reached out to take her best friend’s hand in a comforting gesture. “She’ll eventually learn all of that was a result of Gaston’s bravery, of because of all the students he protected. Don’t worry. I did try to keep an eye on Gaston but since my firing...’’ There wasn’t much she could do afterwards even if she wanted to do something cacoethes like sending Scrimegeour a great pile of dragon dung. “I’m glad to hear. I’m coping and it’s actually great to be back teaching in the Muggle world.’’ The woman still undoubtedly missed Hogwarts with all her heart. She laughed none. “But I have no secret!’’

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

That would explain where the toddler was!

Kay grinned. “Not going to spoil her rotten, are you? That’s one of my jobs.’’ Naturally, as one of Rose’s besties, this was her job. Even if she was yet to get around to getting those presents, she would. You see, she hadn’t made up her mind about going Christmas shopping as yet. Being fired from Hogwarts still ruined her mood though she would continuously try not to let it show. “I’ll drop by a few days before Christmas to bring around the presents. I’ll let you know exactly when soon.’’

Rose had to say no more. Kay reached out to take her best friend’s hand in a comforting gesture. “She’ll eventually learn all of that was a result of Gaston’s bravery, of because of all the students he protected. Don’t worry. I did try to keep an eye on Gaston but since my firing...’’ There wasn’t much she could do afterwards even if she wanted to do something cacoethes like sending Scrimegeour a great pile of dragon dung. “I’m glad to hear. I’m coping and it’s actually great to be back teaching in the Muggle world.’’ The woman still undoubtedly missed Hogwarts with all her heart. She laughed none. “But I have no secret!’’

Rosalyn grinned at her best friend. "Of course I wouldn't take that job away from you." Giggle. The little girl sure loved her Auntie Kay, and Kaysha managed to get the most amazing things for her. Desiree definitely was loved by a lot of people "That sounds great! But of course you are allowed to stop by whenever you want to, I'd never say no to that." So long as Kay was able to, girl time was always a lot of fun. And then she could see Desiree as well!

With a small smile of appreciation, she squeezed her friend's hand. Kay and Tristan were pretty much the only people who really know how hard all of this was for her. It was something that she knew they would be able to get passed, but still... it wasn't easy. "You're right, but I wish that he understood that. I've been trying to figure out how to get her to start understanding that he's still the same as ever, but how can I when she's so young?" Eventually she would know what to do, when her daughter had an easier idea grasping concepts like that. In the meantime, it would be a struggle. "I know, and that means a lot to me, Kay. I can't tell you how thankful I am for it." Kay really was the most amazing woman and friend. "I'm glad that you are enjoying teaching in a muggle school, even if it isn't Hogwarts. I wanted to hex Scrimegeour into the next century. He's lucky that I wasn't able to do it." Rosalyn grinned. "You must have a secret, because you are gorgeous." Seriously her best friend was a total catch!

SPOILER!!: Rose! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhittyBitty

Rosalyn grinned at her best friend. "Of course I wouldn't take that job away from you." Giggle. The little girl sure loved her Auntie Kay, and Kaysha managed to get the most amazing things for her. Desiree definitely was loved by a lot of people "That sounds great! But of course you are allowed to stop by whenever you want to, I'd never say no to that." So long as Kay was able to, girl time was always a lot of fun. And then she could see Desiree as well!

With a small smile of appreciation, she squeezed her friend's hand. Kay and Tristan were pretty much the only people who really know how hard all of this was for her. It was something that she knew they would be able to get passed, but still... it wasn't easy. "You're right, but I wish that he understood that. I've been trying to figure out how to get her to start understanding that he's still the same as ever, but how can I when she's so young?" Eventually she would know what to do, when her daughter had an easier idea grasping concepts like that. In the meantime, it would be a struggle. "I know, and that means a lot to me, Kay. I can't tell you how thankful I am for it." Kay really was the most amazing woman and friend. "I'm glad that you are enjoying teaching in a muggle school, even if it isn't Hogwarts. I wanted to hex Scrimegeour into the next century. He's lucky that I wasn't able to do it." Rosalyn grinned. "You must have a secret, because you are gorgeous." Seriously her best friend was a total catch!

Kay beamed. Of course, she was sure her job as a doting aunt wouldn’t have been taken away. As for being able to go over to Rose’s and Gaston’s, that was wonderful to hear and it made her very happy. She now returned the hand squeeze. It was a reassuring one aimed with the attempt of comforting Rose as best as anyone could possibly could. “My advice is that you keep trying to reassure her. Remind her of all the things she and Gaston did together. Maybe show her photograph of the good old times.’’ The woman nodded. “I wish I could have helped him more.’’

She nodded. “It’s as though I was back in a lifetime long ago. It’s the only comfort of being fired from Hogwarts.’’ There was hope though, that one day she could be back to being the Muggle Studies professor. Kaysha held on to that because she chose to. She laughed softly. “Imagine if we both did it at the same time. It would serve Scrimgeour right.’’ Kay winked. “You better believe it that there’s no secret but an early morning jog each day.’’

Laila'd had one hell of a day. With the Ministry Placement, the shopping and what not! Feeling super tired, she sat on one of the park benches, sipping on the cold coke she had bought along the way.

Victor was out taking some family photo shoots. It was a nice spring day and more and more families were coming into his business. It had been two years since he had started it and decided to fully open up a studio, that decision was one of the best he had decided. He was closer to his brother and he was enjoying London.

The day was actually a beautiful one so Victor decided to head towards the little park on the south end, it was a nice place to do some photos and he always was trying to find new spots for his shoots.

Making his way over he noticed someone sitting and he looked at the bench, it was a nice little bench and a perfect place for a family to sit as he took. "Do you mind if I snap a few shots?" He wouldn't if she didn't like her picture taken, but he was hoping she would.

Laila looked up and saw someone. He wanted to click her picture? Woah, okay! 'Huh? What is it for though?.,' she asked, smiling.

He lifted his camera but put it back down. Yes, he really should explain himself but sometimes he didn't need to. Some people didn't mind their pictures, but he couldn't think everyone would. Placing his camera back in it's bag he walked over towards the bench and stuck out his hand.

"My name is Victor De La Garza"

There was the introduction, so hopefully, now that she knew his name it would break the ice a bit, "I own a photography shop down the alley, I'm always looking for new places to promote for pictures. So the picture would be used in my shop as an example for couples or families."

So would she let him take her picture?

Laila shook his hand and said, 'Hi Victor, I'm Laila!'. Not that she minded her pictures being clicked, just she was not used to random people asking to click her picture.'Oh, that's okay! I'm not really used to people I haven't met before asking to click my picture..I live a small life,' she said, jokingly, still smiling. 'Sure..go ahead..do you want me to pose in any particular manner?,' she asked, adjusting the strands of her long brown hair.

Victor couldn't help but smile, "A small life?" An eyebrow raised trying to figure out that statement. His every showing Spanish accent coming out as he spoke. "Are you not from around here?" He didn't really want to ask if she was sheltered.

Lifting his camera he took a few pictures, "Just be natural. You don't need to pose. I like to capture natural beauty." This was so much better than the sports pictures he was taking working for his brother.

After taking a few more pictures he came over to the woman and put his camera away. "These will be perfect to go up in my studio. If you'd like to see them I could give you my card. De La Garza Photography right in the North end of the alley. " Finishing around his bag he found a card to hand her.

Laila laughed. 'Haha..small life..not having been asked to be clicked before,' she said, laughing good naturedly. 'Oh..I'm from here..,' she said.

Laila smiled at the camera as he clicked the pics. She took the card from him and said , 'Wow, I'll definitely take a look..is it mostly a job or a hobby?,' she asked curiously.

Victor smiled at her words as he sat down, hoping she didn't mind if he sat beside her. Looking into his case once more he made sure everything was secure and in the bag. [b] "They should take your picture though, you are a natural in front of the camera. He knew the photos would come out wonderful.

"Oh, I see, I am not as you probably can tell. I moved from Spain a few years ago. My brother though, he has been here for a while now. He is the editor and chief over at the Daily Prophet." Many knew of his brother, so he would use him as a reference most of the time.

"It is my passion, I mean I've been doing photography since I was young. I was doing sports, but I wanted to do more family and special moments. The sports get boring after a while and there isn't anything like taking pictures to make people happy. Do you work around here?"

Laila moved a little to make space for the young man as he sat down. 'Oh..I don't know..,' she smiled at the compliment. She wasn't a picture person, so this was new.

He did look foreign. 'Oh that's nice..I'm half Indian actually..Dad from London, mom from India'. Daily Prophet?Wow! 'Wow..that's really cool,' she said in amazement.

She admired the man's guts to follow his passion. She was truly impressed. 'It takes a lot of courage to follow one's passion..I'm glad you're doing it..pictures have this quality that you can look at them and relive the moment..you're like..a time traveller, when I put it that way,' she laughed good-naturedly at her own lame joke.

'Did you mention sports? Oh I work at games and Sports in the Ministry,' she said.

She didn't know? Victor knew he didn't have the charm of his older brother, but the 25 year old wasn't going to take I don't know for an answer, "You should have confidence in knowing you are." He nodded very sure of his answer.

"Have you been to India? It's a place I'd like to visit at some point. I have heard there are beautiful places to photograph." He had also seen pictures and wanted to explore for himself, but that would come in the future, his business was a priority at this point. Talk of the prophet and his brother made him nod again, "Yeah he was working there for a while then started up a sports magazine, you might have heard of it WSPM, but then went back to the prophet to be the editor. Not really sure why he'd ever do that, but he's happy." Victor felt he was trying to prove something after the attacks that had happened there, but he wouldn't say that out loud.

A time traveler, that was really cool if you put it in that frame. Victor hoped everyone felt that way about his pictures. That was what he loved about taking pictures.

"You do? Have you been there long? My sister-in-law was a department head there." He wasn't sure how long ago it had been since Mariel had been there. He tried to figure it out.

Laila smiled at him. She didn't know what to say, she didn't get complimented on her looks a lot, so she shrugged politely.

Oh yes, she had been to India. 'Yes I have...the places are really beautiful..there's a lot of variety there..landcape-wise..culture-wise..a photographer's dream, that I can say'. The places were wonderful, but she wasn't too fond of her mother's extended family, so she honestly couldn't say she enjoyed it thereBut again, she couldn'tblame it on the place.

'Oh it's your brother's? Cool!,' she remarked.
Laila was surprised at the last piece of information. 'Oh, that's nice..she doesn't work there still? I've only joined very recently, so I wouldn't know!

He couldn't help but think about planning a trip there sometime. Maybe he could go sooner rather than later, his roommate was an ambassador there. "I will have to plan something and see for myself, maybe I'll bring back some great new pictures for my walls." Probably for his home rather than his office though, he needed to keep those for clients and things local.

"Yes, Jorge has become very successful here and hopefully I will too. Though I am happy with the way things are going so far. " He had been in London for a few years now and it was finally starting to seem like home even though he did miss things from Spain.

"No she hasn't in a while. She was the department head there. She's retired from it though. From what I have heard and knowing my sister in law she was great at her job." Victor was actually shocked when she stepped down from the position.

Laila smiled at the guy as he spoke so passionately about visiting her country. 'Lemme know if you need any assistance..I've a few friends in Mumbai..,' she said. She'd rather not mention her family cos well..er..they didn't exactly like magic very much. There was no way they would help 'her tribe,' as they called the magic folk.

'You will be,' she meant it, cos he was so passionate about his job. 'You talk about photography with so much love, you will definitely go a long way,' she said sincerely.

Laila listened carefully as he spoke about his sister in law who worked at Games and Sports. 'Oh..umm..may I ask why she retired?,' she asked quite gingerly as she didn't wanna seem too intrusive. Was there something wrong? Should she look out for something at her new job? She wasn't the kind to make judgements quickly, but she supposed she would like to know.

So she had finally gotten herself out of Galway and yo the alley! SUCCESS! It had only taken twenty two tantrums and some tears to be allowed out sans chaperone for the day... (that was a gross exaggeration, but whatever...) Of course she had planned this day for like forever. Even made sure Benji could get out at the precise day and time as she.

It was all perfect! The young Hufflepuff sat kicking her feet slightly as she glanced around the crowd for her boyfriend. But then the bubble of anxiety began to creep up in her chest. What if he didn't show up? What if he saw her and remembered she was ugly? What if... WHAT IF...

Her breathing hitched a bit, the bubble seeming to get caught right in her throat. WHY WAS SHE LIKE THIS?! Would Benji be terribly mad if she just got up and went home? Would he hate her forever? She was sure he would do anyway. It wasn't as though she deserved him or happiness.

Yep. This was turning out to have been a horrible idea... bending a bit at the waist the brunette started breathing deeply. eyes closed.

Worst person ever.

It was summer and it was warm and Natalie was HAPPY and in a good mood and she had something SPECIAL in the pocket of her denim shorts and she had already gotten a little bit of a tan since school had gotten out AND... she had ice cream. Two cones, actually, which made her look like a pig, but she was saving the other one for someone. Hopefully he was almost there, or else it was going to melt all down her arm...

Needless to say, Natalie had been in a pretty good mood since coming home from Hogwarts. Especially after a certain letter had arrived in the mail the day before. She had written to Derf, telling him to meet her at the bench at noon. First of all, she just wanted to see him. But she also had something to share with him. And they hoped they could have a semi normal afternoon together. It had been a while since that had happened.

Benji took a deep breath as he made his way toward the designated meeting spot. Yeah, the summer was off to a great start -- in some ways, anyway. Sure, his parents had already yelled at him twice for insignificant things in between long periods of pretending he didn't exist, but they had also left him largely unsupervised as they busied themselves with work. Soooo he hadn't even had to sneak around very much in order to find himself here in Diagon Alley. He had kind of just... Casually left. He'd actually taken a Muggle bus to get here. That had been pretty exciting.

BUT not as exciting as finally seeing Penny. Sure, it hadn't been all that long since they'd seen each other, and of course they'd been keeping in touch, but it felt like an eternity since he'd actually gotten to give her a hug or hold her hand or kiss her or just, y'know, SEE her. Saying he was looking forward to this was a vast understatement.

He passed by the various shops, not even tempted to stop and look around. He was too focused on getting to Penny! PENNYYYYY!! He could feel a goofy grin sliding across his face at the thought of her. He was probably going to explode soon because he was just SO DARN THRILLED, okay?!

And then he spotted her. But wait... She looked... Upset? Or something? What the heck?! Had somebody done something to her? Benji wasn't the fighting type, but he would fight somebody if they'd hurt her. He hurried over to his girlfriend, plopped down on the bench next to her, and, looking at her intently, said, "Hey, gorgeous, are you okay?"

His face flushed a bit as he called her gorgeous. Was that too much? It had kind of just slipped out. She'd said that she liked it when he'd done it before, but what if she'd changed her mind since then? What if she took one look at him and remembered that he was a dweeb and just ditched him? He wouldn't blame her...

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

It was summer and it was warm and Natalie was HAPPY and in a good mood and she had something SPECIAL in the pocket of her denim shorts and she had already gotten a little bit of a tan since school had gotten out AND... she had ice cream. Two cones, actually, which made her look like a pig, but she was saving the other one for someone. Hopefully he was almost there, or else it was going to melt all down her arm...

Needless to say, Natalie had been in a pretty good mood since coming home from Hogwarts. Especially after a certain letter had arrived in the mail the day before. She had written to Derf, telling him to meet her at the bench at noon. First of all, she just wanted to see him. But she also had something to share with him. And they hoped they could have a semi normal afternoon together. It had been a while since that had happened.

Derf had been feeling more and more himself as the days had gone on. U-17 quidditch training had helped and Faith was always the glue that kept spirits high on the team, so it had been refreshing to have quidditch without the restrictions the castle had enforced. You know, the basics of being able to HUG your teammates after a well fought match and all that. He had even been able to do a bit of traveling with dad who had taken on Stephanie as a kind of apprentice sort for herbology reasons and Derf sometimes tagged along when the ecosystems being explored were particularly saturated with creatures.

So today, today Derf was as close to feeling normal as he could be. Save for that usual wave of anxiety that came when hanging out with Natalie sometimes. It wasn't as bad as before, they had worked through it and the words of Liam and Cameron were nothing more than distant echos in his memory. So today, well, today he was keen on reconnecting. Proper like. And maybe she could help him sort out what ink to get next since she had been there for his first two.

Spotting her easily, and a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips seeing the ice cream, he gently patted the chest pocket on his button up blue plaid shirt to wake Picketta up from her nap and strolled over.

"Hey," he greeted with a boyish red glow to his ears. "Reckon one of those is for me, yeah?"