Peony took the Underground, as opposed to apparating and perhaps having her left arm stay behind because somebody hadn't been paying attention.

Yeah well, so-rry.

Peony, slumped in her seat, looked like a perfect teenager. No one would ever have guessed she had a wand hidden (never you mind where she keeps it), the ability to kill you in ten different ways (without using magic! Isn't that something?) at the same time or a voice inside her head. She stretched out her be-jeaned legs. No one noticed. Every single eye in the compartment was stuck firmly onto the man beside her. And his owl.

Peony wouldn't have been surprised if Grimwald - that is, Waldo Grim - was being ogled in the next compartment too. He raised temperatures all the way to Iowa, simply by breathing. Even the men's - they all wanted to beat him up.

Who would've thought her miserable, not-quite-sane cat would morph into a sex god when human? A tall, muscled one, which was useful because no one commented on Boreas being tucked under his arm and hooting.

Peony wondered idly, winding a lock of black hair around her finger, if she ought to try transfiguring Boreas into a human too. After all, she had done the cat - to help her with shopping, though now she took him along because a) Grimwald hated it and b) the salesgirls all gave her discounts for his phone number.

Looks like someone's getting powerhungry... sang the Voice.

At least I'm just 'getting to be' she retorted. But then, if she did turn Boreas human, that was another ticket to fork out for, and Boreas... well, Boreas would probably expect to perch on Grimwald's lap. Boreas wasn't the sanest of birds. She shuddered to think of what he'd be like human.

Peony felt a pair of eyes burn into her head. It was a sudden, strong force. Automatically, her head jerked up and her eyes narrowed. A tall - well, she wasn't that tall, Peony noticed. She just held herself higher - woman was lounging in the seat across her and had just shifted her eyes from Grimwald (who was sulking) to Peony.

She knows.

Peony felt a rustle of shock zip down her back. Fortunately, the next stop was theirs. She tugged at Grimwald's sleeve. "Come on. Be careful! You took a few feathers off Boreas's tail! This stop's ours."

"Wroopee," he snarled, squeezing Boreas so the bird's eyes popped.

They got off - but so did the woman. She lingered behind them, walking slowly and deliberately. By now Peony had observed enough of her to describe to the police. She had long eyelashes - perhaps a tinge overmascara-ed because it took her at least a minute to sweep her eyelashes up. It was a successfully intimidating gesture. Peony stepped up the pace, feeling for her wand.

They dove for Diagon Alley, and so did the woman. The bricks rearranged themselves. To Peony's relief, the woman headed for Gringotts, squaring her shoulders.

Peony, in turn, headed to the Leaky Cauldron, pushing open the heavy doors.

Mr Ollivander took his time to study his surroundings. All seemed quiet, a few early risers where about looking very tired in dead. They looke terrible. Merlin only knows how awful he must of looked at that particular moment. He really did need to retire but was refusing. He loved life too much in his shop.

His roll and sausage came in a matter of five minutes. He was pleased with the timekeeping of the Leaky Cauldron, always satisfactory. Mr Ollivander began munching on his breakfast and whilst doing so a few new people entered the pub. All again looking tired, but excited all the same.

One thing Mr Ollivander did notice was that the noise in the pub had certainly risen. The Leaky Cauldron's popularity always brought noise. He quickly finished his breakfast and smiled gleefully that his old belly was now full. Turning to Ashlie he said, "Thank You for your service Ashlie. Take this as thanks, and give one to chef to." He placed 2 gold sparkingly Galleons on the counter and then he left.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Lee eventually woke up with a couple of thwacks from the Daily Prophet, courtesy of his Grandmother. She was always someone who got up early and expected everyone to follow suit. However Lee's mind thought otherwise. He got up and got dressed in fear of a red bum next and then headed down the stairs.

Breakfast was all lain on the table thanks to his Grandpa. He always made elegant meals and Lee loved them. He took a seat and filled his plate with the traditional scottish brunch options and a few slices of buttered toast. It was seriously lucious.

After his Grandmother announced to him that he would be travelling into Diagon Alley alone today as she had a bad back and his Grandpa had to take her to St. Mungo's. Lee was quite glad actually he preferred going in by himself, he was his own person

Jen giggled at Jamie's antics. If the boy wasn't careful he was going to break a bone one day.

"I can't wait," Jen commented, much more calm than Jamie at this early hour. The boy must have had untapped reserves of energy to be so enthusiastic all the time.

She smiled at Ashlie who looked rather embarrassed. With Jamie around though, it was nearly impossible to be embarrassed. That boy embarrassed himself enough for a whole herd of people. "Nice to meet you Ashlie," she replied.
___________________________________________

Tyler strolled down the street looking right and left. He was in no hurry at all seeing as quite a few stores weren't open yet. His plan was to wait a few more minutes, then head to the bookstore to buy a birthday present for his mother. The woman who kept the shop there knew everything. And she would most certainly know what an older woman would like as a present. It was a flawless plan.

Tyler smiled at his own cleverness as he continued to walk down the street.

Mrs. Blotts pulled the doors to her shop open with a huge smile. Mr Flourish was probably snoring somewhere in his apartment above the shop, and she was just happy enough to welcome the customers on her own.

She walked about the shop and indulged herself in her morning ritual, "Rise and shine, my darling books!" She called out to the thousands of books lining the shelves around the shop. She was a lonely old woman, Mr. Blotts had died and all she had left was sleepy old Mr. Flourish and her beloved books.

-------------------------------------

"Goodbye, Count Vannacutt." Nik's old housekeeper called to him as he threw the Floo powder into the vast fireplace.

He didn't return the wishes, nor did he turn around to acknowledge her. "Diagon Alley" he called out as he stepped into the emerald flames. His world twirled around him in a blur and he choked down the undignified cough that was threatening to come out of his mouth.

OOC: Ashlie why do I get the feeling you think my charries are stupid? That's mean. >.>

Francesca was not too pleased with the lady ignoring her. If it was one thing she would not tolerate, it was people ignoring her. She snorted as she got a pastry and took a seat at a table. She watched as some unfamiliar faces came in. Thank God Astoria's not here. She'd probably be pointing out everyone's faults and reasons why they shouldn't be spoken to. After watching some of the people for a while, she grinned when she saw that most of these people were near her age. That meant Francesca wouldn't have to hang around a bunch of old people. She walked gracefully over to where a Ravenclaw boy and a Gryffindor girl were standing and cleared her throat.

"Um hi there! I'm new around here and I don't really know anyone. My name's Francesca."

She wasn't normally this friendly when it came to people but desperate times called for desperate measures. She wasn't willing to spend this entire trip with her stupid stuck up cousin who was no fun whatsoever unless she was around some expensive thing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now where was everyone? That was the question Astoria asked herself over and over in her mind. There didn't seem to be anyone she knew in the shops. Not really caring where Francesca was, she raised her brow as a boy came into the Alley. The boy looked very dignified so she assumed that he was from a powerful family just like she was. Well now, this could be interesting. He'd probably make a perfect guy for Francesca if she wasn't so intolerant to the family ways. Since none of her actual friends were around at this particular time, she walked up to the boy and put on her best smirk.

"Well now what do we have here? I'm Astoria."

OOC: Nik.

OoC: :O Don't think that! That's just Morning!Ashlie. She's very... <.< Ashlie. LOL

"Pleasure," Ashlie replied. She really needed to be more awake. She glanced around to the girl who was asking about breakfast but it appeared she wasn't at the counter anymore. She blinked a couple times, before nearly keeling over onto the counter.

Wake up wake up!

Maybe, as she was hoping, she'd run into people. Peony... Jacques. Her last letter from him made her excited to see him again. He'd be a nice sight for her after so long. She grabbed the two Galleons from Mr. Ollivander and slipped one into her pocket and took the other to Chef.

"Mr. Ollivander left this for you."

Chef grunted in reply. Dutifully Ashlie sat down the galleon amongst the other tips Chef was always left but never took.

She came back out to see Fate. Who seemed really disgruntled. "I'll get that for you right away," she said. "We've only got regular lemonade though, is that alright?"

-------------------------------------------

Jamie let out a squeal again. "I can't either!" he said. "This is going to be the best summer. The BEST." He wiggled and then grinned. "Want some french toast?" he asked, already beginning to drag her behind the counter.

He stopped midway though, turning to the girl that had said hi. "Hullo there," he said with a wave. "I'm Jamie. This is Jenzy, here."

Ashlie: can you add Raggamuffin- 2 1/2 to the list, please? Thank you!

Maddi rolled over glancing at the clock. 8:03. Perfect. On the day she actually has somewhere to go she wakes up late. She sat up in bed wondering why her father hadn't woken her up. She swung her legs over the edge of her bed and walked over to her dresser. Now, what shall i wear today? Maddi thought to herself. She was to go into Diagon Ally with her father this morning so she could meet Jamie, Jenno and Bucky for the Summer. Maddi let out a small noise of excitment as she pulled on her dress. She was very excited about spending the summer with her closest friends. This was going to be great.

After dressing Maddi walked over to the window opening it a bit. She let the breeze blow into her room filling the space with the fresh scent. She closed her eyes as the soft wind swept past her shoulders and caught her hair.
Although Maddi wasn't one to wear any type of clothing that revieled anything she had chosen a dress just slightly shorter then usual since the weather was so nice.

She bounded down the stairs catching the smell of breakfast. She turned the corner expecting to see her father sitting in his regular seat at the table. Instead there was a plate of eggs and sausage and a note. Oh how these notes where getting more and more common. Why didn't he ever have time for her anymore? Maddi sat down in her seat and took the note stuffing it in her pocket not bothering to read it. She picked up the fork next to her plate and began to eat.

A cloud of ash exploded from the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, and a very toussled Nik jumped out of it dragging his trunk behind him. He looked around at the other patrons of the pub but walked straight to the counter where a very pretty older girl was standing. "I need a room for the remainder of the summer." He told her.


ooc: Ermm...he doesn't know anyone...*pokes Jamie*

"I wish that Kat would hurry," sighed Kay as she sat down on a nearby bench. She reached into her purse and pulled out a thin book encased in a ratted brown leather cover. The title on the cover had long since worn off and the title page was missing. Kay didn't care because the book once belonged to her father and no one, not even her crazy aunt knew she had it. She carefully opened the book to the page where she had inserted a blue ribbon and began to read quiety.

Breakfast at the Young house was always an adventure. Even though it was only Elijah, his twin sister Ashley (in Hufflepuff House) and his mother and father, it always seemed like there were 50 people seated around the table whenever a meal was being eaten.

Throughout this entire escapade Elijah found himself nodding and saying a lot of "Mm hmm's" and "Yes mother's". Bless her heart, he thought, but the woman needs to get a grip on things; I'm not a child anymore .

Breakfast ended and Elijah bounded up the stairs, two at a time to see if perhaps now he'd recieved a letter from Kay. Well Haratio was back, but he had nothing, not even a scrap piece of parchment stuck in his feathers. "What's the deal, Haratio?" he asked. "You are supposed to have at least some small reply from Kay." The bird hooted deeply for a solitare response.

Elijah sighed heavily.

Having had enough of the morning's occurences, Elijah packed up his messenger bag with the things he would need as the day progressed. His attire consisted of a grey sweater, dark denim trousers and brown shoes. "Wow I definately scream 'Muggle Born'," he said more or less to himslef as he checked the mirror to try and flatten his unmanageable hair. "See you later, Haratio," he finally said walking out of his bedroom, and down the stairs. He bid his family goodbye and started off on his way to Diagon Alley

"It's a pleasure to meet you Jaime and..Jenzy, is it? That's a cute name. Is that your real name or is it more of a nickname?" Francesca asked curiously. Sometimes curiosity got the better of the girl and it wasn't necessarily a good thing when that happened. She'd probably end up asking one too many questions and end up offending someone in the process.

Good lord it's hot in this place. Don't they have decent ventilation here? It could be part of the whole experience in London but still, it's too hot. Francesca then put her hair up into a messy ponytail thingy so her neck could get some air. She took a sip of lemonade that she had gotten from the bar earlier because of the heat. After every sip she took, she felt slightly better since she had been so hot.

--------------------------------------------------

Astoria's eyes widened in shock as the boy asked her for a room. Do I look like a civil servant that works here!? I can't possibly look that horrible! Sure her hair was a mess at the moment but that was a result of the heat. It felt so warm when she was at the manor but this place felt like a furnace compared to it. She raised her brow as she looked at the boy who was obviously younger than her and had no clue what family she was from.

"Um I'm not the one you should ask about that. I don't even work here. I'd ask the pub woman over there if you want a room. I'm not some civil servant."

Not being a fan of the Floo network, nor not having mastered Apparating yet, Elijah took a wide variety of modes of muggle transportation to get to London. It only took him a few hours, but he was glad to be out of the stuffy confinments of the busses and out into the open air. He turned around the familiar corners, tread down the familiar streets until he at last came upon the cast iron witch and cauldron to signal his arrival at the Leaky Cauldron. Eiljah smiled to himself and with a satisfied nod he walked inside.

The bell clanged brightly as he stepped inside the little pub. It was still fairly early in the morning, and there was already a lot of business going around. He took a quick minute to survey the area: No sign of Kay. With a sigh and a shrug of his shoulders, Elijah made his way over to the bar; amongst quite a few people. One of whom he noticed was Jamie, a now 2nd year Ravenclaw. He'd gone behind the bar, dragging a friend with him. What is he playing at, Elijah thought, going behind the bar like he owns the place?

He ran his hand through his hair and knocked on the bar a few times to get the attention of whoever it was that was on shift this morning. "Can I get a cup of coffee please?" he asked to no one in particular just yet.

Luciana was growing increasingly irritated with a particular wizard who was reporting to the Wizengamot. Excuses, excuses, excuses, she thought as she studied the wizard's every move. She cleared her throat and all eyes were on her. She leaned forward to take a better look at the wizard. "You were given an assignment and you have thus failed to deliver any pertinent information to the Wizengamot," she said sternly. "There are others who can take your place if you feel that you are not 'up' to the task." Her scarred face looked even more disfigured in the light of the courtroom and a manical gleam was in her eye. Madame McLaggen was not one to disappoint.

Jen followed Jamie helplessly. Despite his being a few years younger than her the boy had a strong grip. She was about to reply to his question about food but before she had a chance Jamie was already introducing them to another girl.

"No, Jenzy isn't my real name. It's just Jen. Jamie likes to elaborate," she told the girl with a small laugh.
__________________________________

Having passed the bookstore a few minutes earlier, Tyler turned and retraced his steps. The doors were open this time and he stepped into the shop. Books had always been a love of his but today he was on a mission.

"Hello Mrs. Blotts. How are you this morning?" he asked the kindly old woman.

Fate nodded to Ashlie."Sure,she shouldn't mind regular." She turned around to look back at her cousin.To her horror she was skipping over to her,a cheerful smile on and her silver curls bouncing.

"Fatey,do they have it?" She asked.Taky was, for some reason, now being supported on her head like some type of kitty headress.

She sighed."No,but your getting regular instead.Is that fine?" Eternal smiled and wrapped her cousin in a big hug.Fate almost felt like her ribs were going to smash.She must get it from her father, her big heartfelt hugs.

"Thankies Fatey.Do you want a sticker?" Before she could protest, Eternal was pressing a sticker on the front of her silver knit sweater.She looked down and saw a white and bright pink cat sticker on her sweater.

Eternal didn't see the dissaproving look in her cousin's eyes.She was to busy looking around the pub.She saw two girls who might be related,one maybe around her age.Then the enthusiastic boy she had been oogling before, along with his woman companion.Then a new addition.A handsome man who had just fluued in.

Thankfully Roiben's is not here, She thought to herself.Roiben would most likely be making sure she didn't tlak to any boys.But that was just his older cousin instinct.

OoC: Ooohherrr I shall add him I shall also then add Admiral Michael and Sargeant Guss Guss

Ashlie nodded to Fate. "Let me get that for you now, then," she said, turning away to fix up the glasses. She summoned two glasses and filled the one with water and the other with lemonade. Fixing a slice of a lemon to the rim of the glass and, for added entertainment, pulled out on of her little umbrella's and stuck it in there. Sure, it was a bit of a Muggle American thing, but she was sure the little girl would like it.

She glanced over to check on Jamie, and saw that another girl had joined. How big was this "harem" exactly? Ashlie felt her face go pale. Ms. Reiss would kill her if she knew Jamie was traveling in packs of girls. Didn't he have any male friends? "Careful back here, Jamie, don't break anything." That was code for "Please-don't-show-your-friends-your-dance-moves-and-or-snog-them-behind-my-back."

She turned to bring the glasses over to the girls, smiling at the overly energetic, sticker bearing silver haired little girl. Did Fate have a little sister? Ashlie knew nothing of the girl, really, except that she and Dave snogged quite a bit.

"Here you are, one glass of ice water, guarenteed to stay cold or your money back. And for the little one, a glass of lemonde, luau style. That's fifteen sickles, please." She smiled her fake "happy-to-be-here" smile that Aero forced up on her and turned to the male customer now requesting a cup of coffee. Another fairly American-esque drink, she noted, from a familiar voice.

"One cup of coffee? Would you like anything in that, milk cream-" And she paused in mid-sentance, eyes growing wide with a vague recognition. No, she told herself sternly. You're imagining things! "Elijah Young?"

--------------------------------------

Jamie sighed heavily at Ashlie's little repirmation. Of course he wasn't going to break anything. That wasn't his finesse. Dancing was. Which seemed like a good idea, right about now, except for that fact that there wasn't much room between the bar and the wall back here.

"It's my special nick name for Jenzy, because the name Jen seems too bland for her." He smiled heartily. Elaborate? He didn't elaborate. POSH! He just told it how he saw it.

"Guess what Jenzy! Chef made me SPECIAL french toast. With chocolate syrup! He can make some for you two," he said, nodding at Francesca in acknowledgment.

At that moment, Admiral Michael decided to wake. He'd been hiding on a shelf below the shelf.

-------------------------------------

It just so happened that Ashlie didn't know Admiral Michael was down there. And when he stretched and pounced on her legs, he seemed to enjoy her shriek about as much as Jamie did.

She rounded on the giggling boy, almost growling.

Jamie remained oblivious to it.

OOC: I am so amused by this. It's so cute. Oh and it's a Fran only post this time. ^^

Francesca's face lit up as Jaime mentioned french toast. Sure she had french toast back home but she hadn't had it in a long time. Francesca would say it had been forever since she had even seen the stuff when in reality it had been two months. Two months ago she had gone to stay with Astoria for the summer even though she protested greatly to the whole cousin bonding thing. Especially when it came to her french counterpart.

"That would be awesome! I haven't had french toast in forever!"

She then turned to the girl that apparently Jaime could call Jenzy. She had to come up with a name for the girl now. She wasn't really that good with nicknames because she rarely received them. The only one she really had was Fran and that was what her best friend Alexis called her.

"Okay then I'm going to call you Jen or something like that. I suck at nicknames."

OOC: Thanks Ashrie.
SI! What color hair does Franny have?

Maddi finished her breakfast and made her way to the sink where she disposed of her dishes. After all she wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school and her father wasn't around. Even if he was around he was a muggle and magic was of no use to him. merr.

Now, How exactly was she going to get to Diagon Ally? Maddi had no clue and she was getting a bit frustrated that her father always disappeared when she needed help. Now what am i supposed to do? The girl thought brushing the loose hairs that weren't long enough to fit into her pig tails out of her eyes and scanned the room. At that moment she remembered the note she had stuffed in her pocket. She read over the contents learning from her fathers neat thin penmanship that she was to travel to Diagon Alley by floo powder. Instructions and a good luck wish closed the letter. "Ragga!!" Maddi exclaimed picking up the small grey kitten who had just now wrapped himself around her legs. "ComeonwegottagotoDiagonAlleytomeetJamie!" She let out in excitement.

Maddi stepped up to the fire place taking a handful of the strange powder her father had described with one hand and holding her kitten with the other. She threw it down, "Diagon Alley!" and was off. Suddenly she was spinning far faster then she wished to be trying to clutch Ragga to her chest saftley. Maybe this is how Jamie feels when he's dancing! The thought crossed the girl's mind. And then it stopped. Maddi's feet hit solid ground and she realized she was, in fact, in Diagon Alley. "Whoa.." She mumbled to herself making her way to the Leaky Cauldron still holding Raggamuffin. She pushed open the door and peered inside.

Jen shook her head in amusement. Jamie certainly was something else. It was hard to believe so much energy could be contained in such a compact person.

"French toast sounds fine Jamie," she replied in an attempt to placate the boy before he exploded from sheer enthusiasm.

To Francesca she responded, "Call me whatever you like. I'm not really picky."

That was the truth. Jen really didn't care what other people chose to call her. After all, Jen was just a name.

Madame McLaggen was itching for the Wizengamot session to end. She felt that is was her duty to blend in with the crowd at Diagon Alley for two reasons - one, to gather any pertinent information that the Ministry was in desperate need of, and two, to keep an eye on her nieces, especially the eldest one.

_______________________________

Maximus cheerfully unlocked the door to his shop and flipped the sign around to "open." He was eager for the business day to begin.

Elijah's head snapped around as he heard his full name stated. Who in their right mind knows my full name here? he thought. It was then that he immediately recognized a head of curled hair and a face that he hadn't seen in about a year and a half.

"Ashlie!" he exclaimed. "Merlin's Beard what are you doing here? Stupid quesion, your behind the bar so you must be working." He moved down the bar to grab a spot closer to her so he wouldn't have to shout anymore than he already was, which was already drawing the attention of various people in the pub.

"How are you?" he asked with a warm smile. "I haven't seen you for what feels like centuries."

OoC: Haha, Si, what's so cute? Jamie? But of course! -squeezes him-

A smile crossed on Ashlie's face, the slow, dazed kind that formed slowly and looked so out of place. She shook her head slowly in a matching way to that of her smile, until her whole face was uniform in a stunned look.

"My my my," she said, chuckling. "You. Of all people who show up this summer, you're the first one. After a year and a half. Where in the world have you been this whole time?"

It seemed like it had been ages since she'd last seen Elijah. She remembered him being so little and young, and now he looked all grown up, which blew her away even more. She remembered the little boy that Professor Rae had said couldn't defend the school with them, and she, little Ashlie, defended him. She almost laughed in memory at that, just the sheer... what was it she could call it? She had been so naive then, and she couldn't quite remember what it was that made her even ask for him to be able to help, she hadn't known him well at that time.

And here he was now, all grown up. So mind boggling.

"Wow... you... just.... wow," she stumbled out, at a loss of words. "All grown up."

Brilliant one there. Former Ravenclaw huh? More like Former Hufflepuff with that vocabulary.

---------------------------------------------------------

"It's special French Toast," Jamie beamed. "Cuzza Cook is real nice to me and he likes it when I'm happy. He said it's cuzza I'm fun to keep around. Not with so many words, though. Cook doesn't really talk much."

He lead the girls around the counter, squeezing behind Ashlie who had turned back to Elijah. Jamie waved to him and glanced at Ashlie, quickly calculating the look on Ashlie's face as happy. He liked happy Ashlie.

"Lookit! Lots of extra powder sugar and chocolate syrup," he beamed proudly. "I could ask Cook if he wants to make some up for you, he's made me one more other place already." He grinned and picked up one of apple slices and pushed it into his mouth, scanning the room.

"Maddi!" he cried suddenly, spying the pig-tailed girl poking her head into the pub. "MADDI! OVER HERE!"

Kay glanced up from her book each time she heard footsteps approaching, hoping it would be Katrina. Thus far, her sister had not yet appeared. How long does it take that girl to get ready to go shopping? she thought and grew slightly irritated. She sighed and went back to reading her book.

Nik's cheeks pinkened but he pretended as if nothing had happened. He nodded once at the girl, mumbling a half-hearted apology and turning away. He tried to locate the owner of the pub, but the only person who seemed to work here was another older girl, with dark curly hair who was spluttering over some guy.

He strode up to the girl and tapped her on the shoulder, "Hi, I need a room."

--------------------------------------

Quote:

Having passed the bookstore a few minutes earlier, Tyler turned and retraced his steps. The doors were open this time and he stepped into the shop. Books had always been a love of his but today he was on a mission.

"Hello Mrs. Blotts. How are you this morning?" he asked the kindly old woman.

A familiar young man walked into the shop, Mrs. Blotts righted her glasses and focused on the customer. A huge smile spread over her wrinkly features, "Hello there, Tyler, dearie. I'm just fantastic! And what brings you here, poppet?"

Jen looked toward the entrance of the pub when Jamie started shouting. How the boy had so much energy in the morning escaped her.

"It's probably the chocolate syrup," she muttered as she shook her head. While waving Maddi over, she attempted to slowly pull her arm from Jamie's grasp.
_____________________________________

Tyler returned Mrs. Blott's smile as he carefully closed the door to the shop. With his work at the Leaky Cauldron taking up a large portion of his time, it was rare that he got to spend any time at the bookstore as of late.

"I'm just looking for a present for my mother. Her birthday is coming up in a few days and I've decided not to procastinate for once," he answered with a laugh.