The nice thing about arriving right after Dot (because his dad was a taaad more over-protective than Aunt Stella was. Just a tad. If 'tad' now meant a whopping bucketful) was that she could get them both inside, and he didn't have to do a single thing. From behind her head, Dima attempted to wave at everyone in the house. Hiii, people he didn't know. AND THORNTON!

"Prisoners in Azkaban don't wear orange, Dot. Is that crazy Muggle Studies professor getting to you?" Tsk, tsk.

Plus, Aunt Stella could totally work orange, and she could always show Dot how. And maybe dye her hair, too, so she didn't look too carroty.

Her piercing blue eyes still looking off in the direction Nowell had gone, she slowly nodded her head when Adelaide spoke. The Hufflepuff felt like she needed to make it up to him too, somehow. Maybe they could make jam together or something. He could be her taste tester. It was the role her step dad always gave her when she was feeling upset about things. Daddy had tried once or twice, but he was not a very good cook and, well, he would not be able to work on his culinary skills while in St. Mungo's.

But back to Thornton hugs. She had missed these. "Oh no, that's alright," she smiled while shaking her head, causing her curls to toss gently about. "Pandora charmed it so it's not very heavy. I can manage, but thank you for the offer." Thoughtful as always. Smiling, she reached for one of Thornton's hands to give it an appreciative squeeze and lingered there for a moment before releasing it.

"Oh brilli---" she began, her words cut off by the appearance of... "DOT!"

Talking about orange? Well, if someone had to wear it all the time Paige was sure Dot could pull it off. She was just about to voice as much when someone else made their appearance. Someone Paige had not had the pleasure to actually speak to often, outside of the occasional work in class, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Azkaban?

"Who is going to Azkaban?"

Clearly she had missed something. As usual.

And Adelaide had asked her something...and she had forgotten to answer...and now had forgotten what the question had even been. Oh dear.

The parlor was filling up rather more quickly than Adelaide had anticipated, and it seemed as if everyone was talking all at once, but perhaps that was only Adelaide's anxiety getting the better of her.

She inhaled. She exhaled. the moment passed and suddenly they were on the subject of Azkaban and lives of crime. How funny, these were Thornton's friends? it was not the lot she had expected. Addie stepped aside, allowing the space of the hallway to open up enough that the new arrivals might walk in. "No one, I should hope." Adelaide said, with a soft chuckle. "Please come in, I'm Adelaide Thornton, I'm one of the cousins." It was really only when she was introducing herself with Thornton around that she remembered how irksome it was for his first name to be her last.

Something would need to be done about the luggage, should she call Mipsey? She didn't want to leave their guests and there was still the matter of sleeping arrangements, not to mention Cassius could stop by at any moment-

"Thornton, we really ought to show them to their rooms," It was not quite a reminder, and more of we probably shouldn't leave the guests just standing here in the hall. It was terribly rude, wasn't it? Adelaide worried so.

After carefully selecting some of her paints and other small items she'd need for her stay, Maddie convinced Leo through the art of blackmail, of course to get her to the place Thornton was staying with his family. Extended family. Also Thorntons. Strange but interesting all the same.

Once there, she winked at the middle Cooper boy and shooed him away. Yes, thank you, see you never. Seconds later she adjusted the strap of her backpack and knocked three times on the door.

Thornton had been a bit distracted by the hand squeeze and so startled when the door opened. Dot! The Ravenclaw smiled and was about the great this friend as well when Dima almost immediately popped up behind her. He glanced back at Adelaide, convinced that she must be completely overwhelmed.

"You're right, of course, Adelaide..." he said, waiting for Dot and Dima to come inside before closing the door behind them. "This is Dot and Dima," he said, introducing them to his cousin who had, so properly introduced herself. Right. He needed to get back into that habit. But neither friend went by their full first name.... Hm. The boy considered. Well... Adelaide could always ask later.

"No one's going to Azkaban, unless you go swimming without mother's permission," he teased, as he took a step backward toward the stairs. "But we can show you where everyone's staying? Girls are with Addie, and Dima, you're with me and Nowell..." Where had Nowell gotten to. Thornton looked off in the direction of the kitchen, hoping the younger boy would be back soon.

"Everyone can put their stuff down and we can decide what we want to do..." He was just about to start toward the stairs when he heard a knock at the door. They were never getting out of this foyer...

"Adelaide, why don't you take everyone up and I'll get this..." If it was Maddie, he'd drop her off at the girl's room. If it was one of the boys, well, then he'd head up to meet Dima. Hand on the doorknob, he waited before opening it.

The nice thing about being best friends with Dima was that she didn't have to let him know she didn't appreciate his input. She could just stick out her tongue and wag her finger at him and move on. Dot was obviously making JOKES, and now everyone was on about going to Azkaban.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Adelaide." Dot wondered whether she was meant to curtsy, but she opted for offering her hand instead. "And the other... Nowell, I mean. Is he here? Thornton mentioned that I might teach him some ballet." Which was especially good, since apparently swimming required special permission!

And Maddie was here! If only they had a Kyroh, it would be all of Dot's favorite people in one place. It was hard to keep still when there was fun to be had, and ballet to be taught, and Thornton probably needed a hug, and Dot thought that Adelaide looked like a likely partner in crime and and and...

"I'd like to see where we're sleeping. And I want to do everything, please."

"Hopefully not Dot. I think she forgot how that place works," Dima responded to the curly-haired girl inside who seemed vaguely familiar. He grinned at Dot's faces, nudging her with his elbow before dropping the teasing before they were invited inside by Thornton's... cousin? Who was named Thornton, too? Awkward.

But he had only just entered the house, and now they were already going upstairs? "D'you want me to wait for you, Thornton, or will Adelaide show me where to go as well?" Dima wouldn't mind waiting, really. Surely the next person outside the door was a friend of his, too, current or future.

After Nowell was done pouting, he just couldn't help it anymore! More people had shown up! He could hear the door from his place in he and Thornton's room and he just...he wanted to meet all of the people! It was the most exciting thing to happen all summer--PERHAPS EVEN EVER.

He peeked out at the visitors as they assembled right inside the front door. Adelaide looked very flustered, and Thornton seemed quite excited, too. The Paige human was smiling--the boy, Nowell knew his name was Dima, seemed nice. The other two girls...Dot? And Maddie? Nowell knew the one with the red hair was DOT. He disliked the nickname, but if she wanted to be called that--NOT HIS PROBLEM.

"I can show you your room, Mr. Dima--" the twelve-year-old hopped out from the hallway and smiled all big as he raised his hand at Dmitry, waiting to shake the older boy's hand. "Well...our room. Because lucky for you, you're staying with me. And Thornton. But I'm the really cool roommate."

He snickered and wondered if a flower crown would have been impressive to them...he had one...somewhere...he'd made it the other day...

Hmmm.

Didn't Adelaide have a boy coming over?

That was a relief. NO ONE was going to Azkaban. That meant she wasn't going to have to be without any of her friends AND Azkaban's guards would not be showing up here all of a sudden. Just the thought of dementors was enough to send a chill down the Hufflepuff's spin.

Or was the chill more from the draft coming and going through the open door?

Which meant more people and she recognized the older girl, although she had hardly spoken to her as well. Thornton really had a diverse group of friends, did he know that? It spoke very highly of him and of his accepting personality. Paige offered Maddie, she knew mostly about her from observation and from Dot, a small wave, she looked back at Thornton with her jaw hanging wide open.

His mother could send people to Azkaban?!

She should have brought more berries.

"Maybe we should start with a tour?" she asked eagerly. It had been one of the first things Adelaide had offered. "Drop off our stuff in our respective rooms so you don't have to do it all yourself," she added, meeting Thornton's gaze.

Goodness.

They certainly were a very talkative bunch, Adelaide was finding it hard to speak up with so much going on, and indeed, it seemed that every time the young lady had begun to open her mouth to interject, another of Thornton's friends had piped up.

She cleared her throat, trying to brush away her self-conscious feelings and her mild anxiety. Addie smiled at her brother as he offered to show Dima to his room, but she found herself much more inclined to Paige's idea. "I think a tour would be best, if we all scatter off now we won't find time for it later." She said, nodding softly. "Thornton." She glanced to her cousin, addressing him warmly. "Please see who's at the door and then meet up with us?" It would be easier that way.

Stepping past the others, Addie took a little breath to calm herself. "Please follow me, we'll start with the second floor where the bedrooms are and work through the rest." She thought fleetingly to herself that this would have been much easier with Cassius with her. The boy was so talkative and charming, with such an ease to him... He would have made up for her more quiet self.

He also would have distracted her so much that she might not have been able to be as congenial she ought to be.

Perhaps it was a good thing.

Maddie slipped into the hall as soon as the door was open and took in the scene before her. Thornton Baines was mister popular, apparently. She'd remember all the people who'd come out to see him next time he pulled the no one cares card because he had a whole bunch of people who cared a lot and they were all gathered here to hang out with him. And-well-she guessed his cousins, too.

Speaking of, each of the Thorntons who were not Thornton but shared the same name received tentative smiles, as did the Hufflepuff. Paige, yes? Maddie knew who she was. Dima and Dot got finger wiggles, smiles a bit wider for each because hello, friends. They'd maybe even get hugs later. Lucky them. And Thornton, he did get a hug since he was right there and she'd missed him.

"Hello, Thornton Baines." The younger Ravenclaw received a grin once she let go and then he was handed her bag. "I hear we're getting a tour. Is there a library here, too?"

Goodness. Thornton couldn't quite recall a time when so many of his friends were in one place and he was expected to be the one, you know, organizing things. Truthfully, he found it a bit overwhelming.

"Nowell is... ah, there he is," he said in response to Dot. They could talk about the dancing later, because the entry way was certainly not the place to do it. But hopefully Nowell would feel better about the house filling with Thornton's friends if he maybe got something out of it, too.

Sleeping... tours... yes yes, all good ideas... though his train of thought was cut off by Maddie's arrival, hug, and, bag hand-off. "Hi." Merlin. Ok. The Ravenclaw was maybe a bit over stimulated as he held Maddie's bag and looked around. "Yeah, a tour sounds good..." He looked from Maddie to Addie and then to Paige. Running a hand through his hair, he looked around to consider where to start.

"Uh, so, front door, obviously, but the best way outside into the garden and down to the beach is just down that hall, past the kitchen" he pointed with his free hand. He started walking, but not toward the kitchen and the door - that was self explanatory, he thought. "If you want a snack, you can just go ask Mipsey, but mother gave her instructions for no sweets an hour before meals, so don't try..." Hoping everyone was following, he made his way toward the staircase.

"There isn't a big library like at the house in Wrexham," he said mostly for Maddie and Paige's benefit, since they'd been. "But there's a piano and some bookshelves in the sitting room..." He pointed at the rather spacious room as they walked past. A formal dining room and a washroom rounded out the first floor. At the base of the stairs he paused. "Upstairs is pretty much all sleeping rooms, plus the office that father and Uncle Warrick use, which is strictly off limits." So off-limits, Thornton couldn't even really remember ever having seen inside.

Climbing the main stairs, he glanced back at the group. "Two bathrooms upstairs, one at either end of the hall.. Boy's bedroom is first door on the right, girls is third door on the left." Each had been outfitted with a twin bed for each guest - wasn't magic grand? - and a beach towel and a bath towel could be found folded on top of each.

Dropping Maddie's bag next to the door for the girl's room and turned to look at the crowd behind him. "Questions? My parents are.. particular about the house rules so, uh, keep to them?" Thornton had mentioned them to each guest at some point and in some cases, they were what let parents feel ok about people staying over.

A woman's voice carried up the stairs, loud enough to be heard, but not at all seeming like shouting. It was Thornton's mother. "Aunt Melisandre and I are planning to go to the beach. If you'd like to swim, now's the time."

There were a LOAD of people in Thornton's house... did he notice? Did he see how much they loved him and wanted to be with him? Dot hopped along behind the group, taking up Dima's hand as they walked and swiiiinging it back and forth. She ought to remember most everyone's name, since those she didn't know personally, she at least knew by name.

And here was her room. Dot peeked inside, delighted by the stacked beds that meant everyone staying up FAR too late giggling and chatting all night. It was like the dorms, really, and it was something Dot missed. "I love it." She loved everything.

Swimming, though? Big eyes, but she didn't want to say ANYTHING that might make Thornton feel like his plan/tour/whatever wasn't the most exciting thing in the world. BUT SWIMMING, YOU KNOW? "It must be nice to live so close to the beach. And you have a very lovely home." Politeness. Word.

Cassius was poof'd to the doorstep of the Thornton/Baine's summer home by his incredibly flustered house elf. Cassius was feeling really irritable and grumbly, now, and this wasn't how he wanted to be the first time he saw Addie this summer!

....

He shooed his elf away before knocking on the door, holding the plate of carefully made cucumber sandwiches in one hand, his bag in the slung over the other. His stomach was hurling itself around inside of him, and he felt like he would be SICK if no one answered the door SOON.

Hanging towards the back so as not to get in anyone's way as they were ushered about the house, Paige still gave Thornton her undivided attention. Well, as much undivided attention as she could as she tried to take everything in about the house. Her eyes definitely lit up at the mention of bookshelves and she eagerly bit down on her lower lip. What were the books kept here about...where they about the ocean? Perhaps some with mermaids? Paige was curious to find out and would have asked to slip away after dropping off her things when the voice of Thornton's mother interrupted her thoughts.

Swimming? She caught Dot's excited gaze and laughed softly.

"Thank you, Thornton," she smiled. It had been a lovely tour. "I think...I just heard a knock at your door..." Or maybe it had been their footsteps down the hall. She couldn't be too sure in the unfamiliar setting.

Folding her arms delicately across her chest to give herself a soft hug, she shook her head and tried not to look too amused before moving to stand beside him to give him a gentle nudge with her arm. Thornton Baines, the boy who had said he was not good enough and left out. She hoped now he saw how much people cared. They were all here, after all, because they liked him.

A piano and bookshelves. The mention of these things made Maddie smile for a couple of reasons and she nodded, not paying too much mind to the rest of what Thornton was saying as she was now lost in thought. She was following the rest of the group, though. Vaguely aware that her bag had been dropped, the brunette reached down to pick it up and dust off the bottom. She had important things in there, y'see.

Hearing Thornton's mum call up from downstairs was enough to break Maddie out of her reverie and the fifteen year old perked up noticeably. She quite liked Mrs. Baines. Respected her talent. It was also nice to have a mother-figure to talk to, even if it was just small talk between piano lessons. It meant something to Maddie and she was sure Thornton understood.

"Swimming sounds nice," She offered to no one in particular. She'd heard the knock on the door as well but wasn't particularly concerned. Truth be told, getting to sit on the beach with friends sounded perfect right now. It meant more space and fresh air and pretty scenery. Could they go? From the look on Dot's face, that offer had her vote.

Adelaide followed in the wake of her cousin, her hands clasped behind her back, a polite habit that was as much apart of the young girl as her auburn hair. She was very grateful that Thornton had taken the reins, he was better with larger groups of people and though his manners were not as proper as her own, he spoke with a hint more ease, especially since going to Hogwarts.

She turned her attention to the red-head as she spoke (it was... Dot? Dot). "Oh yes, it's lovely, I only wish we were here for more than just the summers," Not that her little town was ugly or unpleasant, but the beach house was so freeing. "I'm so glad you love it, please, as I said before make yourselves as comfortable as," - she paused, the know on the door drawing her attention, but then continued on because cutting yourself off in the middle of a sentence was bad form. "as possible."

Was that Cassius? Adelaide felt like she was filling up with a billion fizzing whizbees at the very thought, and though she wanted to rush off and answer it, she knew she couldn't.

"Swimming it is, why don;t you girls follow me and we'll change in our room?" Adelaide said, it was phrased as a question but the young girl had already taken off that way. She needed to get away from the hallway before she rushed to the door like some un-behaved wild thing.



Melisandre Thornton was a delicate, creature with her daughter's large eyes and son's frail, but beautiful form, she was also a creature that lived to be waited on and catered to, which was why getting the door was something that so displeased her. "Maris! Where is the 'ouse elf?" She called out, her english tinged french accent filling the empty hall.