Of course, she could just forgo the chocolate altogether. Wasn't it liquorice that she remembered Spike having a taste for? Maybe she should go have a look at that too before deciding.

And then a young voice came to add his two knuts on the situation.

"Tempting as that is," Sam replied, turning her gaze towards him. "These aren't for me. They're part of a thank you present." And giving two separate large boxes of chocolates and a potted plant seemed a) odd, and b) a bit much. Not that she thought that the kids would take any issue to helping him finish them off.

It really was a dilemma.

"I'm thinking the milk is the safer bet than the dark." She liked any and all chocolate, pretty much, but she wasn't shopping for her. Yet.

CANDY.

Etta made a compulsory visit to the store every summer, buying all the chocolates that she possibly could. She had reduced her candy intake gradually over the past year but she still couldn't possibly give it up completely. Happily, she entered the store before picking up a basket, pausing near the entrance for a moment. All the candy. So EXCITING.

She made her way down the aisles, picking things she would obviously need over the next year. Ooooh. Wait. Dark chocolate fudge. Did she actually need it? Nope, not really. But, it was definitely worth trying.. right? She picked it up and dropped it into her basket. Okay.. what next?

They were going to shop together? Fantastic! This was going to be a great time to hang out with the She-Snake and catch up on everything. "Y'know I think we should spend more time together. I enjoy hanging out with you," smiled Olivia. She definitely wanted to get to know Vivian better. That was a must indeed. Yes, yes!

And at Vivian's joke about her basket being a year's worth of candy, Olivia laughed. "Not quite. Let's triple the amount," she said with a wink. Heh. A year's worth... Actually it was probably close to half a year's worth. Ooh FUDGE. HOW HAD SHE FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT? "Fudge?" she repeated with widened eyes as she couldn't believe how silly she was to forget such a magnificent treat. "Sugar quilllls." She nodded at that and picked up a packet to add to her basket. As her eyes scanned the shelves looking for that perfect treat that would hit the spot, she was struck with a very peculiar thought. "I wonder how they make all of this candy.... If its like in the muggle world where its manufactured or if its just a simple spell or potion or something..." But Vivian hadn't asked her for such a thought. Vivian had asked her how she was!

Err.. Oh right! "Great! My summer is really nice so far. I've been living with my brother which its been great to spend time with him and then I've been working at a cafe and volunteering at the museum." She nodded. And in her free time? "And in my free time, I come to Diagon Alley or visit people or going on dates." Dates with a certain someone. And visiting a certain Gryffindor Prefect.. Wait. Actually both Gryffindor Prefects.. Oh and a Hufflepuff one. Merlin. Since when had a good handful of her friends become Prefects? Back at Beauxbatons, she had been a serial prankster and rule bender.

"Ooh they have Mars Bars?"

A curious expression went across his face as he looked at the older girl telling him that it was part of a thank you present. He had personally never bought anything for someone, mainly because he had no money and he never had a reason to do it.

"But" he said, unfolding his arms as he picked up a chocolate frog package and started to WAVE it around like a crazy person. He was in fact trying to get his dad's attention and it took a couple of second before the man in line at the counter and him made eye contact and he pointed excitedly at the package in his hand. Signalling that he wanted to have one. His excitement fell when his father silently told him to put it back down. Puffing up his cheeks, the boy dropped the package back and sulked and it was when he saw the girl that he remembered he had wanted to say something.

"If i were the one getting a present" he continued as if the whole thing inbetween had not happened. "I'd love to get a box of mixed chocolates" he said. "I mean, If you buy them both and mix them up in empty box and the chocolates that don't fit in it you keep for yourself" he said. "That person will be happy cause they'll get a box of TWO kinds of chocolate and you'll be happy cause you get to eat some too!" he grinned proudly at his reasoning. "Or..." he frowned as he looked around. "Don't tell me my genius idea has been used already and there's already a box like that here?" There probably was....ugh.

"Do you go to Hogwarts?" he asked out of the blue, cocking his head to the side as he watched her curiously.

Ooooooh! What Olivia said definitely made the blonde bounce a little. "I definitely 101% agree with you on that!" Vivian replied with a wide beam. Hanging out once and in a class activity wasn't enough for this girl, nuh-uh! Surely they both would have the time this year, despite this being her fifth year and that meant OWLs. "You can always just drop by the Slytherin Common Room when you're free... or send a tiny note... or we can even hang in between classes!" The fourteen-going-fifteen year old would always make time for friends. No doubt.

Triple the amount? For a few seconds, Vivian stared blankly, but thankfully it didn't take long until she realised it was probably just a joke. Oh, LOL! She was a little slow today. To hopefully cover up her awkwardness, she grinned at the Gryffindor. See? Totally didn't just make a fool out of herself. "I'd really like to take all, but I don't exactly fancy those blood pops," she had to mention. Had she eaten more than just a bite before, ickle Vivian would have barfed all over the floor on that very moment. "But definitely fudge and sugar quills are a must!" Olivia already had chocolate frogs and licorice wands, so it looked like a good set of sweets to Vivian. OOOOOOH, the question had the blonde curious, too. "We can ask the shopkeeper about it! He might be the best person to ask about those." Besides, he owned the shop so he'd have some idea about this, yeah? "Let's ask him when we reach the counter." And after they've finished candy shopping, of course. Vivian added some sugar quills to her set as well. She'd never like to run out of these.

Now, the blonde listened as the Gryffindor shared her summer experiences. Of course, there was occasional giggling. "Café? Like... are you the one making the coffee or something?" What was the term for that again? It definitely escaped her, but basing on this Slytherin's experience, she looooved watching the coffee people do their coffee art thing. But there was MORE GIGGLING at the date part. Vivian's eyes immediately snapped back at Olivia, with her eyebrows wiggling. "Now that's interesting. Do tell me more? Like, with who exactly?" She giggled again. How had she not known about this?!

Mars bars was that muggle candy, right? "I didn't know they sold muggle sweets here," she said... and she had been in this shop for years! Vivian was obviously slow at things today.

Last school year, Brent had the mistake of boarding the train without anything at all. Well, he'd had his luggage and then some money in his pocket, but what had been the fun in that? This summer, he was going to load up on snacks, so he'd have money and snacks in his possession. That train ride was seriously long, and he major plans of eating and napping while on it. Of course he was going to spend time with his amazing girlfriend, too. Maybe even his brother, too, since Kane had become less annoying since he'd gotten older.

So it was with these thoughts in mind that Kane bee-lined for the sweet shop as soon as he'd gotten to Diagon Alley. School supplies? Who needed those? Not him! That kind of stuff could wait until the last minute as far as he was concerned. He would be a sixth year soon, and wasn't that pretty much the graduation point? Never mind the fact that graduation was really two years away for him. Brent fumbled with the lose change in his pocket as he surveyed the glorious selections in front of him. Wonder how much it would cost him for the whole display?

Yes. Olivia's mind was made up. She would HAVE to drop by the Slytherin Common Room more often to visit Vivian or send a note to meet up. They were going to def spend more time hanging out this year. Between classes would be fun too!

Vi bit her lip and paused as Vivian stared blankly at her. Ooh. Did the joke not land properly? Before she could awkwardly shrug her shoulders and offer a carefree smile, the Slytherin was grinning. Okay. Bad joke. Whoops! My bad, thought Olivia offering a smile. "Blood pops..." said Olivia as she shook her head. Those were the worst.... "I wonder why they make them and who buys them...?" It must have been someone's preference but still..... "It must be an acquired taste." Yes, that must have been it for sure then. Vivian didn't know the answer to her question either. Hmm.. perhaps some investigating ought to be done? Yes, asking him when they got to the counter sounded like an excellent idea.

But first. Candy shopping!

Was she the one making the coffee? Well sometimes. "I help out the barista.
I'm training to be one. I can make some drinks on the espresso machines but I mostly serve treats and check out people." She nodded casually a couple of times before she realized the last part of her sentence. Blue eyes widening, she paused. She turned bright red almost as red as the Gryffindor tie she wore at school. "I.. I run the cash register at the moment," she said with a laugh. Olivia wasn't checking out people per say ALL the time. She was doing her job. Sure there were cute guys that came by but the REALLY cute guy her friend hadn't come by recently.

And then Vivian was giggling. Was this about the date thing? Olivia raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the giggling, and then she had her answer. A blush crept onto her cheeks, "Ace." She paused and then realized that maybe Vivian didn't know him by his nickname. It had been a while since she had called him by his full name. She was so used to calling him Ace now that it seemed almost strange to use his first name like that. "Tenacius. He's a Gryffindor in my year," she smiled. A fellow housemate and a really, really good friend. Well more than a friend. "What about you? Anyone special?" she asked as she raised her eyebrows at the Slytherin. There must have been a ton of people that liked Vivian. Merlin. What was not to like about her? Vivian was amazing.

As Olivia scanned the aisles for Mars Bars, her shoulders slumped a little bit when she couldn't see any. "Merlin.. Must have mistaken it for something else or maybe I really just want a Mars Bars," she laughed.

But...? She waited for the kid to continue, but apparently he'd gotten distracted and was now waving a chocolate frog around.

Er. Sure.

It took a moment to realise he'd been trying to attraction the attention of someone already in the queue. She'd have felt sorry for the boy, but it looked as though he'd already got a few things. With a shrug, she turned back to the boxes of chocolates on the shelves, putting the one of dark chocolate down so she could investigate a selection of caramels.

A smile spread across her face. Caramel had been her favourite bar for her birthday growing up. Maybe-

Oh, the kid was talking to her again.

"Like that one...?" she nodded to a box straight ahead of him, about waist height. "They exist, but always have some crummy ones in. Like ones that you think have soft caramel in, and instead have sticky, hard toffee that glues yeh teeth together." She'd made they mistake at her brother's house last Christmas.

Deciding that she would go for the caramels, she put the milk chocolate box back too. "I do. You gonna be starting at the castle soon?" He looked about the right age.

There was something about an annual Sugarplums trip that was mandatory EVERY summer, but even more so important THIS summer for a variety of reasons. Numero uno; summer before her OWL year which meant being hyped up on sweets was not simply an option this year. She wondered vaguely about trying some of that coffee Professor Newton was so very fond of as well... as it might help with staying awake to study extra.

But for now, she was not going to think about the studies too much because it was summer. Which meant quidditch and sunshine and her birthday and her first summer with a boyfriend! One whom she happened to be rather fond of, which was awesome. Smiling when she spotted him fumbling with his coins, she slipped her arm to loop his, "What do you reckon might be the best study candy? Because I want the entire stock of that." oops. So much for not talking about studies.

Was it obvious to Olivia that Vivian was sorta excited for their in-between classes adventures? It probably was. The blonde was wiggling in her place!

But ugh, yes! Blood pops. Vivian made a face as they came across a whole pack of them in the shelf. "Yeah, those red ones," she said, pointing and cringing at the sweets. Were they even supposed to be considered as sweets?! "I'm not sure if they're actually made of blood, but I guess vampire kids fancy them?" Or those with wolfish mannerisms. It's not that Vivian minded, but she just didn't think the blood pops appealed to her so she was going to avoid them as much as possible. "And perhaps acid pops... if you wanted a hole on your tongue." Which she hopes won't happen! No way! But now she had her eyes on those pumpkin pasties. Did she want some of those? Hmm, Vivian would have to contemplate on that for a while.

Still, something about the jobs of a barista -- THAT was the word! -- pretty much interested Vivian. Handling the coffee and doing those pretty art with the foam. It just amazed her. "Is it hard? Handling the machine thing, that is. It kinda looks complicated from a customer's point of view," she had to ask. She always only found herself staring and contemplating on life whenever she watched the barista person do his thing. Vivian couldn't help but giggle at the 'check out people' part. She even wiggled her eyebrows at the comment. "There's nothing wrong with checking people out," she had to say. If there were attractive people out there, why not appreciate such beauty?

The name 'Ace' didn't really ring the bell yet, but the name 'Tenacius' definitely did! A wide grin grew on Vivian's face. "The prefect, yeah?" Just to make sure they were talking about the same guy. That would have been awkward! "Sooooo, how'd it go? Are you guys official now?" The important questions needed to be asked, because Vivian would definitely support whoever made her friends happy! But then the conversation shifted towards her, and the blonde sort of just smiled and shook her head. "No one special," she said. "Unless getting butterflies in your stomach whenever you see someone is considered special." Were her feelings for Andrei considered a crush, anyway? She didn't know, but she was positive that she didn't just think of him as just a friend. It was more than that.

The expression on Olivia's face made Vivian giggle a little. "Perhaps there are some Mars Bars outside, in Muggle London," the blonde beamed. "There are great ones in here that aren't Mars Bars." Like loooooads of them!

Vampire kids? Olivia blinked. Sure, she had read about vampires in books and whatnot but she had never ran across a vampire in her life so far (thank MEEEERLIN) for that. So the whole notion of vampires seemed like a far off concept but when Vivian mentioned them, she realized that they were actually much closer to what she would have liked to think. She shivered slightly and then began eying other customers as they walked past. Everyone was now a suspect for sure. Olivia just had to make sure to keep an eye on them. Mhmm.. "Both sound waaaay more painful than I'm willing to sign up for," laughed Olivia. Sure, she had a high pain tolerance but still... Acid burning a whole in her tongue? No thank you! She'd pass on that experience.

Handling the coffee machine was hard.... "Yeah, I think so but I think its cause I haven't found my rhythm yet for it. I think that once I get into the rhythm of it all. It will come more naturally. My boss keeps telling me that I think too much when I do it." Overcomplicate and over worry about all the sentences that she's just said? Yep, that was Olivia Holden recently. She was very aware at finding all of the possible meanings of the phrases that escaped her lips. She laughed a little with Vivian. Yes, she was right. There wasn't nothing wrong with checking people out especially when she wasn't dating someone but still.... She felt guilty for some reason because emotionally she was sort of taken...? Or maybe that was just her. "True. The barista did have many interesting stories about people leaving her their number," she smiled.

She nodded. Yes, Olivia Holden had a very big crush on the Gryffindor male Prefect. He was a great person and just.... just... fantastic? She could have used so many other words to describe her but none of them truly fit him. He was just... wonderful. *SWOON*. Hold up. Was Olivia Holden just swooning over a guy? What happened to her independent ways back at Beauxbatons and last year? Well... half of last year. Nope. That was gone. Her cheeks turned pink. "Yep, that's him! Gryffindor Prefect and one of my closest friends." Seriously she couldn't imagine Hogwarts without him or Noelle or Etta or Mel o Jace. It'd be so weird without them. THEN Olivia turned the BRIGHTEST red of shade (way redder than she was before). Were they official? That was the million dollar question. "Well you see... I.... I don't know. I don't think so. We're taking things slow," she rambled. She had no clue. Ace and her had never really talked about what they were... They had just gone out on dates and enjoyed each other's company. Yes, she knew how much she meant to him based on his actions and she was pretty certain that he knew how much he meant to her. But they were taking this sloooooow. Now Vivian and a certain someone...? Olivia almost hadn't caught that murmur but had. Thank goodness for good hearing. Sure her eyesight was just okay but her hearing was great. Butterflies in your stomach? She smiled. "Then that person must be special or you must think they're special to be making you feel that way." That was the way she felt whenever she saw Ace. She felt comfortable with him always but still she always got the butterfly feeling seeing him.... smile. AHEM. What was happening to Miss independent? Earth to Olivia? She blinked and she was back with Vivian. "So who is this person?"

Yes, Vivian was right. There were most likely plenty of Mars Bars outside of this store at other muggle convenience stores. Olivia beamed. "Yes, plenty of times to grab a quick mars bars before going home!"

Well, yes. Vivian wouldn't dare try any of those sweets either. But she couldn't help but giggle at Olivia's reaction and obvious eyeing at the customers around. Well, who knew, right? Maybe one of them was disguised as a totally normal person when in fact he or she was a vampire! Oh, the possibilities. Better to remain vigilant in that case. "Definitely!" Vivian laughed a little and mentally placed an 'X' on that in her list of sweets to buy. "Well then, let's pass on those." She'd rather eat sweets that actually made her enjoy and not moan in pain and disgust.

Now, talking about the connection between the coffee machine and rhythm was interesting. Vivian, being a music enthusiast, nodded along to what Olivia said. "Don't be disheartened! You'll get it right soon, don't you worry!" The blonde said as she beamed wide at the Gryffindor. Vivian definitely sucked at playing the guitar the first time she received it for her twelfth birthday, but it was safe to say that her constant practice (and maybe a few broken strings) did her well in the long run. The next comment about Olivia's co-barista made the blonde giggle. "That's really smooth!" She wondered what she would've done if someone slipped them her number. Perhaps aside from her dad burning the paper into ashes, that is. "Did you get any slipped numbers yourself?" Especially from pretty looking guys?

GIGGLE. Vivian definitely wiggled her eyebrows more at Olivia, especially after noticing her change of expression. "I hope he's treating you well because then he'll have to face me," she said. Well, Vivian was't menacing at all, but she'd do anything to make sure her friends were in the right hands. Girls got to have each other's backs, okay? "And you should update meeeee about that stuff!" Like if ever Tenacius will ask her out. THAT kind of stuff. But... oh, so Olivia did hear the murmur. Vivian turned a little pink, which she usually didn't do. This Fairfield wasn't a blusher at all! She opened her mouth to say something, but the words totally escaped her. So butterflies were special? She made a mental note. Indeed, and obviously, Vivian Fairfield wasn't well-versed in the topic of teenage emotions. "His name's Andrei..." she said, a tiny smile growing. The thought of him always made her happy, even the slightest in a bad day. "We're in the same year, but he goes to Durmstrang." It never bothered Vivian before that Andrei went to a school so far away from hers. In fact, it made their frequent letters more meaningful. His words put into handwriting had such a power of making her feel better. However, despite the amount of times she wished she could hang out with him, she knew they couldn't. Why did Hogwarts and Durmstrang have to be miles and miles and miiiiiiles away?

Olivia smiled gratefully at Vivian's warm encouragements. Yes, she would get it soon. Practice and patience make perfect. "Thanks. You're right. Soon I'll be a pro and I'll have to make you a delicious beverage of your choice," she beamed. Maybe she could even practice those skills back at Hogwarts in the room of requirement so that her skills wouldn't become rusty. To her co-barista, Olivia nodded. Yeah... She was really cool and just awesome in general. Beautiful, spunky, and her own person and very, very flirtatious. She kind of reminded the girl of the Illvermornian champion Louise. She turned bright red when Vivian asked her about if she had gotten any number's slipped to her. "Yes, I have... Several times..." Though she had never gone on any dates with the guys as this had been over Christmas Break when she.... when she was interested in someone else and it was the beginnings of something new. "Though the funniest story I have is a sweet elderly gentleman coming in and asking me how my day was. I was just myself and then he told me about his grandson that I should meet. Next day, he comes back in with his cute grandson." Olivia laughed, remembering how caught off guard she had been at the whole situation.

Ace treating her well? Oh yes he was! Vi beamed at Vivian's comment. "Don't worry, he's treating me really well." Besides if he wasn't, there was Vivian, Mel, Noelle, and Etta all there. Between the four of them, it certainly wouldn't end well. However, that would never ever happen.... right? The idea of him hurting her in such a way seemed foolish but what if it did happen? She brushed the thought aside. It was not time to worry about that. He cared so much for her and she for him. Impossible thoughts and worries. "Yes, well if he and I become official then I will let you know," winked Olivia. That was.... a topic that she didn't know how to broach with Ace. Yes, they cared for each other a lot but they both didn't want to rush into anything. Rushing into things ended badly. That's what adults said. She was enjoying this phase of their relation-friend-ship? Now enough about her own relationship-friendship dilemmas.... Olivia couldn't help but smile more when she heard the guy's name that Vivian was SO crushing on (even if the girl was in denial). "Andrei, hey? That's a nice name," she added and nodded as she listened to Vivian speak. Then she mentioned that he was from Durmstrang. It was sad that he didn't go to Hogwarts so that the two could spend more time together and so Olivia could check out this Andrei fellow to make sure he was a decent guy for Vivian. "How did you two meet?"

Of course Henry had to make his yearly summer visit to Sugarplums before he headed off to Hogwarts. And he knew it was still a few weeks before he'd board the train, but he had a free afternoon so he thought he'd make the stop while he was thinking about it.

He still liked chocolate frogs though admittedly not as much as he was younger. Maybe it was the healthier eating he tried to adopt while training for Quidditch. Or maybe it was simply the fact that he was getting a little older. But it was still a nice treat once in awhile and he still needed one more card to complete his collection. Not to mention he needed to have a little stockpile at Hogwarts. His last year at Hogwarts.

He really didn't want to think of it that way, not yet at least, even if it was true. But he was intent on enjoying it and making this year the best one yet. First he needed some chocolate frogs and a few other kinds of sweets.

Yoyo was hanging on almost painfully tight to Sayid's hand, boa constrictor tight, and Sayid was a little more than worried the 7 year old would be cutting off his circulation sooner rather than later- and yet, he couldn't convince himself to shake her off. his daughter was swinging and dancing through the candy-lined aisles with the brightest smile. He wasn't about to mess that up.

"Papi, Papi-" Yoyo began, dragging him to a large section of very pink confectionaries. "Papi, look- look- They have the Piffle Princess gum, Papi."
The words came out at a mile a minute, accompanied by much pointing and pushing.

Sayid bit his tongue, a laugh was forming somewhere in the back of his throat. a laugh he believed he needed to hold back to be what the public perceived to be a good papi. But damned if this wasn't all sort of freaking hilarious. "Yeah? You, uh... You want it? What's it do?" He picked up the neon pink box with his free hand, grimacing as the box began to sing obnoxiously of a princess and her doomed prince.

"It transforms you into a princess, you chew the gum and you, you chew it- mash it up, blow a bubble and the bubble gets real real real big and it pops and when it pops- you change- your clothes change and everythin' changes- Can I get it? please, please, Please, papi??" Yolanda Luna asked, saucer green eyes peeking up at him from beneath a mess of thick black hair.

"Maybe..." He teased, relinquishing Yoyo's hand while she was distracted and wrapped his arm around her little shoulder instead.

"Papiiiiiiii. pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-

"We gotta ask your mom-

"No! she's gonna say no- PleEAseeee!"

In Sayid's opinion, the conversation was carrying on much longer than it needed to, but that was the way it was with Yolanda Luna.

"We can have this one...and this one.....you like this one too, yeah?" This visit was long overdue...perhaps too overdue given the snot nosed children now crowding the alley--but her candy bag was just about done and she'd be damned if she left herself to deal with a two year old without her hourly fix.

"Holy Merlin, Emm, LOOK!" It was safe to say that Alexa Cambridge had no chill when surrounded by this much sugar and the kid on her hip was no better. The little one reached for everything her mother pointed out to her, eagerly trying to fit them all into her tiny hands as she was quite reluctant to set them in the basket. Were this another store, Lex may have firmly reminded her the things did NOT belong to her but....all this sugar....it was a regular shopping spree. Halloween had come hella early.

"Oh, go grab that one for mummy." She suggested, setting her down to grab the cauldron cakes from the bottom shelf. The only problem came when she saw the one...then tried for the other....and another....

Pretty soon the candy was falling all about the floor but the little miss didn't care, oh no. She'd heard voices and had headed down the aisle. Curiously, Lex watched her go, following at a close enough distance while hazel eyes continued to scan the shelves. Emmerson made it all the way to the end before turning into the next. There, she saw familiar people, but not quite familiar in her memory for her to do much more than stand there staring. Green eyes locked onto the pair momentarily before turning to the Princess gum. "That." But before she could properly make demands, she was being scooped up, back into arms she knew very well.

"And here I thought I'd seen everything." There was nothing to hide the amused look as she properly entered the aisle to admire the gorgeous face that was Sayid pappadeaux. Today he would be the one to deal with a demanding child and the idea left her positively tickled.

Brent eyed the chocolate frogs much in the same way a kid would eye a Christmas present. There was just something about all that chocolate that drew him in. Plus, even though he was pretty much sixteen years old now, he still got excited to find out what kind of card he'd get inside. He dropped one of the frogs into his basket, paused, and then dropped a second one inside. Maybe he'd even buy some candy for that certain someone special. He had just raised his arm to put something else into his basket, when he felt someone loop their arm with his. Either somebody was getting just a little too close to his personal space, OR it was his amazingly hot girlfriend.

...and then he heard her.

"Who cares about studying?" he jokingly asked. He was FINISHED with OWLs. He knew she wasn't, though, so hence the joking tone. "What's your favorite? It's on me." She probably had loads of her own money, but he just wanted to do something special for her...and candy was SPECIAL. He didn't want to get all mushy with her, but he was really glad she'd shown up. When he first met her, he never thought he'd like her this much...but he did. He kind of, sort of, really, definitely hoped they stayed together.

"So what'cha doing today? Busy or something, or can I keep you with me?" he asked.

She grinned when he didn't object AT ALL to the arm linking, because well, why should he? She was pretty adorable, if she cared to admit so herself. Shaking her head, Skylar rolled her eyes. "Oh you know, like anyone who actually cares about their future." Her, obviously, foremost given that she started prepping a full year ahead of time.

"Didn't I just say I wanted everything?" She teased, but of course she hadn't said that exactly. No wait, what had she said? All of the good study food. "But if you insist, then these are good." She plopped a bag of the cockroach clusters into his basket, along with a box of chocolate cauldrons too. She wasn't limited to just one thing, was she?

"Hmm, well, today just so happens to be your lucky day. I'm all yours." In more ways than one, but no need to be all mushy.

Emmerson might not have outright recognized Sayid and Yolanda but that was not the case for her father and half-sister. The reactions of the two were strikingly similar; a blink- a gasp and the widening of identical green eyes. "Emmser!" Yoyo said, getting over her momentary shock to become a beaming being of innocent happiness. They might have had different moms and all but it wasn't weird plenty of other kids she knew had two moms or no moms or sometimes even one mom and two dads- Emmerson was her baby sister and nothing was better than seeing her baby sister (okay, except maybe new things or coloring just in the lines, or falling asleep in her mom's arms).

A second later and tia alexa was picking up Emmerson and giving Papi that look that grown women were always giving him. "Hola, Tia Lexa- I didn't think you guys were gonna be here- did you and papi plan this as a surprise for me and Emmers? You know if you two wanted to surprise us you could have just bought is some gifts, this is good too- and you love candy right? Papi told me you love candy. I love candy too." the little latina talked on, her voice louder than necessary as she played with the hem of Emmerson's dress and smiled bright and big for Alexa.

Sayid couldn't even get a word in with Yoyo going on like this, but he wasn't the type to cut the kid off. Not when she was just harmlessly rambling on and besides, he was too busy giving Alexa a look which showed exactly what he thought of her little amused grin. He could have kicked himself, the one place on this earth he should've bet on meeting Alexa Cambridge was a well stocked candy store. He wet his lips, cherry lollipop reddened tongue peeking out. "Thought it was an auror's job not to be surprised." he playfully sneered. The expression shifted, but only a little as the dark man watched his little blonde daughter.

"my little honey." he grinned then, a little self-indulgently. This wasn't going to be pleasant for long. He had to enjoy it while the moment lasted and his money was still in his pocket.

Her name in the 7 year old's mouth brought a wide grin to the little girl's face but Lex wasn't fooled, Emmerson couldn't completely remember or she'd have been yelling her name loud enough for people back over at the Leaky Cauldron to hear. Kid's heart may have been wonky but her lungs were just fine.

For her part, Lex did her best to indulge the little girl who prattled on to her. This wasn't to say she didn't like her--not at all, she'd grown fond of her. The problem came in that she didn't usually have to split her attention when Sayid was around--because these two usually were not and she could openly and happily appreciate this man in the way she liked and was used to. Seeing him like this with a 2 year old lodged on your hip and a 7 year old full of grins and long sentences tended to make this a little more difficult.

Nevertheless, she was indulging...in fact, "You're getting more clever by the day, Yoyo!" She said, returning the grin. "Your Daddy and I did plan this, he owled me up, said he wanted to buy us all candy then take us to a fancy lunch and buy you girls some neat toys afterwards. I didn't wanna ruin the surprise but...you got us." He was out of his mind if he didn't see his 7 year old lead him into that one.

Finally, she allowed her gaze to shift to his, the amusement not lost for even a second. "Nonsense. What joy would there be if I knew everything that was gonna happen? Reckon I'd have a boring life and no little head of blonde curls nudging me awake every morning." Speaking of the little blonde, she was lowered to the ground at her request, at which point she walked over to her sister and again pointed at the gum. "Mine?" She asked, small hand extended and her most earnest expression given. Sayid she gave very little attention, as was typical unless she'd been given over to him to spend the day without her mother.

"You should have told me you'd be in London, we could've made real plans for later." To be honest she'd already made plans in the split second she saw him, he just didn't now it yet.

"Yeah, we could tell Mum, Dad, Daddy Cos, and Mummy Liz that we'll share with Helena and everyone if they insist." Candy was good. Elisa liked having nieces and nephews so close to their age. Made things fun and everything. She wanted to share the most of the happy times with Alana as much as possible.

Elisa looked at the fudge that Alana wanted to get, "That does look good," She was tempted to get some of her own too, but the more candy the better for her as she took a basket. "Do you think Wade and Bart will like this one too?" Picking up the Cockroach clusters. She knew big brother Wade loved anything with pickles, but pickle candy was hard to find here.

"Psh," Brent jokingly said, in reply to her comment about OWLs. He was done with OWLs, and NEWTs weren't until next year. He could afford to joke. "I care about my future, and I'm not making plans to study." He grinned at her and cast a wink. "Just kidding. You're going to do awesome, and you know it. Miss Top Points Earner." Speaking of which, he should probably try to help out with that house cup a little more next school year. "Just remember to spare some time for your boyfriend, mmkay?"

Brent shrugged. He couldn't afford everything, but he was good with eating everything he had the money for today. He smiled when she added two items to his basket. "I'm so glad you're not the kind of girl who's embarrassed to eat in front of me," he said. Seriously...why would girls do that? Everybody ate, so it was really no big deal. Plus, it just meant they could do really cool things together, like share an ice cream sundae or something.

"All mine?" he asked. "Sounds awesome." He looked into the basket that was filled with his two chocolate frogs and the candy she'd chosen. "Let's go pay for this then head off to do something fun. Start thinking about what you want to do." Then he started for the front counter to pay for the candy.

Her mom's birthday was fast approaching, and today Kitty was buying her presents. She knew what kinds of deserts her mom liked. Of course desserts were only one of the things she was buying for her - right after here she'd transport to Hogsmeade and buy the rest.

But within moments of entering the candy store she caught sight of a familiar face.

"Oh, Henry!" she squealed upon spotting her co-prefect. She walked right up and wrapped her arms around him in a hug (he wouldn't mind, right?) and said, "How are you Henry? How's your summer going?"

She was half listening to her sister, not because she didn't like candy, no she loved candy, but because she resented her sister. She didn't want to resent her but she did. She hated that she got to get magic and Alana didn't, she hated that she got her Hogwarts letter and Alana didn't. She felt like she was getting abandoned by the only person that was supposed to be stuck with her forever. It was a twin thing, but yet they wouldn't be twins in a month, no, they would be in two different schools and living two different lives. It just wasn't fair.

She let her eyes turn as she heard Elisa say Lz's name, "Liz would probably let us and if not I know Cossy would. We could really play it on them so they felt guilty and bought us stuff." Step parents were easy.
Pointing to the fudge she wanted when the shopkeeper asks she turned and looked at her sister. "They can come buy their own. They have jobs."
Both were professional quidditch players so she assumed they wouldn't be mad if she kept her money mom had given to buy a cool skirt or sunglasses and not candy for them.

"I bet our nephews or niece would like some." Even though she was only eleven she did love being Aunt Alana to them.

Skylar smiled. "Listen, just cause you were a Hogwarts Champion and top four of two great wizarding schools, doesn't mean you can scuff off your studies," she winked. "Eh, I hope so! I'm like freaking out already, because like after this ... well these exams decide my future ... i don't even really know what I want to do. Some type of healing, maybe, but like if I don't well...." she trailed off, sighing but then glanced over at him at his next comment and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Of course. I need some sense of calm and nonchalantness in my daily routines." Which was the truth, in so many ways, because in the few months they'd been dating (or wait, was it 10 months already?) and two years they'd known each other, his carefree sense of humor and sarcasm had this calming effect on her. This stability she so desperately needed and one of the things she loved most.

"Please. Why should I be embarrassed to eat in front of you? Everybody eats!" And food was amazing and lovely and warm feelings of more things she loved about Brent Westwood.

"Always and forever," she reached for his hand to intertwine her fingers with his. "Sounds good. I've already got my books and robes and a beater's bat of my very own... so maybe we can just window shop? Unless you needed something?"