For some reason, Benjy had found himself nervous about Uncle O's visit. To him, at least, it seemed slightly out of the blue - and he wasn't entirely sure whether that was a good or a bad thing. Garrick was the one who could read between the lines. Benjy couldn't.

He'd walked down to the village today, his skateboard tucked away in his trunk. It'd feel awkward, hauling that around whilst strolling with Uncle O. He checked his watch as he approached the High Street, and tucked the stray dreadlocks of hair back under his woolly hat. He didn't think he was about to get told off by his favourite Uncle, but Kalla clearly disliked how matted his hair had become, so he'd decided to keep it hidden. Discretion. Hah, maybe he had picked something up from Garrick's absence.

And there he was. Benjy couldn't help but grin as he saw his Uncle standing there. "Hey Uncle O," he greeted. Hug?

Brogan had seen Benjy coming long before he got too near. Yeah, he had great eyesight and was watching his nephew closely. INSPECTING him.

...

He had an earring.

And why was he wearing that hat? How old were those pants he had on? Was he eating well? Merlin... Benjy's mother was going to off him if he didn't look after all these damned kids better.

And how HE had become the go to for all Ogden children he was unsure about, but whatever. He was apparently the patriarch of the family or some such.

Setting the packages down beside his leg he gave Benjamin a tight lipped smile and pulled in for a quick, but warm hug. "I don't like that earring."

Yep. That was the only criticism he would give at the moment.

"How come Kalla didn't come along? Has she too much on her plate?"

Looking up at Uncle O, the first thing Benjy noticed was the tighter than usual smile, and whilst he enjoyed the warmth of his Uncle's hug, it still unsettled him slightly. Moreso, when the patriarch mentioned his earring. Benjy subconsciously fiddled with the fang that hung there, and bit his lip. He wasn't going to apologise for it, but at the same time, he disliked the feeling of his uncle's disapproval. His mother seemed to disapprove of many things, so giving her something else was actually fun, in a weird kind of way. But his uncle? Well, he was different.

He and his uncle actually got on.

Benjy rubbed his lips together, and gave a slight shrug. "Think she said something about some reading or something." Not like she really told him anything.

Brogan playfully flicked at Benjamin's lip and shook his head. "You'll chew a hole through that thing one day. And I hear a bottom lip is a terrible thing to be without." Just saying.

"Garrick sends his best." Yeah, he had not long ago left Durmstrang visiting his youngest child. He was doing better. MUCH better. Not nearly as soft anymore.

And the sub par answer about Kalla made him lock his eyes with Benjamin. "You two aren't getting along, then? Figured as much might happen. She's a handful at the best of times." Sweet angel of a child, though. Usually.

Nudging the gifts he motioned for Benjy to pick them up. "Packages for the both of you. Things from the lot of us. Stretching charms on the boxes... didn't want to carry multiples."

Now they could walk a ways, yes?

Mhm.

Chelle walked down the Hogsmeade street with a small sigh. It was nice to be in a place of her past but... It felt weird, she had always come here with Robin and Damon and now she was short of both of them. Robin and her were spending a bit of time apart with the incidents in Ireland, and then Damon was... well, just gone. She choked up slightly and paused in her walking to pull out a tissue and wipe her eyes off. Biological or not that was her son, and now she was trying to prepare to go to his funeral. She was mainly here to try to find his old friends and let them know the day the funeral would be, but she also wanted to know who would want, or for better words, could say something at his viewing. She sighed as she started to walk again, she would not have a breakdown here, not in front of a bunch of strangers. She was a Davis, proud and strong, she would not have people pitying her. Not here and not now, so she straightened and kept her head high. She would not be that woman that just sobbed uncontrollably and had people come and try to console her anymore. She was strong, and she knew what she needed to do, then she could go home and mourn more.

Oh that smile. What a pretty smile. Gosh. The way she was thinking, you'd have thought Adelaide had never interacted with a boy before. She would definitely not mind getting lost with him. Not at all. "Oui." God that word sounded strange coming out of her mouth with her London accent. Sounded much better with his.

Addi started to walk, hoping he was still with her. His question kind of caught her off guard, but she didn't let it show. "Yes I go to Hogwarts. I was homeschooled up until this year. I'm Adelaide by the way."

Dylan's first trip to Hogsmeade! He was so excited!

The first year eagerly made his way along the street, pausing to take in everything around him. He shivered in his sweater slightly as he studied the shops. They were all brightly lit inside, and they all looked very nice and cozy. His eyes then moved to the middle of the street, where it was already buzzing with people. It was rather busy today. The boy glanced around himself, wondering if any of his friends were around. Surely there had to be someone he knew. Most students would come to Hogsmeade on Hogsmeade weekends, right? Yeah. He was sure of it. Frowning, he walked off to the side and waited to see a familiar face.

Benjy simply rubbed his lips together at his Uncle's playing ticking off, and gave him a knowing smile.

A smile that widened at the name of his cousin. "How's he getting on?" he asked, eyes hopeful for more information. "We've been writing, but I'm guessing you've been to see him too? Hopefully he'll be sending me some photos soon, so I can see what it all looks like better. I find it hard to imagine from the descriptions."

...and then to the other cousin. Sigh. "Honestly, I'm not sure. It seems to come and go." He looked up at his Uncle with his grey eyes. "We seem to at least be more open with each other, which has helped somewhat." That, and the fact that she got to practice hitting bludgers at him on a regular basis, no doubt.

Benjy picked up the packages with a grin. "You didn't need to, Uncle O," he said with grin. "But I'm not gonna complain that you did." Multiple things from the family? Intriguing. It'd be a fun evening tonight rummaging through what he'd been sent. A food package from his Aunt, maybe? Something manly from his Uncle? ...some sensible socks from his mother?

He fell into step with his Uncle, and glanced around Hogsmeade. "So, is there any news from home?"

Logan was finally at Hogsmeade. The day to meet up with his best friend was finally here, and he was filled with excitement. The boy quickly walked along the high street, glancing around himself, scanning the crowd of people for Ella. He frowned when he didn't see her. She was coming, right? He was pretty positive she was...and really hoped so. The boy had been dying to see his best friend ever since they planned on it while owling each other. Sighing, he leaned against one of the walls of the shops and watched the people pass by, waiting to see that familiar blonde hair.

Logan.

Ella was running late to meet him but only because she'd got caught up buying sweets for them to share. He wouldn't be too mad once he saw them, yeah? And hopefully he wasn't an icicle cause she'd kept him waiting around for so long. Hopefully.

Wandering down the street, the blonde peeked into shop windows and along the walkway in search of her best friend but she didn't see any-

OH!

"Logan!" Waveeeeeeeeee! Hi. Hi Logan. We see you!

Maybe she had already gone off to a shop or something? Logan sighed, glancing at his watch. Shivering, he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head. Merlin, it was getting rather chilly. He was about to set off to search the shops when suddenly, he caught a glimpse of some bright blonde hair and before he could turn to check if it was Ella, the person nearly bumped into him. Grinning at the sight of Ella, relief swept over him and he waved back with much excitement. "Ella! Hai!" he said, giving her a quick hug.

He was here!

Obviously considering he was hugging her but she was excited, okay? She gave him a squish before pulling away to look at him properly. He looked older, y'know? Cold too. Was he really cold? She'd probably kept him waiting too long. "I'm so sorry, Logan. But ...I brought you something!" She got bonus points for this, right? And smiling, the seventeen year old held up the bag from Honeydukes sheepishly. "You'll have to share, of course." GRIN. Best friends shared, right?

"It's really good to see you in person. Letters aren't the same."

Logan waved a hand. "It's no problem! Don't worry about it," he said, then he smiled when she gave him a bag of Honeydukes candy. D'aww. "Ella, thank you! That's so sweet! And sharing won't be a problem. Oh! I got you something as well..." he said, digging in his large coat pocket and pulling out the little pink bag of cookies. He quickly took a peek inside and seeing that none of them had broken, he smiled and handed them over to her. It had taken a while but he had made them as perfect as he could.

Hey, it was date time again! Cat had been in and out of Hogsmeade as much as she possibly could on their limited time. She'd been around with Elodie and Charlie, spying on the other school kids, and then chatting up Professor Facial Hair and learning all about Greece, but this was going to be her favorite part for sure.

Cat slid her gloved fingers between Mo's and gave his hand a swing as they walked. "Where are we going? Did we pick? Do you want to pick?"

Mo tightened the scarf around his own neck and fussed at Cat's collar before responding. It was cold, was all, and he liked having an excuse to touch her, even if it was just her clothing. Hi, there, girlfriend. Warm enough?

"Three Broomsticks is fine, unless you'd prefer somewhere else. Let's avoid that Puddifoot's... it's cheesy, and I"m supposed to be the only cheesy thing in your life." Other than cheese, cheese danish, and lasagna. Okay, so maybe there was a short list of cheesy things that were appropriate.

He took Cat's hand again. "Are you hungry?"

How was he getting on? Brogan thought it over for a moment before smiling tightly once more. "He's getting on... fine. I am sure he'll send photos soon, lad. Transitional period and whatnot." Not to mention all of the fighting and dueling he hazd gotten into trouble for. Kid was being a pain at the moment. But at least he wasn't crying about his life. That was an improvement.

Nodding. Brog did it. And he walked aways, hands tucked into his pockets. "She is sick, Benjamin. Take it easy with her." Need he remind the child that girls were more sensitive... despite how she put on. Heh.

And he shrugged slightly at the boy and gave him a nod. "You'll know what's from me I reckon." New chess board and pieces were his signature gift after all.

"Nah. Nothing exciting. Jessa didn't return home from her intern. Seems she's shacked up with some boy in New York. Edan is doing much better. Still in Merlin forsaken Fiji though. Otherwise everything is as usual." SHouldn't have told the kid all of that, perhaps. But oh well.

OH WELL.

Brogan was tired. And he had been traveling all over the world delivering packages like he was a glorified ELF of some sort. It was madness.

Cat made bitey motions in the direction of Mo's fingers. He was messing about with her coat and such and generally being adorable and she just felt the need to bite at his fingers. Hello back, boyfriend. To answer his unspoken question, Cat let go of his hand and instead, wrapped her arm around his. Walking closer would allow them to share more body heat.

Or more like allow her to steal body heat from him. It was a win for both of them, right?

And the other question. She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. Did he really need an answer to that? No. Surely he didn't. He knew she was always hungry. She nodded anyway, "I prefer 'adorable' but.. I could eat, cheesy." And the Three Broomsticks was a good place to do it.

"Adorable is just another word for what you call someone cheesy when you have a deep appreciation for cheesy things," Mo insisted, although he preened just a little bit at the adjective. Unless she was suggesting the shop was adorable, in which case he was preening on behalf of Puddifoot's.

"I hear the subtext. It was a really stupid question, and of course you're hungry." He cuddled back against her and turned them both in the direction of the pub. Hopefully it wasn't too crowded and they'd be able to find decent seating. Together. At the same table and everything.

And ideally not sharing with anyone else.

"If you're sure."But of course she'd still worry, it was what Ellas did. Second nature kind of stuff and all that. She returned the smile, though. It was a big one too. "You're welcome. I figured we hadn't shared sweets in a while." Sad but true. And he had something for her? That was unexpected.

The blonde reached over and took the pink bag, peeking inside. COOKIES? "Logan, did you bake these?" Curious Ella was curious. Not that it mattered or anything. Cookies were a spectacular gift no matter who did the baking. Unless it was someone really awful at cooking or something. "And thank you, they look and smell delicious!"

"Well, I do like cheese. Without it, life would be so very sad. I mean, lasagna without cheese? That's just madness!" Extreme madness, in fact. "But adorable, that's something I like to call my boyfriend when he thinks he's cheesy cause sometimes he is but so am I and it's mostly just adorable."

Also, Marcus Branxton was adorable. He just was.

"Not stupid, more like.... unnecessary. The answer is usually a given." Cat grinned. She was always up for food. Except for that time she'd been sick. That had been weird.

He smiled a small smile, she actually said it. "You speak French beautiful, are you sure you don't know ze language. Her London accent though made it sound more mystical... Hmm...He liked zat. He looked around Hogsmeade sure was different.

Seeing Adelaide start walking Beau started as well. "A'. 'omeschooled? Was zat fun? I 'ad to beg my parents to let me go to Beauxabonts..." And Adelaide a beautiful name..." A' and now a beautiful name to match a beautiful girl." He gave a bow, being raised by his family you did that when ever you introduced yourself, "I am Beau Gagnon and it is wonderful to meet you, Ms. Adelaide."

"Thanks." Thank god it was cold out because her cheeks were definitely turning red. Probably almost as red as her hair. Adelaide did her best to cover up what she was thinking. Yep. No thinking those kinds of things right now.

She shrugged. This was conversation she could keep without making a fool of herself. "It was all right. Overprotective?" That was her reason and the whole thinking she was a freak thing, but she wasn't going to talk about that. Cue more blushing. Adelaide kind of wished she had a scarf to cover her face. She giggled a little when he bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Beau." Should she curtsey? He bowed so yeah...right? No?

Dylan chuckled. "I'm sure." he told her, beginning to walk along with her down the street. He pulled his scarf a little more tighter around his neck and shivered slightly. It was starting to get a bit more cold lately, and it was too bad he had forgotten his warm jacket. This little sweatshirt wasn't helping much. Although, at least he had his fuzzy scarf and mittens. Hehe. Mittens were fun. The boy then nodded in agreement when she said they hadn't shared sweets in a while. "It's true, I've missed that. Speaking of which, why don't you take first pick?" he asked, beaming at her and holding the bag out towards her.

Logan nodded, a look of triumph upon his face. "I did," he said. They were probably the best cookies he had ever made. Heh. Sure, cookies were easy and all but Logan was a beginner. It was a big moment for him when he finished and perfected those cookies. "And you are very welcome." he added.

"Pizza without cheese," Mo offered helpfully. He was always so helpful. Obviously. He gave her a head tilt and a grin, just to let her know that he was going to take the adorable compliment, even if he didn't feel remotely adorable, and he wasn't going to argue about the necessity of cheese in the world. As a vegetarian, cheese was basically becoming one of his food groups.

He was probably doing this vegetarian thing wrong.

"Let me buy you lunch, girlfriend. I happen to be flush with Christmas money, and I'd rather spend it on you than on access to the library." Just saying.

He was cold. Ella tilted her head and observed what he was wearing, wishing she had something warmer to offer. She was smaller, though. Plus then she'd freeze and that wouldn't be helping either. "We can go inside somewhere and warm up if you're cold." There were places to eat and food didn't sound so bad right about now, even with all the candy. Speaking of, she got to have some now? "Brilliant. I'll take...a Liquorice Wand." Yum.

"I didn't know you baked cookies." She could add that to the list now though. Would he send her cookies with letters from now on, then? She was going to try one too. Right now so he could see her reaction and everything. Digging into the bag, the blonde pulled one out and bit into it. Hmmm... "Dib if dilifous!" Nom.Nom.Nom.

Talking with your mouth full probably wasn't lady-like, was it?