Benny could understand the boring part. Even if he was the more held back or shy member of the duo, he still did like occasionally being around the occasional person he was close to. Especially in exchange of his parents. Like his bestie for sure. And maybe Angel. Speaking of which...

Getting one...for Angel? Benny followed Adi's glance towards the balloons that they were standing nearby, something the lion had missed. "Um..." he started to say before shrugging. He could see by the look in the Hufflepuff's eyes that his friend was back into teasing mode but he wasn't minding it as much as usual. Maybe because they were alone or something.

"Wasn't a date..." he corrected, since it truthfully wasn't. Just two friends and housemates who got together over the summer. Kinda like he and Adi were currently even though his and Angel's meeting had involved some planning not just them randomly running into each other. "We just met up and visited a couple of shops. No keeping you out of the loop...really." Not that he was one to tell about such things in letters. As if he had that sort of experience really.

Adi was thinking about the balloon animals. Maybe he could get a unicorn for AJ? A red one. He'd definitely have the yellow Hippogriff for himself. Benny needed a dragon. Unfortunately, he did not know what was Angel's favourite creature. Maybe Benny knew though.

"Sure...I bet in Angel's head she classified it as a date.'' Hehe. "Snogged her yet?'' Adi asked once again totally unabashed. Benny would be used to him asking questions point blank, yes? "You can tell me.'' That's what besties were for. LOL.

"Got all your supplies yet? Looking forward to fourth year? And Potions?'' Come on, Benny. Let's get those words tumbling out of you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Adi was thinking about the balloon animals. Maybe he could get a unicorn for AJ? A red one. He'd definitely have the yellow Hippogriff for himself. Benny needed a dragon. Unfortunately, he did not know what was Angel's favourite creature. Maybe Benny knew though.

"Sure...I bet in Angel's head she classified it as a date.'' Hehe. "Snogged her yet?'' Adi asked once again totally unabashed. Benny would be used to him asking questions point blank, yes? "You can tell me.'' That's what besties were for. LOL.

"Got all your supplies yet? Looking forward to fourth year? And Potions?'' Come on, Benny. Let's get those words tumbling out of you.

Benny wouldn't know if Angel considered it a date. Really the only part that could be truly considered that was the ice cream and he hadn't paid for hers so no, it wasn't a date. But he did know it had gotten weird after his confession and the kisses. That was for sure. He had thought he had broken Angel for good then.

"NO..." he answered emphatically at first. No snogging had occured, at least by the definition of snogging that is. "Though...we did kiss...each other's cheeks." Angel had actually kissed his twice but he held that back. No need to fuel the fire that was Adi's teasing on the subject. He was already trying to fight looking bashful.

"Most of them." Benny answered, knowing there was a few he was missing at the moment. Including for the dreaded potions that his bestie just had to mention. He swatted at the Hufflepuff in response. "You know I'm not," he commented shaking his head at his friend. "But fourth year as a whole I guess I am." Another year older and no doubt another round of challenges and adventures.

"WHat about you?"

Kace smirked so he wanted to see something interesting. He wondered what toy would live up to his expectations while being an awesome tour guide. He walked around making sure Devlin followed behind him and saw the list on the top of the store. He saw the self bouncing pogo sticks and decided to try one. "I mean if you are a bit daring there are self bouncing pogo sticks..." he smiled and got on one and started bouncing on it without falling off. "If you wanna try it be my guest.." he offered. After a bit he got off. "If you are a bit into the astronomy aspect there is mini shooting star set which is kind of cool.." he said showing him the box. "Then my personal favorite is the enchanted paper airplanes I mean these could bother anyone.." he winked and tried to aim it at him.

No.Possible.WAY.

If he wasn't seeing it before him, the boy would never believe that they finally got a new stock of self bouncing pogo sticks. He hadn't had one of those since he was like 8 and he DID wanna get one the other day but they were out. Blaise stepped closer to the display, marvelling at the beauties before him. It wasn't like he had a large amount of spending money on him but he could ACTUALLY GET THIS!!!!

The 11 year old reached forward to grab a red one. The only way he'd really know if it was the right one for HIM was to test it out, yeah? 'Least that's what he'd be telling himself so with THAT decided, Blaise hopped right on. "WHOA!" It was no time at all before he found himself being yanked this way and that by the stick that had no interest in stopping.

This way and that he zigged, holding his breath every time it came too close to one of the display shelves. Toppling one over would be the fastest way to get himself kicked out and he wasn't done having fun yet.

Boring. Shopping. Was. B O R I N G.

Which was why, naturally, Phillip had snuck off to do a bit of shopping of his own. Except, he wasn't calling it shopping. This was called EXPLORING the magnificent joke shop and all the goods within. Mhhhhhhhhm. Johnny didn't need to know where he was. Phillip was SURE his step-father was too busy picking out something for Kat so that she wouldn't be jealous that he was going to Hogwarts soon.

(HA HA Ka--

Oh COOL, was that an Auror Action Figure? The eleven year old picked it up and started examining it. Hmm, did it fight? Shoot spells? Because if not, then this toy was BORING and he would be DISAPPOINTED. But if it DID, he was gonna convince Johnny to buy some for him so that he could set up an action figure duel of his own in--

BOING BOING BOING........

HUH?

The boy whipped around, forgetting about the action figure almost as quickly as he had forgotten about his own sister at the sound of the boing-ing. COOL, someone was pogo-ing. Pogo-ing in the STORE. Unless he wasn't mistaken, this probably wasn't allowed, which made this even BETTER. Should he join in or should he wait for the boy to get into trouble and then snicker from the sidelines?

............. He was joining in.

Grabbing a pogo stick of his own from the display, Phillip hopped onto it and let it bound away after the other boy. That one. "OI!" Yeah, you! Pogo Boy! Whom he had now caught up with. "Race you to the balloons and back."

BOING BOING BOING.

Merlin this was harder than he remembered! Okay. Focus Blaise. Just.Had.To get.This thing--ugh! That wasn't right at all. The boy stuck his tongue out in serious concentration, trying to remember how he used to steer this thing all those years ago.

There were a couple of close calls with the shelves and at some point he felt his entire stomach jerking but oh was he determined. One way or another he would figure...how this thing....worked...

Huh?

Somehow Blaise managed to turn enough to spot another kid pogo-ing toward him. Now THAT kid had the right idea. The little boy watched him carefully figuring it wouldn't take him long to figure out but all thoughts of learning were quickly dashed by the strangers challenge. The widest and most eager of grins formed as he made a complete turn around. "YOU'RE ON MATE!"

Nevermind the fact he was still catching his bearings with this thing, the boy charged down the aisle. "What do I get when I win??" He called to his present company. Important question even as he bounced uncontrollably about the place. His only solace was that he was going forward if not albeit sideways.

OHAI STRANGE LADY GIVING THEM LOOKS! GRIN.

BOING BOING BOING.........

The kid looked like he would be good company but the real judgement would only come with his answer. If Pogo Boy said no, Phillip would be UPSET and DISAPPOINTED in him. Who wanted to pogo on their own? Certainly not him! And he was practically buzzing to have this little race because it would give him something to DO.

There was also the fact that he didn't want to get in trouble on his OWN.

And then there was grinning and some enthusiastic boing-ing on his pogo stick, if there was such a thing. "I knew you'd say yes!" He didn't but let's pretend, yeah? Good. "Ready.......... Set............ GOOOOOOO!" There wasn't a lot of space between the aisles for two boys to have a pogo race as well as for customers to look around the store but OH WELL. What was done was done and frankly, the eleven year old was having too much fu--

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

When he wins? HAHA! "You seriously don't think you're going to BEAT me, do you?" Not only was that difficult, but it was also IMPOSSIBLE. "Let's seeee...." Think, Romalotti, THINK. "The loser has to buy the winner something. Whateeeeeeeever they want, within reason. How does that sound?"

Seeing Pogo Boy grin at something, Phillip turned his head to look in the very same direction, only to see a lady giving them weird looks. The thought of other people being here didn't occur to the young boy but now....... "Hi, Ms! Lovely day, isn't it?" he called as he boing-ed his way past her.

CHORTLE.

Was it cheating if you started before the other guy hit 'GO'? He'd heard that some races allow for one person to have a headstart and considering he was still trying to proper steer this thing, Blaise was sure he DESERVED the lead so he took it and was already gone...for all the good it actually did him.

Not crashing was hard enough before you added in trying to actually WIN this thing. It wasn't even that long before he was caught up with and the boy was greeting the lady with the mean looks too.

"I think....that sounds fairer than anything my cousin would come up with." Only because he added the within reason. Bentley wasn't NEARLY as realistic about that sort of thing and probably would have wanted a HUGE reward.

"I accept! The name's Blaise by the way." And was he the only one that thought talking and pogo-ing were a difficult combination best left to the professionals? Yes? Welp. No sooner had he introduced himself did he suddenly find himself crashing right into the ballon stands that were meant to mark the half way check point. With very little grace, the boy landed and the loud popping noises rang out right after.

That........was anything but comfy but definitely "Wicked."

"OI! POGO BOY! THAT'S CHEATING!" he practically gasped as he bounced after the boy. Though, to be honest, he didn't really care. Maybe the boy was just DYING to win. It was only a game, Pogo. Take a chill pill.

Though, this was a lot easier for Phillip to say when he had caught up with the other boy. But the minute a group of stragglers popped up around the corner and blocked his way, the eleven year old wasn't too happy at all. Letting out a strangled yell, the boy slowed right down to avoid crashing into the strangers, including the lady with the mean looks.

But you know what? He bounced right past them, shooting them a side look as he went. Rude.

The sound of Pogo Boy talking again brought Phillip STRAIGHT back to the race. "Why? Is your cousin a cheat?" he asked, bouncing up towards the boy until he was level with him again, which took a lot of bouncing, mind you. "I hope you're ready to empty your wallet when I win." Because it was going to happen.

Oh, will you look at that? Pogo Boy had a NAME. Phillip opened his mouth to introduce himself as well but........

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Phillip ROARED with laughter before he could help himself. AHAHAHA, the boy fell! FELL. And with the sound of the balloons popping only made the situation funnier than it already was. Phillip actually fell off of his pogo stick and landed face down on the floor because he was laughing so much. And was he hurt? Noo! On the contrary, he was laying down and banging his fist on the floor, nearly crying with laughter.

A couple of seconds passed before he sat up again and turned to face Blaise. "Best. Stunt. EVER! Ahaha!"

It wasn't cheating. Nope. If it was cheating he would feel bad about it and right now he didn't feel bad that he went ahead before the countdown finished. Whatever happened to selfless people these days? The ones who saw you struggling and automatically offered you an advantage? Sheesh.

"My cousin's not a cheat, he's just awful strict about bets we make and the prizes that come after. Don't reckon he'd care how many galleons mum let me out of the house with before making his demands." So good on you kid whose name he still didn't know.

Also meant he wouldn't be emptying his wallet like he just suggested. No way, he still had THINGS to buy in here thank you very much.

Then it happened. Just before he could pick himself up, his pogo buddy was crashing to the floor TOO. It looked more painful than his own fall but the kid was still laughing so Blaise figured it was okay to offer a good natured--if not overly amused grin. "I'll say! We gotta do that again!--Hey I know!" The 11 year old hopped up and brushed himself off a bit. "Help me get some of those stuffed animals. Bet they're better landing material than ballons." Those stung when you popped up and you still hit the ground hard.

Phillip pulled a face at the sound of being strict. It sounded AWFUL and TERRIBLE and a lot more words that he couldn’t think of right now. Whatever happened to FREEDOM? "Strictness only ruins the fun," he said, shaking his head. Shame on this cousin. Make the bets ACHIEVABLE. THEN people would want to bet with you. Logic. "Don’t accept the bet if the demands are too big. There’s no point." Shrug.

He also had half a mind to talk to this cousin but…… nah!

Good thing his mum wasn’t here, eh? He looked around just in case because sometimes, it was as if the woman appeared out of nowhere whenever he was doing something he shouldn’t be. When he didn’t see her, Phillip grinned back at Blaise before saying, "YEAH! We can pogo up to…." He looked around him quickly before pointing towards a spot roughly a metre away from where he was sitting. "THERE! Pogo up to that point, then jump off the pogo sticks and land on the stuffed animals." Eh? EH? Was that a good plan or were they not pogo-ing anymore?

Oh wait. "I’m Phillip, by the way," he said, scrambling up to his feet.

"I'd just not accept but then there's no fun in that either and I care more about the bet than what happens after." It's like...he wouldn't dive off a cliff to get the galleons, he'd dive off the cliff...just to dive off the cliff. Whatever happened after was easily dealt with unless his cousin's temper got the better of him.

But that was enough about bets for right now, especially since neither of them won this one. It was time to move on to bigger and better things, like what the boy--oh Phillip, okay--was saying.

Blaise followed the gestures with his eyes before grinning his approval. "Perfect! We can start setting up the stuffed animals...here..." The boy tapped the spot with his foot a few times as indication before going over to the stuffed animals and grabbing an armful of them. "Get the really big ones if you can." His were dropped on the ground at which point he turned to get more.

"Are you going to Hogwarts in September?" Important question. Blaise needed to know if he'd just gained himself a pogo diving buddy when he got to school. Also, this pile needed more cushioning which meant more stuffed animals.

"That's...... a very good point." About not taking bets being no fun whatsoever. But what wasn't a good point was what Blaise went on to say about not caring about what happens afterwards. Phillip widened his eyes, almost not being able to believe what it was that he was hearing. REALLY? Not caring?! "Even if it means you get caught for doing something you SHOULDN'T do?" That was silly. Plain silly.

With the grin and the approval came the sign that they were going ahead with this new plan, which sounded BETTER than a race. "Okay. The bigger the better." And he was only going to grab some of the more cooler stuffed animals, like dragons and hippogriffs. Grabbing some, he threw it behind him roughly towards the spot where Blaise had motioned to before.

Was he going to Hogwarts? Grabbing a stuffed hippogriff, Phillip suddenly turned towards the other boy, sudden excitement filling up inside of him. "YEAH! I got my letter the other day and I'm getting my wand soon." HA HA Kat, he was getting a WAND before her. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't going to shove it in his half-sister's face. "Are you?" Were they going to be in the same year?

Blaise ACTUALLY had to stop stacking the stuffed animals on the pile they had going because Phillip here was talking about getting in trouble.

"Well...um..." How much did it really matter? "I guess...it depends on WHO I'd get in trouble with. See, I'm adorable and knowing how to work THAT goes a long way...but not when it's your mum and she's proper used to the face she gave birth to then the bet has to be REALY REALLY REEEALLY GOOD for me to not mind getting in trouble afterwards." Other times, it was a toss of a galleon. Heads he did it, tails he walked away quickly.

And with that he started packing the stuffed animals again. Phillip had the right idea getting all the big plushy ones. Just imagine crashing into that giant Hippogriff--oh oh oh or the clabbert, that one looked soft too. "I got my letter too! Dad promised he'd take me for my first wand but mum said we should wait a little. I don't know why but whatever, as long as I get it and it's not a total GIRL wand."

They'd have serious problems there. "I think these will do. Ready to test our pile out?" The grin was back in place and the 11 year old was eager to get right to it.

Kat was super excited today, she was one step closer to getting rid of the big brother. They were in Diagon Alley shopping for Philly's school supplies today. He was almost gone. Yessssss! As much as the almost ten year old loved her brother she was glad to be getting rid of him. BAHAHA. Escaping from the ridiculously long line at Ollivanders, she didn't have time to watch Phillip swing a million wands around to her his own. BORING. As if he would be there cheering her on come her wand time.

NOPE. She didn't have time for that. She had her own things to do today. One thing on her list was to not get caught dead with her emotional mother today. Phillip was going to Hogwarts not into the military.

First place on her list was Weasleys. She wanted a Pygmy puff and she was going to get one. Her new pet could live in Phillip's room while he was gone. HEHE. She was heading to the back to see the puffs when she caught sight of the TOYS. OHMYGOSH ASDFGHJKL TOYSSSS!!! She skipped over in that direction. So many toys. She looked around bight eyed. Everything looked fun. The pogo sticks, the bears, the stuffed animals. Ahhhh, toy paper planes she picked one up bad threw it into the air. *inserts plane sounds here*

WHAT ELSE DID THEY HAVE???

Colt was exploring Diagon Alley when this store Weasleys Wizard Wheezes caught his eye. He was never much one for toys but when he saw the shelves he was instantly pulled in. He grinned with glee like a kid at a toy store would. He began to pick them up and examine them. This thing was cool not gonna lie. He was into airplanes because his uncle would let him fly them. He promised him to go skydiving someday soon when he was older. He hoped he kept his promise when he turned 16. Anyways as he examined the plane, he heard a girl making plane noises.

"What the...." he trailed off when he looked and saw her. He didn't wanna judge because she looked like his sister's age. He nodded towards her and put his plane. Planes weren't that cool anymore. He saw miniature dragons and he was instantly into them. He picked one up and saw some of them breathed a little fire. "Now this is cool.." he said. He was never one to strike up conversations but he felt like he needed to for this girl. He didn't wanna sound awkward but he cleared his throat and said, "You into airplanes huh?"

Eeep.

BALLOON ANIMALLLS.

Why had it taken her so long to visit this area of the store? Lux had no idea, but now she was here and looking forward to having her own mermaid balloon to carry around through Diagon Alley and at home! She was even going to carry it later when she saw Bay. This was going to be fuuuun.

Looking at the options, she decided to go with BLUE because it was her favourite colour. Too bad the colours couldn't vary though, because otherwise she would make the balloon into Ariel. Oh well, it would still happen in spirit.

Balloon Ariel was going to be SUPER JUMBO sized because she was super awesome. Yeeeeah!

Balloon Animals made Adi feel like a kid again and he always wanted to feel that way. Sometimes it was nice to not have a care in the world and just enjoy life. Kids mainly got that so what was the lesson here, kiddies? Do NOT grow up. It was a trap. Haha.

The seventh year wanted a balloon for himself. A nice HUMUNGOUS one so that he could take home and stash in his room. Preferably one of a Hippogriff. Yep. He sidled closer to the balloon stand and at that moment caught sight of that familiar mane of hair. His brain reacted in an instant. It was LUX! When he was close enough, Adi put an arm around his friend, giving her a tight squish. "Heya, Lux! How are you?" Was she okay? Had she put at least some of the spider incident behind her? "Have you changed your mind about Hogwarts?'' Hey, he could always hope, right?

EEEEP!!

Someone was hugging her!!

Lux snorted when she realized that it was Adi. It was typical for him to hug attack, and she could be the same way sometimes. "Heeeeey," she said as she returned the gesture. She could guess that he was here for a gigantic Hippogriff balloon. And where was Benny? Did he realize that he was missing out on the opportunity to get a dragon?

"I'm...better now that I'm not at Hogwarts. Keeping myself busy, but I still don't sleep great and I don't like thinking about it." Everything made her so upset if she dwelt on it. Siiiigh. At least she got to see Bay and her family as much as she wanted to now. "Oh. I'm not going back. No way. The other day my parents decided that I am going to be home schooled again." This time with a wizarding governess.

Knowing that Adi wouldn't like the news, Lux attempted to change the subject. "So what stuffed animals do you think would be nice for Harrison?" Maybe she could get her nephew a teddy bear or something.

It mattered, Blaise, it mattered.

Phillip may have been spending the time flinging as many stuffed toys as he can towards the pile over there but that didn't mean that he wasn't interested in Blaise's story. In fact, he stopped flinging toys to properly look at the boy when he mentioned something about knowing how to work the adorable look. "Not getting caught AND avoiding on getting into trouble are the most IMPORTANT things about pranking." This kid was a good kid. Good company. "My mum's the same, you can't get away with anything around her. It's like mums just KNOW. They know EVERYTHING." Scary, it was.

WAIT. HE GOT HIS LETTER TOOOOOO?

A wide grin spread across the eleven year old's face as he bounced a little on the spot. "REALLY? That's SO COOL!" They were going to go to Hogwarts together. HOGWARTS. Oh, the amount of pranking that could happen there. The thought itself made the young boy's heart swell. "The WAND has to be a cool one. No one wants a sissy wand that does NOTHING."

"YEAH! Are we going to bounce on the pogo sticks first or bellyflop?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin

Colt was exploring Diagon Alley when this store Weasleys Wizard Wheezes caught his eye. He was never much one for toys but when he saw the shelves he was instantly pulled in. He grinned with glee like a kid at a toy store would. He began to pick them up and examine them. This thing was cool not gonna lie. He was into airplanes because his uncle would let him fly them. He promised him to go skydiving someday soon when he was older. He hoped he kept his promise when he turned 16. Anyways as he examined the plane, he heard a girl making plane noises.

"What the...." he trailed off when he looked and saw her. He didn't wanna judge because she looked like his sister's age. He nodded towards her and put his plane. Planes weren't that cool anymore. He saw miniature dragons and he was instantly into them. He picked one up and saw some of them breathed a little fire. "Now this is cool.." he said. He was never one to strike up conversations but he felt like he needed to for this girl. He didn't wanna sound awkward but he cleared his throat and said, "You into airplanes huh?"

After tossing the paper airplane into the air, a big fluffy unicorn caught her eye. unicorn The size wow. It would be amazing to cuddle. Even better than Brady cuddles, but he wasn't much of a cuddler.

She had to give it a hug. *squeeeeeze* She dropped the unicorn when she heard someone talking to her. Oppps. With bright eyes she beamed at the boy. He had a miniature DRAGON. That was so co she wanted one. The nine year old shrugged. "Unicorns and Dragons are so much better."

How come his mother didn't take him to this place often? It was amazing!!!! The store that everything that Bentley could ever need ever to survive at Hogwarts. He was definitely going to stock up...AFTER he feasted his eyes on this little section right here.

Enchanted fairy dolls? He was sure that Belle would like that, he'd get that for her and his mum would pay for it. So awesome having a mum who got you stuff and who paid for stuff that you got for other people. ^_____^

That miniature quidditch set though O____________________O Man he wanted those!

"Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum! I want thissssssssssssssssssssssss!"

It seemed Lux could tell it was him. For two reasons, of course. The hug and his voice. Hehe. Adi was so pleased to see her but also sad that she felt good about not being at Hogwarts and not wanting to go back. "Nightmares, huh?'' he reasoned as he shifted his gaze to the balloon animals. "Those will go away soon, Lux. Don't worry about it.'' Adi hoped he sounded reassuring but it was true, wasn't it? Stuff did fade with time.

"Aw, home schooled? That's not as fun as being in a class with Flamsteed or Moxley.'' Adi winked. Those two tended to have some super fun classes. "If you need help with your work, you can always owl me.'' NEWT year. Eeep! It was the first time he had thought of it.

Changing the subject, Lux? Okay. Hehe. "That's a nice name. Let's see... the Gobstones set!'' the Hufflepuff said enthusiastically. Gobstones was AWESOMEEE! Not as much as cricket but it was pretty close. "I think you should get him a balloon too. The pirate ship. Ayeee!'' Hehe.

After grabbing her older brother's hand, Brinlee had climbed onto his back and demanded in a whisper that he take her to explore this place that they were currently in. WHY hadn't she been able to come in here before now? Had there been an age limit? Was her mother just ridiculously overprotective and thought something was wrong with this place? HOWEVER.. She had let them in here now, but that was probably something to do with buying birthday presents or something for Daddy Dex, because he A L W A Y S got the best best toys. "ROO ROO BOUNCE ON!" Yeahhhh. Before Mummy caught the-- "BENNYYYYYYY!!" HEY BEST FRIEND HEY.

Best friend was a funny term. Brinlee didn't think he was the best of her big circle of friends, BUT he did have the most fun with her. He DID jump off things with her, and that was -- according to Calliope -- what made a best friend. "OVER THERE, ROO." Brin barked, but left him behind when she jumped down and ran over to Bentley.

HEY OTHER B.

OOF. Okay Brin... Rooney was positive that Brinlee was going to be his least favourite sister by the end of today, and he really didn't know why she was supposed to come with them today. They were only here to get Rooney's books for school, and get a few things for Calliope too, because she hadn't used her things as diligently as he had. But Brinlee... well Brin was using him as a horse, it seemed. WHEN SHE HAD HER OWN HORSE ALREADY. He followed quietly after when he she ran towards Aunt Rhea's oldest child, and he smiled. Mama said that Ben was headed to school soon and that Rooney should keep an eye on him just in case.

"Calliope has one of those.." He nodded, inspecting what the other boy was shouting about.