Dahlia was making her rounds from booth to booth, food station to food station. It was basically 'No stone left unturned' festival style. She was thirteen and she wanted to do it ALLLLLL!

Which is how she ended up where she was now. Rocking back and forth on her heels, her bag slung over her shoulder as she watched the small line of people ahead of play try to knock the flying snitches out of the air with magical wands. She had to admit it looked pretty fun and some of the prizes had already caught her eye. Like the cute little potted succulent plant. Not to mention it would be really good for some hand eye coordination practice.

Now all she had to do was wait her turn.

She didn't really know when he was going to surprise her with with this perfect date he had planned and promised (as he had worded it), but again was more than content with being with him here, right now in this moment. Though she was very curious to see what he possibly might come up with, but was not expecting him to dazzle her, but realizes this is Alex who doesn't like to follow the rules and he might want to dazzle her which in the end was fine, so will be prepared to whatever comes her way that day. Just meant more time to spend with him, and she was NOT complaining about that.

Could feel that rather awkward tension between them as well when it seemed that no one was suddenly talking. Oh, should she not have kissed his cheek? No, that wouldn't make sense because that was totally alright, right? Besides, dibs were called. And it wouldn't make sense for her to question because of the multiple kisses that had already occurred. So in a very similar mentality in the usual Alexander fashion, she was not sorry for the cheek kiss, because she wanted to do that, and she would not apologize for it. Plus, time was lost when he went away on his vacation with his family so knew very well that the pair of them had to make up for lost time. It only made sense. Plus, she would give any opportunity to see him blush like that, which was just very much cute and amusing to see him this way. Smiling in a somewhat teasing manner, "You alright?" Definitely missed this.

And here he was with this accusation of her being too eager on an early arrival which was not true. All she could do was shake her head with a smile as he asked this nonsense. There was no truth to that eagerness....maybe a little, shsh, again stop looking at her like that. Though she was not expecting to hear his next few statements, did he just admit to arriving early? Wait, he did arrive early? "..R-Really? You did?" Nadine processed that and could feel her own cheeks beginning to feel warm as she began to blush this unexpected response. A slow smile crept onto her lips before she responded, "Well, whomever did come early, I'm just glad to see that you're here..."

She jumped a little at the sudden outburst of the man who was running the Zap-a-Snitch game. Nadine's attention quickly turning over towards him as it seemed he was trying to include more players for the next round. She looked back at Alex and smiled, "Is this what you were aiming to play? Or were you intending on convincing the man to give you a free prize?" Nadine nudged him a little playfully. Yes, she did miss being with him.

It was good that she had no expectations. Really good. Because, again, he hadn't exactly come up with his fantastic five point plan yet. Can't strike genius without a little patience right? Rome wasn't built in a day. And mind blowing dates weren't brainstormed overnight - though, if anyone could do it, Alexander was sure it'd be him. But he had time and he'd much rather enjoy this time that he had with her now, worry about the date version 2.0 later. For what it was worth, there definitely weren't anyyyy complaints from his side either.

Not even when she gave him a hard time for the way he was obviously blushing. But again, he'd deny it if anyone were to inquire! "Yeah, sure am. I'm fantastic." He replied through gritted teeth. Oooh, he'd get her for this one. She was certainly very lucky that he was caught off guard because it had caused his big brain (which usually supplied endless witty comebacks) to lag. Next time he'd be kissing cheeks and causing the brain lags around here. Dibs on next time. No take backs.

And though he was allowing himself to be somewhat sentimental, he only shrugged in reply to her apparent surprise. Yes, well. Maybe. Maybe he did. But he wasn't going to say it more than once, that would be redundant, of course. "Likewise," he answered, nudging her a bit. He was glad too. "You alright though?" He couldn't help himself. The brain lag was clearing up. "You're looking kind of pink, I'm--"

Hold that thought.

And also Nadine, who had conveniently given Alex a reason to put his arm around her. The man who was running the booth had given her a scare and he was simply stepping in to assure her that all was well. As any gentleman ought to do. This lesson wasn't in that book of hers though, so let it be known that Alexander could do gentlemanly things without the help of a 'how to'. And yes. He did read it.

He turned to give Nadine a look as if to say 'Is our old flying instructor a carny now?', before then giving the man an 'Okaaaaay' sort of nod. "I can sweet talk my way into anything," he proclaimed proudly, nudging her playfully in return. If she wanted to dance, he'd dance. "But I'll play to win you a prize this first time, it might be more impressive." Not that he was trying to impress her (he was) (so if Aguilar could play it cool, that would be fantastic) (thanks for your cooperation).

"Zap-a-Snitch... So I'm assuming that's all there is to it?" He was only asking to cover his bases and hide the fact that he had been spying for the last ten minutes.

SPOILER!!: Con, Radhi & Aguilar <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunflower

Unaware that the man had addressed Valerie and not him, Aguilar intercepted again and passed him a wand with a smile. How cute was this family?! "Good day, sirs and little miss! Here you go. You can use as many wands as you'd like, but it'll be one chance per wand to zap a snitch and win one of our excellent prizes. Would you like to try too?" he offered to the man holding their daughter's hand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krel Ansell

Didn't he usually clean the house? Sachin did all the cooking and (most of) the grocery shopping and the laundry (because Conley couldn't use a muggle washing machine to save his life). But Conley could clean. His father had made sure he and his two brothers knew their way around cleaning spells. "You're on," he said with a chuckle. Was he certain he was going to lose? Yes, but that was half the fun.

As Sachin tickled her, Radhika let go of Conley's hand as a loud giggle filled the room and was soon clapping her hands together. Clearly she was happy, although she had no idea what was going on. She really was a cheerful toddler wasn't she? Not that Conley was complaining. Happy baby, happy life right? How had they gotten so lucky with her?

Conley glanced over his shoulder, but there was nobody there. It was then that he realized the man was talking to him. ”Oh, sure,” he said giving Aguilar a big smile. ”Cheers mate,” he said as he took the wand. He waited for Sachin to go, then eyed up a snitch himself and took aim. He waved his wand and – missed.

”Pffffttt….paw—pa.” Radi said looking up at Conley with her big brown eyes.

Yes, Conley usually cleaned the house but on occasions - especially when Conley was busy - Sachin would chip in to help. What he meant was that Conley would exclusively be doing the cleaning. Cooking was out of the deal since the other man could not do that activity to save his life. With this little challenge on, Sachin grinned as Radhika giggled and clapped. Truly she was a happy toddler.

Another one of the persons manning the booth piped up, answering the questions Sachin had yet to voice. Excellent. “Good day to you too!” He accepted the wand with a nod, indicating that he understood the simple rules. “Got you.”

With his eyes on a snitch, Sachin lifted the wand in his right hand and took careful aim. Unfortunately it was a neat miss. He scrunched up his face in disappointment. Then watch Conley try. “Looks like the competition is still on then.” Oh yes, it was! “And it looks like you have a little cheerleader, Con.” Sachin chuckled then told the man at the booth, “Another wand, please.”

He knew this about her though, so best not to overthink it too much Alex. Although again, this was Alex we were talking about and new that it was going to be whatever it is he wanted it to be. Suppose it was good for her that all she really had to do was show up, well there was more to it than that, but you know what she meant! Wait there was a five point plan to this date? Alright, perhaps there would be nerves now if she knew all of that, but leave that bit of anxiety for another day honestly. Best to just allow herself to enjoy today, which she already was.

Knew well enough that he would deny the blushing, even if it was very much happening and she'd felt very tempted to tease him about it. "Oh yes, you really seem fantastic now.." Nadine let out an amused giggle by his gritted response after she had kissed his cheek, knowing that he was very much flustered by it because he was not expecting it. Did he forget that she enjoyed keeping him on his toes? Just like he did with her? This was simply all equal opportunity on both sides Alex, he just didn't like that she'd beat him to the first round. Though Nadine would be rather cross if she knew he was claiming dibs on the next round of brain lags, unless she found some way to beat him again. Secretly plotting.

She knew that those true sentimental moments were rare for him, but was never opposed to seeing them when they happened. Honestly enjoyed whenever he allowed himself to be human with feelings at times because she knew he was capable of them. She nodded in response to his question however, "Yes, I'm fine...Wonderful actually.." Nadine could however feel her own wave of lag beginning to come when he said she looked pink from his sentimental statement.

And the pink on her face was only beginning to darken as Alex had put an arm around her frame. This was very nice. Not to mention she was very appreciative of him showing this manner to calm her after Aguilar had made her jump with his sudden outburst to get their attention. She did have to admit, it was very gentlemanly of him. And though it may not have been in the book she'd given him, it did manage to gain some points of admiration from her, so good on him. She would be SO amused and surprised to know that he'd actually read the book though. Very curious to know what he'd taken away from it. Did not think he would actually read it.

Nadine looked back at Alex when he gave her that look in regards to Aguilar being a carny now and simply shrugged her shoulders, while shaking her head with a mental response of, 'I have no idea.' She rolled her eyes with a smile at his proclaim, "At least you attempt to.." Nadine nudged him again. "Alright...and I promise not to shame you whatever the outcome.." Crossing her heart before giving him a gentle squeeze. Not that she had any doubts, but was also trying to prep him in case he was worried about her teasing him. Perhaps this might be another moment to make his brain lag given the result.

Plotting, plotting.

A compulsive cleaner Zeke was not, no matter what his husband tried to claim, but he did appreciate a tidy environment when he could get it. There was really no downside to it, as far as he was concerned.

So he'd taken it upon himself to ensure that the prizes themselves were not only grouped together in a system that made sense, but that every single option was clearly on display. No hidden gems that would cause young children to get upset by discovering hours later they had missed out on a prize they somehow didn't realise was available. Beneficial for the kids, for the parents, and for himself, Camilo, and Valerie.

Having shuffled around a couple of items on display for maximum exposure, Zeke turned back to the festival-goers, checking a pocket watch - because of course he had a pocket watch - as he did so. He had nowhere to be but here (though he ought to check in at the shop a little later), and simply liked to know what time it was. Tucking the watch away again, Zeke batted away a snitch that came whizzing out of bounds and tried to take his eye out, shooing it back into the game zone.

Scanning the faces at the booth, Zeke found he recognised a few of the younger ones as customers from the past couple of summers. Smiles all around, Zeke stood by for the moment the next individual stepped up to take their turn, should they require assistance.

When Daniel had arrived in Diagon Alley he had been surprised that there was a festival going on. His older brother might have mentioned this a few days ago over at dinner but who even listens to their siblings? His first objective had been to buy his school supplies but after seeing the stands of food and fun things to do all around he decided to come back another day to buy his supplies.

A small line in front of a booth caught his attention and as he spotted Dahlia he moved past the other people to stand beside her. Was he using her to cut in line? Yes. "Hello" he greeted. "Do you know what this booth is?"

”Have you been rescued by someone you don’t like?” asked Lisa, very curious about this right now. She had only herself been rescued by her best friend so she had no data points on this situation.

To say that Lisa was thoroughly amused with her and Dustin’s conversation would be an understatement. Honestly she didn’t know why the concept of a bodyguard wearing eye shadow was amusing… She supposed she thought of bodyguards and security details like the ones in the movie. All buff, strong, and in black and white suits. Maybe the eyeshadow was a tactic to keep his enemies on their toes? “Blue is a nice colour… Do you have plans to rule the universe one day?” This was critical information for the petite twelve year old girl to know because she had to know who her competitors were. Not that she wanted the responsibility and weight of ruling the world thrust upon her like Atlas and the Earth buuuuut… she just liked to know things.

Kazmi replaced Aguilar? Lisa couldn’t fathom someone other than Kazmi teaching flying. She had been terrified of him and many of the other Professors before but learned to value their knowledge and ask questions. Kazmi was able to keep Daniel and V in line which was good in her books.. Well more specifically V after her tantrum throwing fit. But anyway Aguilar was in front of her, so Lisa offered a smile. “The youngest and last Nam… for now!” she beamed up at the adult as he readied them for the activity. She gripped the wand that he had given her and offered him a smile. “Aw no breaking the law?” she joked before offering a nod. “I’m relieved… my exact question was going to be if this violated the underage magic law.. but now I know! I hoped it wouldn’t have. I really want to get back on the train to Hogwarts this year.” Didnt want to have to be caught up in all the shenanigans of court and the Ministry and SADNESS. She’d probably get grounded as a result. Her eyes flicked towards the targets (the Snitches) and then out to the crowd. That was when she noticed the man from Ollivanders. “Mr. Wand Maker!!” she cried and waved her hand excitedly. She had to tell him loads about the books that she had read- the ones that he had recommended of course. And maybe she could make her way over to him because he surely had more recommendations, yes?

What?

Lisa whipped her head round to look at Dustin. “You’re a Muggle. I’m just… surprised. It’s not like I have anything against muggles. My parents are muggles,” commented Lisa before going on her tippy toes. “Dont worry, Dustin, you’re in good hands here. Ash and I can protect you.” Yes, this barely five foot tall girl would come save the day.

“Anyway, can’t catch the snitches just chatting here…” With that, she turned to the game at hand. Ahh yes, let’s observe where these Snitches zoom off to…

Ash considered the question. "No... not yet. I wouldn't want them to save me. Not if it meant I owed them. I don't want to owe anything."

Dustin thought that being saved was not something that made you owe someone. They made a choice when they saved you. That was their choice. Plus, most people deserved to be saved whether they could 'return the favor' or not. Ashley, for example. He didn't think she would be able to save his life if he was being murdered with dark magic. But here he was protecting her anyway. It was for more reasons than just the (very good) money, too.

"I don't want to rule the world. I want to just be in charge of myself and my 'family'. Neither of you are going to rule the world either. You're too nice for that, and so am I." Good people didn't last very long in charge, power corrupted people, and also... world domination was just bad, in general. He figured Ash's father was rich enough to rule a bit of the world, but he wasn't a good man anymore. So.

"Oooh I can't wait to play." SHE HAD LOADS OF CASH. She'd probably stop playing after she won a couple things, but she was definitely gonna win something because she practically had unlimited chances. Perks of being a billionaire? She felt a little bit guilty about it. She figured she'd pay for other people to have extra chances too. Maybe she'd feel better after that.

Dustin turned a little bit pink and focused very focusedly on looking at the wand. It required lots of focus.

"I think Dustin can protect himself just fine." Like uhhh, why was he a bodyguard if he couldn't? His big mucles weren't for decoration. Ok... knowing Dustin, they probably WERE there partially for decoration... but that was besides the point. "Dustin and Alex are both practicing fighting wizards, you know. We found a dueling teacher who was willing to... do things a little differently." It hadn't been very hard. Because everyone needed money, and Father had lots of it. "But that's supposed to be a secret, so don't tell."

Ash was a good whisperer, but Dustin was a good listener. So he was listening to them! Be warned!!!

"I still haven't used my coupon, Mister Professor Sir Aguilar! But I wasn't planning on using it. I'm gonna keep it forever because it's like a trophy." She paused. "Is it TRUE that you wrote a book? I heard that from someone." And if it WAS true, she'd (unfortunately) be stopping by to buy his book and talk to him. HAVE FUN TALKING TO ASH FOR MORE THAN THIRTY SECONDS. Hahahahaha.

Dahlia's attention had been mainly on those in line in front of her. Watching them all play first was sort of showing her what to do and what not to do in a way. She knew better than to judge something by what she was seeing though, it probably much harder than it looked but that wasn't going to stop her from at least trying.

When someone came to stand beside her in line, at first she thought it probably one of her siblings. It made the most sense for it to be Elias or Lily but when she glanced over and saw Daniel and not one of the other two thirds to her triplet set she smiled at him. "Hey," she greeted in return. "Yup. This is Zap-a-Snitch. You're given a wand and you have to aim at snitches that fly around and knock them out of the air to win prizes." It sounded easy but it probably wasn't. "Want to give it a try with me?"

Lia took a step forward in line. There was only a few other people ahead of them now. "Ohh.. I have something for you," she had dropped her voice a little bit as she reached into her bag rummaging around inside it for another bag. Holding it out to him, he'd find a few different books inside.

Zap-a-Snitch? that sounded catchy. He turned his attention away from the older girl to look in front of him and see what the game was about while she explained how it worked. His dark brown eyes lit up in excitement when he realized that he could use magic outside of Hogwarts. Even if he had to use a specially made wand for the activity. "That's cool! I thought I was going to die not being able to use magic during the summer" he was being dramatic but it did make him wonder how he had survived without magic for ten years. Magic was life! "Sure, want to make a competition out of it?" Now what should they bet on? icecream perhaps?

"You do?" he asked as he too took a step forward in line. He watched the bag she was rummaging in and got curious when she pulled out another bag before it was handed to him. He took it and opened it up to reveal a couple of different books inside. "Are all of these, you know" he lowered his voice so that they couldn't be overheard although the festival noises around them would make the whispering a bit redundant. But just in case. "The artefacts books?" he asked. Or was it not and they were just random books because they had found in common that they both enjoyed reading?

Lia could see the look on Daniel's face changing as he looked at the game to see how it was really played. Once she saw that spark of excitement in his dark eyes she knew she had him. A game buddy. "I kinda get why we aren't supposed to use magic over the summer but.. I think we should at least be allowed to use it at home. That way we can keep up with practicing." Magic was hard. Not being able to practice for several weeks was a major setback that was unnecessary. Oh, a competition?! "Okay, sure!" Might as well have some more fun with the game.

Bright blue eyes sparkled mischievously. "Not all of them. Some are books I've mentioned that I thought you might like. The two in the middle.. the look like a series and are titled as such as disguised to appear as muggle books." Had asked for it to be done that way when he said his brother wouldn't like him reading those kinds of books. "Oh and umm.. it will only work for three people now. There's instructions inside in the bag." The entire time she had kept her voice low but not overly low so as to look suspicious.

Yeah, yeah. Whatever. "And you are very funny today." Giggle all you want Nadine. Har, har. This wasn't over yet!! But yes, he was very much flustered and he was very much embarrassed about it too. Though he hadn't, of course, forgotten that she too, enjoyed keeping him on his toes. Perhaps this was, in part, why it worked.

And if she were to be cross about the calling of dibs, he would simply like to point out that she hadn't been cross about dibs the last time they were called.

"Oh, yes, you really seem wonderful now..." Yes, yes he was using her same words. But he really did like that he could have this effect on her. And he really, really liked the excuse to have his arm around her - he'd have to thank Aguilar for that one later. Dude totally came in clutch just then. Excellent wingman, he was... Though Alex was entirely certain he hadn't meant to be. Maybe Aguilar could use that book, eh? Too bad Alexander wasn't quite done with it. He was still working on his annotations, which he would be sharing with Nadine in due time. What? No one actually thought he'd sit through that entire book without then making a show of it, right? To do so without drawing attention to it would be entirely unlike him. Though he did, admittedly, read it in secret at the time or simply when he thought no one was looking.

"And I succeed too!" He replied with a grin. Usually. He usually succeeded. But there was no reason to focus on the losses, right? Right. Glad everyone can agree. Moving on. "How gracious, but there will be no need," he was feeling confident [read: he was pretending to feel confident]. In any case, it looked like the game had opened up now, so he looked over at Nadine and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Looks like we're up. You ready?"

Conley was both disappointed and amused that Sachin had missed. Why had they never gone to a carnvial when they were dating? Suddenly had the urge to take Sachin just so he could enjoy watching him try to win him something. There was a tug on his pant leg as Radhika almost fell over and caught herself. It reminded him that if they went to a carnival, whatever one of them won would likely go to her. He reached down and steadied her. "See Radhika? Papa was right. Daddy couldn't hit a erumpent if it was standing 10 feet away." Never mind that he himself hadn't hit one.

"Pfff..." Radhika swatted at her Papa's leg as if chastising him for being mean. Then she turned her head up to look at Daddy as if waiting to see what he was going to do next.

For someone who liked to gang up on him with Sachin, Radhika didn't really seem to like it when Conley picked on his husband. What a daddy's girl she was. Not that Conley could blame her. He was infatuated with the man too. Conley chuckled softly and gave Sachin a playful smile. "Clearly someone can't tell when we are teasing..." He looked for the shopkeeper. "Looks like I need a second go too, please." He waited for his wand and then motioned for Sachin to go. "Beauty before age, mon amour."

“Hm,” she hummed after Ash’s comments. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Lisa would have agreed with Dustin if she knew his viewpoint. If someone saved her, she didn’t technically owe them anything except for maybe a ‘thank you’ but that was it. Nothing more! No eternal gratitude or yadiyada mumbo-jumbo nonsense. Just a thank you was simple and profound enough.

Warm eyes flicked to Dustin curiously when he said that neither one of them would rule the world and Lisa scoffed in response with a quick retort. “Yet.” She tutted and placed a hand on her hip. “Im sure some corrupt people were nice when they were our age. Had to start from somewhere.” With that, she flashed Dustin an angelic smile followed by a giggle.

Eyes flicked back to Ash who seemed really excited about the game. “You can go ahead of me if you want,” she offered to Ash because her friend looked like she was ITCHING to go. Eyes flicked to Dustin when Ash mentioned that he could protect himself and then back to Ash. “REALLY? Even against magic??” she asked her friend perplexed. Sure muggles could do a lot of things but realistically against some awful spells?!? Lisa was doubtful. “Can a Muggle wield a wand?” Then again maybe there was a business case to make with Muggle friendly wands that muggles could use. She GASPED! when she heard Ash’s comment about bending the rules and there being a kooky dueling instructor. “Isnt that y’know… against the Statue of Secrecy?” And like against the lawwwww? Just who was Ash’s family?

”I don’t really wanna rule the world. I just wanna be the queen of butterflies and fairies and swamps!” Was it a weird collection of things? Yes. But Ash didn’t hear anyone complaining. “Alright. I’ll go first, and if we both miss I’ll go again.”

Dustin wished Alex was here. Alex was so calm and he always knew what to do. Dustin was never calm and he didn’t know what to do in situations like this one. He signed up to be a bodyguard, not a... whatever this was. Even against magic? Hmph. “Yes.” He had lots of things to say, but he decided to be like Alex instead. Quiet and understanding. And stuff.

“Don’t think muggles can wield wands mostly, but there are other things.” But she bet there was a way to make a wand like these carnival wands but for real life. Attach a spell to an item and trigger the spell when you wave the object around. She bet muggles could use self-shuffling playing cards... this had to be similar. She lowered her voice. “Well, I already told him like three summers ago, so that bridge has already been burned.” She shrugged. ”Oops. Come after me, I dare them.” She stared up at the sky, as if daring the universe to do it. Nothing happened. Yeah, that was what she thought would happen. Ash, interestingly enough, kinda hated the statute of secrecy. She knew better than to reveal her identity to everyone she met, but Dustin and Alex were different. If the law said she couldn’t tell them, she’d just go ahead and break it. She wondered if she’d ever be arrested for this. She doubted it.

Anyway. This was a carnival, not a discussion about when and how she was going to be arrested. She aimed at the snitch but missed, only by a little bit. Dustin patted her on the shoulder. She shrugged. “I’ll try again after you two go.”

"Well I think it's stupid" he huffed as he took another step forward in line. "As you said, we should be able to practice magic at home. People already know about magic there anyway" he rolled his eyes. "If I ever become Minister, not that I plan to become one because I have other plans with my life, I'd make a rule that students can still practise magic outside of school" he nodded his head at his own words before looking inside of the bag that Dahlia had given him and picked out the two obscure books disguised as normal books. "Thanks for remembering that detail" his older brother would burn the books if he ever found out he was interested in this stuff. It was also cool of the Ravenclaw that she hadn't judged him based on his interests. As for the directions, he'd take a look at them when he got back home. "What is your favorite book genre?" He asked. "Maybe i have a book you'd like to read" he then nudged his head to the booth as it was almost their turn. "But this game, you want to make a bet that the loser has to buy the other ice cream?" he grinned, his playful side coming up again.

....was....this twerp for real? Had he really just called her plants sucky? Valerie's eyes iced over and if she had been a basilisk the boy would have dropped dead right on the spot. Though the manner of of piercing gaze was more than enough to send a chill up and down one's spine. She had half a mind to transfigure him into something (cockroaches tended to be an easy go-to), but she knew better than to cause a scene here. Instead, she clicked her tongue lightly while pretending to examine her nails which then triggered a couple of nearby coiling tendrils to spiral their way towards him [Cassirin] and give the boy a couple of wallops on the head.

Sucky plants indeed. He had practically ensured he would not be winning one of her succulents for his entirely too perky and clingy girlfriend. Tut tut, so sad...too bad. How humiliating for him. She would be giving her vines some of her self concoted well earned mooncalf and dragon dung liquid fertilizer at the end of the day.

Thankfully for literally everyone involved, Camilo was a natural at playing host. Something she was not in the least surprised by considering he had just been a Hogwarts professor and it seemed practically imbedded in their DNA to be people pleasers. At least what her memory of the school provided, which was a rather limited view of things.

Then there was the gabbing duo of young girls [astrocat & Watson] who reminded her entirely too much of the cheerleader crowd at Ilvermorny she had avoided like the plague. One considerably more than the other. The one that ironically did not have a supposed bodyguard.

"...just peachy," was the disgruntled response she offered the QQS shopkeeper (who had thankfully also assisted the family as well) before turning her attention to some of the vines who had woven themselves along the top rafters of the booth and were ready to drop down and provided deliciously frustrating disturbances to those attempting to zap snitches.

The so-called body guard caught her attention, simply for the No-Maj mention which then tugged at her heart in the worst ways. Twisted and disfigured, Valerie could look back at the IMPS with nothing short of spit for what the competition had put her cousin through. While her family, what was left of it at least, had not scorned her for what wizardingkind had done...she could none the less see the shift in their eyes. In the manner that the whites never quick glimmered when looking upon her. The hesitation that often came before a performative smile. She thought she had found her retribution for battling in the war, and she had taken down her share of Neo-Alliance members and sympathizers, but apparently vengeance was not a very soul nurturing pastime.

Thoughts wandering, it was the caress upon her cheek from one of the that pulled her out of her thoughts...only to find herself looking at a rather nauseating scene between another new duo [ArianaBlack & SweetPeea] who she would very much like to ignore and pass off to either one of her shopkeeper cohorts. But, unfortunately, she had to dive deep into her shallow waters of people skills and make an effort. "Here," she said in lieu of a greeting as she thrust a pair of wands towards the duo. Oh, and a belated smile. Not one that showed her teeth but the corners of her lips did turn upwards.

All these duos and pseudo couples, quidditch equipment and talk, snitches that did not always know how to keep their wings to themselves and thus the need to swat them back towards the actual game area...it all had her searching the passing crowd and patrons curious to the whereabouts of a certain retired quidditch professional turned Ministry worker...


Shaking her head, Valerie stood to the side and nestled herself in a corner and gave the vines commands through sharp whistles near their stems coiling around the wood beside her or in rapping upon the wooden frame with her knuckles. Just little hints here and there to alert her sentient babies that their own playtime of whack-a-snitch or block a spell (and be tickled, which they quite liked) was afoot. She also kept an eye on the newest duo [DuckyLinJi & Kolyander] for the time being.

OOC: please feel free to RP for the vines engaging with a snitch your character is targeting or blocking a spell. They are here for a little additional obstacle they will not attack or strangle people and have been well trained to focus only on the snitches and shiny pseudo spell lights.



⭑･ﾟﾟ･*:༅｡.｡༅:*ﾟ:*:✼✿　　✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

SPOILER!!: Sam & PROFESSOR!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

He'd been teasing her about playing for a jersey (or those creepy gnomes), but Becky was too good a sport for teasing to be any fun. Or this kind of teasing, at least. There was still the fun kind that made her blush and light up from her cheeks to her collarbones. "We'll get you a dumb plant, Re-becca. You know we were always gonna play for your plant."

Sam stepped around the fathers and their daughter and waved at the bored employee in the stand. "Two, please. How well do we have to do to win one of the little... yellow... sucky plants?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunflower

"Hi, welcome! Here are your wands," he handed Sam and Becky each a fake wand specially designed for this game while continuing to explain, "you'll have one try per wand to knock a snitch out of the air. If you succeed, you can choose whether you want a prize from Noltie's, QQS or Ollivanders, and a random item will be selected for you from the shop." He personally agreed that the potted succulent was the best prize from Noltie's, and hoped they would be able to win one. If they were asking how difficult the task would be ... well, he did not want to spoil the fun. "Good luck!" he waved at the young couple.

Becky was currently feeling BAD about denying him the opportunity for one of these creepy gnomes, Samuel, and was already trying to think of some things to make it up to him. Maybe they could go as a pair of muggle garden gnomes for Halloween together! That was just as good if not BETTER than having a physical statue, right? They could take pictures at grandpa's estate in his garden before any nighttime festivities and maybe she could get Cathair in on it as well and his hopefully soon-to-be date or boyfriend. They could all double date as a quartet of garden gnomes!

Yes, this was perfect. She would spring the good news on him after they left this booth triumphant with ---

"Oh! Sam! Look out!" she squeaked as a couple of tendrils came down and began jostling his hair. "I don't think they quite liked you calling their brethren sucky...perhaps you should apologize..." Her eyes were wide, her lip slightly plumped in its pout, and her index fingers were tap taping against one another while the rest of her fingers interlaced in a ball against her chest.

That is, until her former Flying professor appeared and handed them both wands. Her eyes lit up, twinkled a fair bit, and cheeks reddened as she accepted his offering. "It's...nicetoseeyouagain, professor. Ihopeyouaredoingwell."

"Mm, I agree to some extent. I can see where.. some might take complete advantage of being able to do magic outside of school but I think there could be rules that allow it. Within reason or something." As she had said before, like at home or when absolutely necessary. Lia laughed at the mention of being Minister of magic. "I'd never do that either, it's much to demanding. Do you know what you want to do when you graduate?" It was still years away but some already knew what they wanted to do with their lives.

She nodded. "No, problem." Little details were things she remembered sometimes and this had been an important one. Why, would she judge? He hadn't judged her for having the books or uhh.. being able to acquire said books for him.. Ahem. No need to ask how or why she just so happened to have or want them. As for the directions, when he got to them he would see how simple it was and wouldn't have any trouble with it. "Anything creature or plant related is good. Music, adventure, languages. I like a lot or stuff." Truth be told, she wasn't really that fussy.

Lia's gaze shifted towards the game once again. "Okay, sure. Loser buys ice cream." She nodded to confirm it. The loser would be whoever didn't win something she supposed? "Who's playing first?"

Ezekiel was right - there was really no downside to keeping the environment tidy. Camilo appreciated the work the wand maker did to display all the prize items efficiently. Organisation was certainly not a strength of Aguilar's. He thought this was a perfect example of collaboration, because each member of the Zap-a-Snitch team was contributing a unique skill to host the game together. Valerie had a thorough knowledge of magical plants, which allowed the team to add a fun yet safe obstacle for snitch zappers. He gave the #teammates a smile when they made eye contact, before moving on to carry out his role, which seemed to be approximately 10% shooing snitches back into the booth and 90% interacting with customers!


The shopkeeper chuckled at the little daughter's adorable reaction to her fathers' playful bickering. He had been thinking a lot recently about having a child someday, and seeing so many happy families in Diagon Alley was like a confirmation that it was indeed a good idea. Anyway, he had a task to do - essentially, give out wands as needed to keep the competition going and let miss cheerleader continue to cheer for papa and daddy. "Good luck, and watch out for the plant!" he added upon noticing Valerie's vines preparing to catch a snitch from above.


Loser buys ice cream?

"Miss Donovan, didn't you promise that you will cut down your ice cream consumption?" Aguilar grinned to show that he was only joking and waved Dahlia and her friend forward. It was great to see another familiar face and a ... semi-familiar face? The young boy strongly reminded him of somebody, though he wasn't quite sure who. He racked his brain as he handed out the wands to be used in the game. "Hope you are both having a fine day, welcome to Zap-a-Snitch! Here are your wands to ZAP the snitch with when you're ready. The wands are specially designed to knock things back automatically, so don't worry about breaking the law."


No no no he did NOT need the book, whatever it was about. He had not meant to give Nadine a scare, but he was also (fortunately) unaware that he made her jump and ... whatever happened afterwards, because of a disturbance in the form of half a dozen snitches suddenly trying to leave the booth. "Sorry, let me just deal with these - " and he aimed his wand wait that was a fake wand his real wand at the snitches to shoo them one by one back to the game zone. By the time he turned his attention back to his former students, he had missed most of the interaction that would have made him feel very awkward, and Valerie had supplied them with wands. "Right, so, yes. You'll have one try per wand to knock a snitch out of the air. Be warned that some magical plant obstacles may be competing against you to catch a snitch. Good luck!" he smiled and glanced at the vines that were moving to Valerie's command.


Oh Merlin, this Nam child made him laugh! Nope, no breaking the law. Her comment helped him to keep his mind off some traumatising memories related to the statute of secrecy and the Neo-Alliance. Likewise, he respected Ashley's choice to keep the coupon as a trophy. It was indeed a meaningful gift that represented the survival of difficult times. And - wait, what? "Broomology for Beginners? Yes, I had the chance to write it when I worked for Nimbus Racing Broom Company. You can check it out at QQS." Huh, he had totally not expected that question, but it was a nice one.

"Good try, Miss Fox! Miss Nam? Dustin?" Camilo nodded encouragingly.

He had toyed with the idea of coming here all weekend. Even today he had spent a good hour hovering in front of his mirror, scrutinising every inch of his appearance before gaining the courage to leave the flat. The Diagon Alley celebration. Sounded like his idea of absolute hell. Kids causing too much noise, crowds of slow walkers, no doubt he would bump into insufferable old classmates. Or worse - work colleagues. Theodore put all of those thoughts aside as he didn't really have a choice in coming or not, since he had already mentioned to Valerie that he’d pop by to say hello.

And how could he possibly let that lovely specimen down?!

Sure, she’d probably forgotten all about their conversation, or about him altogether, but he definitely hadn’t so he had to try his luck a little. He seemed to be forever trying his luck with Valerie Gray.

As expected, it took him forever to find the booth that she was working at, and after getting pretty narked off with the surrounding kids, Theodore’s expression softened as his eyes fell upon the beauty. He painstakingly waited his turn before finally reaching the booth where he gave her a little eyebrow wiggle, then tilting his head to peer over his shades. He completely disregarded the other two booth hosts. Irrelevant.

“May as well gift wrap that succulent for me right now.” Yup, he had learned a new word. Theo picked up one of the wands and readied himself to zap dem snitches.

Do you know that feeling that someone was watching you? Daniel had that moment right about now as he felt a pair of eyes watching him and Dahlia. He turned his head to take a look to find a woman (Valerie) in the corner of the booth with the prettiest hair he had ever seen and as he caught himself staring he looked away quickly when Dahlia spoke again. His face slightly flushed as he tried to focus on the Ravenclaw.

"Well, I think we should be allowed to use magic whenever we want" he shrugged his shoulders and as she asked what he wanted to do after he had graduated from Hogwarts he puffed out his chest proudly. "I'm going to become the world's greatest Cursebreaker that EVER existed!" This meant that he had to start at an early age hence the books. "What about you?"

Anything creature or plant-related. He didn't think he had any books about those subjects but he could always take a look. His family had a personal library at home with a wide array of books. There had to be something.

Miss Donovan? Daniel looked from Dahlia to the man ( Aguilar ) and then back to Dahlia again. "Do you know this old man?" he was surprised but also curious at the same time. Also, why would anyone make a promise to cut down on ice cream? That was the dumbest thing ever.

He stepped forward as they were waved over and took the wand that was handed over to him and he inspected it while the old man was explaining the rules. Yeah yeah, he got it. "I'll go first" he said impatiently before turning his gaze to the snitches flying above. Pffft this was the easiest game ever.

He aimed the wand PERFECTLY at the snitch and as he flicked it the golden object zoomed out of the way and he missed his target. "Hey! that's cheating"

If she had noticed the women standing in the corner of the booth, Lia had paid no mind to her until Daniel glanced that way. A quick glance was spared in that direction before her attention was right back on the boy that stood beside her. Uh, what was that about? There was a slight puzzled expression in her eyes but it was quickly gone as their conversation continued.

"That would be nice." Oh, how easy it would have been to catch-up on everything that she felt she hadn't been able to properly learn in her first. Cursebreaker? Well that explained the books he has wanted at least. "Nice! Be ready for a whole lot of hard work and studying ahead of you for that career." Most of the really awesome careers took lots of work to get there. "I haven't officially decided yet.. something creature or plant related.." That's what she knew. Where her heart lie.

Miss Donovan?! Sparkling blue eyes grew wide in surprise and a bright smile tugged at her lips. "Prof-" Erm, nope. Not a professor anymore. "Mister Aguilar! Hi! How are you? Can anyone really do that during the summer, Sir.. plus this is for a bet!" she corrected herself quickly, casting a slight frown at Daniel for calling Aguilar 'old'. "I do. He taught Flying during my first year at Hogwarts." Speaking of which.. "How come you didn't come back?" she looked back at Aguilar questioningly.

Moving forward to take the wand that was being offered to her, she kept enough space between herself and Daniel so she wouldn't be bumped into as he moved around. "Go ahead." She was all for him going first if he wanted to.

All of her attention was on her friend as he took his turn at playing the game. When the snitch flew out of the way of being hit and Daniel complained it was 'cheating' she gave a soft giggle. Not because he had missed or anything like that but because it was how she reacted when playing muggle video games at home. "It's supposed to move out of the way, that's the whole point. You didn't think it was just going to sit right there and let you zap it, did you?" A real snitch out on the Quidditch field would never hover around in one spot and never move.

The smile from Camilo was admittedly pleasant and almost brought a smile to her own. But she was stubborn in her ways and very much the sort to fight the reflex to yawn just because she had observed someone nearby yawn as well. Which was rather revealing when you thought about it.

And yes, good. He could deal with the couple now while she carried on minding the plants.

Her eyes did briefly flick over to the little ankle biter who was staring at her [Daniel], but thankfully for the boy she became sufficiently distracted before she could provide him with daggers for eyes. Instead her eyes widened, briefly dilated, and betrayed her (as they tended to do for whatever reason whenever Theodore was near).

"Gift wrapping will cost you extra," she replied coolly while reaching for one of the wands and pulling it from its storage. "Another gift for your mother, I presume?" As was always the case whenever he stepped into Noltie's. "Must be amassing quite the conservatory by now." Left hand on her hip, she handed over the wand with the right. "One shot per wand. Aim wisely."

Was he ever going to get a warm welcome from this woman?

Theodore took it with a pinch of salt, and for some reason didn’t mind her chill reaction and lack of swooning, since she was probably internally swooning. He was particularly well groomed today, and it had accumulated a little extra confidence in his step, and it was obvious. With nothing else on the agenda, Theodore still checked his watch to give off the impression that he had places to go, people to see. Truthfully his days off work either consisted of a gym session or staying in bed all day. Working full time was hard, man.

“Extra?! I don’t get… I dunno… mates rates?” I suppose you could call them ‘mates’. Theodore leaned against the booth, finally lifting his shades and resting them on top of his head. It was much more satisfying to see her features in their full form, and she always took his breath away for a short moment. Today was no different as he took a moment to take her in.

He grinned, “Yup, yup… she loved the last one,” ha, if only she knew that he had kept it, “… thought I’d try and win her another.” Or add to his own collection, more like. He took hold of the wand she had passed to him and gave it a whirl. With one cocky eye closed, “Here goes nothing…” Theo aimed and quickly took a shot with a simple flick of the wrist.