Indoor Seating
 

Joel
 

Boy, was it drenched out. Kingston knew their stay in England for the wedding ceremony would be a trip, but this was something else. He and Jer would soon be tying the knot within a month and the goosebumps were rising in a pleasant way as all their relatives were coming in. Part of his Giant descended clan included in a private but not small ceremony. It was quite an emotional journey since his return from Atlantis. The Quarter-Giant man would be spending the day wit his One-eighth giant sweetness with a delectable treat to match. He ordered them the giant sundae that they could share with plenty of strawberries for his princess.

"Aw, baby, you got your hair wet again," Kingston giggled at how adorable she looked. "Here, I'll fix it for you," Despite his rocky relationship with his ex-wife in the past, learning to style their hair type was a trait he would always thank her in teaching him. His personal choice in shaving his own head left him with little expertise on hair beforehand and she insisted on teaching him for Maria's sake as soon as she was born.

Of course, he's very cordial with his ex now and friendly around the kids. After setting down the sundae treat, he took his wand out to dry out Maria's hair. At first doing the usual side effect of air drying, the hair fluffed out soft and cloud-like. Then watching each strand that was frizzy soften at his wand's touch to it's usual soft waves and occasional curls that she could run her fingers through easily once again without it frizzing. "How's that? I hope you worked up an appetite cause I sure am starving" His usual laugh again. It had been sometime this month that he could easily laugh again and boy was it nice.

But Kingston knew his baby princess had a difficult time and like before he'd tear down trees to see her smile again, "Are you looking forward to the wedding? I have a feeling Emari serving as the ring bearer may not need to sit in the wagon anymore with how big he's grown." His own son, two years old and already trying to chase butterflies. He would ask the other lingering question, but he trusted Maria would express herself when comfortable enough and he wanted to make it easier for her to do so.

"Of course, princess," Kingston knew which ones to get for Maria. She was a teenager now and even more self-conscious and wanting to look her best. Thankfully there wasn't a lack of their type of magical hair products compared to back in Iceland.

His own stomach made a similar noise leading to his usual laughter, "Sure did, got the nepolitan and strawberry jam over on this side," Kingston beamed pointing where they were with the spoon before handing her the spoon to dig in. "Yes you are our one and only flower girl," Perfect in his eyes. "I'm very proud of you for doing your best in handling this different and difficult situation," It was a serious thing to discuss. "Jerald had told me that he informed you that I would be okay and listened to your concerns," It did break his quarter-giant heart on seeing and hearing how hurt his baby was that it moved her to tears. It was hard for him as well to be separated. "I'll let you know though, my capture was a result of misunderstanding that was eventually resolved. The worst they did was not let anyone leave right away or communicate with anyone above. " To ease any other concerns she said. "I'm just so happy to be with you again. We're going to make the most of our time from here on." He never wanted to leave his baby for so long again. It was also why his honeymoon wouldn't be right away.

He would continue the serious discussion as long as needed. Afterward, after shoveling quite a bit of ice cream from his side of the bowl. He would then ask more about her time, "How else has your time at Hogwarts been? Did you make any new friends? New activities and classes you're looking forward to?"

Maria let out a breath she didn't know she had held in and murmured "Then we can go to Primps later?" Maybe she could convince her dad to buy her more than just hair products like makeup? Taking the spoon from her dads she quickly dug into the strawberry jam side. After eating the first spoonful Marias eyes lit up, and she beamed warmly at her dad. "Floreans icecream is always so delicious don't you think daddy?" Eating another bite she thought about the wedding, and was happy that she was going to be the only flower girl there. "I get to wear the pretty dress, and I hope Emari doesn't give me a sloppy wet brotherly kiss that will ruin my makeup." She mumbled to herself more than to her dad, but she know he heard her because her daddy had that knack.

Maria ate more icecream and enjoyed it until daddy began explaining about his mernapping. Slowly she raised her head to look her daddy in the eyes as she said in a small tone that probably sounded like she was 6 again not 13.."I know Jerald did his best to make sure I knew you were okay, but not seeing you or hearing from you for so long gave me nightmares...It hurt because I worried so much.." It felt right to let out all her feelings and thoughts. It probably hurt her daddy though and she didn't want that. "I'm glad your home now and that we will be together all summer until I go back to hoggies again."

Maria kept quiet for a few minutes while she ate a lot more icecream to let herself think about school instead of the though stuff. "I've made some new friends like Desiree and Jude. And I'm taking Runes, CoMC and Muggle Studies as my new electives...because I can't take them all right? she asked. Maria had gotten better at flying too and her wandwork.

"Of course dear, and then we can go to Malkin's to get you more clothes," Kingston said in-between his spoonfuls of ice cream. Daddy-daughter dates were the best. He was especially glad her mother allowed her to stay with him after he was mernapped. The time apart really did help his relationship with his ex-wife. But enough on that, "Mmhmm, this is delicious! I'm trying not to take any of your share," Giggling again. He would never take her share, it was too of a good purchase and she deserved as much as she liked. He tried not to giggle too loud at what she said. He adored his family unit and was pleased to see Emari take well to his big sister. He imagined he would be wiping his little tears when she goes back to Hogwarts.

While it did sting hearing and seeing his baby girl hurt, he knew it was inevitable. "Aw, sweetie," Jerald did his best but feelings were not easy to calm in this matter specifically. Kingston wrapped an arm around Maria into his usual bear side hugs, "I know, and it's okay you felt that way. We'll be spending the rest of our time together, no interruptions until you head back to school."

"That's great, Maria," Hearing about her new friends, "You know you're also welcome to invite any and as many of your friends to the wedding if you would like," Though she had an important job she was looking forward to, the party scene he imagined she would want to spend time not babysitting little Emari. "Maybe even... a special someone," Trying his best not to giggle. Was it too early for her to have a date? Whatever made her comfortable he was perfectly happy to accommodate. "Ohh, very nice. We'll get those books just for you then so you'll be ready then," Then adding, "Maybe even a new broom.." Was he spoiling her? Yes. And proudly too, after such a hard time.

More clothes? She could get a new blouse, a new skirt and all the things that were now too short? In between mouthfuls of ice cream she beamed brightly "Thank you, thank you daddy you are the bestest! Most of my school clothes are getting too short." Dads usually didn’t like going clothes shopping with their teen daughters, but her dad did and that made him the best without question. Eating more ice cream even though she was starting to feel full up Maria asked "Can we try making ice cream at home? Or maybe bake something? I want to give Emari something delicious too." Maria loved her little brother and he deserved something delicious to feast on too.

When her daddy wrapped her in one of his usual bear side hugs she held on longer as she murmured quietly "Must i go back to school? Can’t I stay home with you all and study from afar?" It was something that she had been thinking about a little lately. If she saw her daddy everyday then he wouldn’t be mernapped again.

Eyes going big and wide with shock at the suggestion Maria pulled out of the hug to stare up into her dad’s eyes "Who says that I have a boyfriend? Jerald? There is Kion I suppose. He is nice and he makes me feel warm and giggly inside, but I don’t know him very well yet." That she could invite friends to the wedding was forgotten amidst the shock of her daddy believing that she had a boyfriend.

“Can I get a broom that is good for chasers?" She wondered,as her pulse started to slow down as the shock settled. To get new clothes, a broom, hair products, books and maybe candy too? This was the best Diagon Alley outing ever.

For Astrid/Ash
 

Since moving to Canada for university, Heath’s visits to London were few and far between. It was even rarer that they happened in the middle of the school year. As it was, his grandmother’s birthday was this weekend, which, knowing that side of the family, was bound to be a lavish affair. In other words, not his cup of tea at all! He probably would’ve stayed home and made some excuse about too much schoolwork (which wasn’t far from the truth), had he not gotten a letter from Ash.

As soon as he learned that his friend needed a listening ear, he scheduled a meet up for the same weekend he was supposed to be in London anyway. A couple of days here, then back to school. That was the plan. He sat at a table near the entrance, absentmindedly stirring his ice cream - one scoop pumpkin juice and one scoop creme brulee, a concoction his pumpkin-obsessed mother would’ve approved. His dark eyes flicked forward the door, watching for Ash. What was it that she needed to talk about?

Heath wasn’t worried about Ash being late. Well, maybe that was a poor choice of words. By “not worried”, he meant “not annoyed”. He was mildly concerned that she might be late because something bad happened, but that thought disappeared as soon as he saw her arrive. “Ash! Hi!” He greeted with a huge smile. His dark hair fell into his eyes as she shook his head. “No, not at all. Besides, I have this to pass the time.” He gestured toward his ice cream dish. “Want some? My treat.”

How long had it been since he last saw Ash? Too long. He really needed to come back to London more often, but… school and work. “I’ve been well,” he replied, “just busy with university and work. I’m starring in a production of Dracula later this month.” It was nothing fancy, just a play put on by the school, but it was still fun. “How are you?”

Heath was hardly surprised to hear that Ash wanted ice cream. Who didn’t love ice cream?! He was moderately surprised by her hesitation. If she wanted Ice cream, why did-? Ohh. Understanding dawned in his eyes, and he smiled slightly. “That works too,” he replied. He could respect Ash’s wish to pay for herself - she reminded him of Claudine in that way - but he wouldn’t be a good friend if he didn’t at least offer!

As the subject turned to his latest acting project, he gave a dramatic twirl of his jacket and put on an exaggerated Transylvanian accent as he replied, “I am Dracula.” Not that he planned to ever use that accent onstage; his version of Dracula was meant to be tragic, not over-the-top comedic. The voice was just an attempt to make Ash laugh. Returning to his normal voice, he added with a chuckle, “I think the director only cast me because he thought I look the part!” He was joking, of course. He worked hard to earn that role!

Hearing Ash’s plans had him smiling again. “Sounds like you’re off to a great start,” he said. Probably better than he was when he left Hogwarts. “I hope those future plans involve art!” Ash was a great artist! Heath’s dark eyes scanned the photos laid out, but his face fell as he read the newspaper article. “Please tell me the connections you’re working with aren’t involved in any of this,” he said quietly. He looked at her with concern, but he would take her word for it when she said she was okay. “If you ever need anything, you can always come to Claudine and me. We’ll figure something out.”

It worked. Ash genuinely laughed, and cracked another smile that seemed to brighten her a little. "I knew you'd be Dracula! Not because you look like him and have a cool jacket, but because you're the best! What other lines do you have?" That was HER older-brother-figure-friend being the lead. And HER older-sister-figure-friend's boyfriend. Ash enthusiastically thought it was the best thing ever, despite not really being an enjoyer of plays. "You're great." It was the truth, as she saw it.

"Do you really think so?" Ash didn't feel like she was doing amazing. Except... living was pretty amazing, graduating Hogwarts was pretty amazing, having a boyfriend was pretty amazing, and finally having a safe apartment where she could go and relax was pretty amazing. So maybe she was doing alright? The parts where she never applied to university, failed all her driving tests, burned her dinner, spent a week of summer stuck with her dad again, and did other ill-advised things weren't the ONLY parts that determined how well she was doing. However, they were the parts that she tended to dwell on. She sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "They're not involved with him, exactly... it's more like they want to make him look bad and are fine with using me do do it as long as I prove I can come out on top. Which means... winning at legal things. And tabloid article things. And stuff like that, before they'll agree to help me with my nonprofit. That's what I want to do. Start my nonprofit and also do some writing things. But of course I'll continue making art personally, because art's my passion." That earned a smile. She could think about art all day. "I made one of the rooms in my apartment an art studio." She nodded at what he said about him and Claudine, considering. She'd keep it in mind for if she desperately needed it, but honestly she wanted to prove that she didn't need help and she could adult on her own even when things were hard. She wasn't sure that she could... hence the need to prove herself. "It's a kind offer, and I'll take you up on it only if I really have to. I think I'm going to get chocolate peanut butter. For my ice cream. Are you allergic to peanuts?"

Heath smiled, pleased to see that his Dracula impression got a laugh from Ash. Her laugh and the mention of his jacket made it impossible not to laugh along with her. “Thanks!” he replied. “I wear a cape in the show, but this was the best I could do with what I have.” Cue another dramatic jacket twirl. As for his lines… “Most of my lines are sung. It’s Dracula: the musical. Want to hear a sample?” He was already contemplating which song to sing… preferably one without romantic or violent undertones! The problem was that all of his songs had one or the other.

“Absolutely!” Heath replied to Ash’s question with an emphatic nod. He didn’t have to think twice about it; he knew she could handle what life threw her way. “You’ve got this! You’re strong enough to overcome any setbacks that come your way,” He wouldn’t lie to her, especially not about something like that!

His mind was buzzing in a million different directions as he listened. He wasn’t sure he liked the sound of those connections. While he was relieved to hear that they weren’t part of anything criminal, but the fact that they were willing to use Ash for anything sounded a lot like extortion to him. And what would happen if she didn’t win for them? There had to be another way to get her what she wanted! She mentioned writing. Maybe his dad could help her with that. “If you think that’s the best way to go about it, then I’m happy for you,” he said. Despite his concerns, he wasn’t going to tell her what to do. “What’s your nonprofit? And what kind of writing do you wnat to do?” He had allll the questions!

The more Heath talked about Dracula, the more Ash smiled. "Yes! Please sing me something!" She loved music, and she'd never ever heard any Dracula: The Musical songs. Now she had her heart set on hearing him sing it. Heath always had a way of cheering her up- whether it was talking about Dracula or reassuring her that he believed in her. She smiled.

"It's about the only way to go about it, short of asking my dad." Which obviously wouldn't work. She chewed her lip. "It's not great, honestly. I don't like knowing that they don't really care about my ideas at all, and just want more power for themselves. But hey." The smile returned. "Tt's nothing personal." Ash hated when things were personal, like it had always been with her dad. She preferred this. "I've always wanted to write a memoir, but I don't think I can do that until I'm... old and almost dead. So for now I guess I could write essays about different things I want to advocate for." Ash loved writing and art. She couldn't live without it, whether people liked her writing and art or not. So far, they seemed to. It was nice. "Um..." Ash hesitated at the question about her nonprofit idea. "It's going to be helping families like mine get better before they end up like mine," she answered vaguely, tugging on her bracelets. She didn't want to discuss it too much in public, where everyone could hear. "I want to address 2 or 3 issues contained within that. I'd love to tell you more about it later. Maybe at my house." She lit up. "You should see my apartment! Claudine should also see my apartment. It was too bad you couldn't attend my housewarming party."

Ooh. Speaking of Claudine... "How's Canada? Are you and Claudine living your best lives?"

Heath’s face brightened at the sight of Ash’s smile. Somehow he knew she’d be up for a song. The only question was which one. Ah, he had it! He got quiet, taking a moment to get into character. His posture changed, and his dark hair fell into his face as he bowed his head. In an instant, he was no longer Heathcliff Jones; he was Vlad Dracula contemplating his sad existence.

“The longer I live the less I’m certain that I have all the answers right, I’d give all my yesterdays for one more night…” he sang, keeping his voice down to convey Dracula’s sadness and to avoid disturbing the other ice cream shop customers who didn’t come for a concert. He cast a longing look toward the door, as if awaiting Mina Harker’s arrival. “It’s hard to make each moment count when you’re alone, maybe that’s all I need to know…” When he was done, he looked at Ash expectantly. “So what did you think?”

Heath still didn’t like the sound of Ash’s arrangement, especially when he heard about their desire for power, but he said nothing more on the subject. The mention of a memoir got a laugh from him. “Plenty of people who aren’t old and almost dead write memoirs,” he said. “I’d love to read yours someday.” An idea suddenly occurred to him when he heard about the essays. “If you’re looking for somewhere to publish your essays, my dad might be able to help you… depending on the topic. He’s a magazine editor.”

Heath still had questions about Ash’s nonprofit idea, but he took hesitation and bracelet tugging as his cue to keep quiet. Instead he kept the conversation light. “I’m in London til Monday. Maybe I can drop by before I leave?” he said. He’d love to see Ash’s apartment, though he felt a little guilty about missing her party. He made a mental note to buy a housewarming gift as soon as he got back to Canada; Claudine would probably want to help pick it out! Speaking of whom, his face lit up at the mention of the girlfriend. “We’re both doing well. Hard to believe we’re in our final year of university already!”

What life had in store for them next was anyone’s guess!

Stella and Aria!
 

Kath/Anna <3
 

A boy of few friends noticed people acknowledging him quite quickly, but Anna was definitely one that couldn’t be missed. He finished his mouthful and licked his lips to avoid further mess on top of his trousers, though he did rest his spare hand on top of the smudge to hide it from her. “Anna, Anna, Anna, Anna.” His tone wasn’t quite as enthusiastic, more of a monotone.

Of course, he was always happy to see his friend but sometimes the energy was a lot. Maybe he could convince her to buy a barbecued sausage flavoured ice cream to share since he couldn’t get a second. “Fancy seeing you here.” Solly smiled. On account of the streets of Diagon Alley being so busy during this time of year. He wouldn’t put it past her that she followed him here, though. “Are you getting one?” An ice cream, that is.

He gave his another lick.

A hug was totally expected but NOT while he had a precious ice cream in his hand. Solomon moved it away from his face and Anna’s hair, because that would be a disaster to ruin such hair, and the already melting ice cream dolloped on the floor. They didn’t topple over, because Solly dug his heels into the ground a bit to support them both, but now he had an Anna on his lap and it was… uuuhhmmmmmm… awkward.

“Well, luckily I wasn’t enjoying that flavour anyway.” Solly lied with a closed mouth smile, he didn’t want to hurt Anna’s feelings although that seemed impossible most of the time. He placed the empty cone onto the table face down, leaving more dribbles of ice cream everywhere and then waited for Anna to MOVE. Please. Kindly.

“Yep. We’ll get a barbecued sausage flavoured ice cream, if you dare try that with me!” It was a little like a Bertie Bott Every Flavoured Beans challenge, only better because ice cream. He did feel a little bad about demanding a potentially gross flavour when it was Anna paying. She was paying, right? “I wonder if they put sausage decorations on top.” His eyes darted to other customers to nose at what they were ordering.

and summer is coming to an end ;___;
 

Ally and Bryony!
 

Truth be told, Vera was pretty excited about Bryony also starting Hogwarts the upcoming term. The youngest Paton had a vibe that Vera easily could tune with, making her perhaps her favorite of the brood - well, except for the obvious other one. So it had been her pleasure to invite the younger girl for an ice cream (for Bryony only, of course) and then they could sit and chat and Vera could give insight to any potential questions the younger girl had. And while it MAY have seemed pointless to off this, considering she had three older siblings already at the school, Vera knew for certain she could be a totally unbiased party (kinda) who gave facts only (maybe) whereas siblings might be more interested in feeding fallacies.

Well, actually, she couldn’t really ascertain that for Nova and Melody but it certainly sounded like a Logan move.

Having already ordered, she led the way to a table - choosing to sit indoors since most of the other students seemed to prefer outside - and grabbed herself a chair. She made sure to push one out for Bry as well, as Vera then settled into her seat and got comfortable. “You figured out which house you’re hoping for yet, Bry?” Personally, she was rooting for another Gryffindor in the pride.

Bryony liked Vera. Quite a lot. Which was a good thing really for the older girl since she knew of things. It paid to have an older friend that she had kept in touch with last school year. So much gossip would've been missed otherwise. Thankfully, she had eyes and ears all around.. but that was for another time.

Today it was all about ice cream. And nothing messed with ice cream. Nothing. It would be silly to take such a peaceful moment and taint it with things that need not be brought up. Yet. Maybe. Only time would really tell for such. As for now, the young girl was quite content in focusing on the cup of ice cream cradled in her hands.

With a chair already pushed out for her, Bry lowered herself down onto the seat across from the older girl. "All the houses would be cool.. but I really don't care as long as the Sorting Hat remembers to keep Ary and me together." The question didn't need much deliberation, as long as they weren't separated all would be right in the world.

For Kath <3
 

Vera happened to be a big fan of Bryony as well. In fact, in previous years she wouldn't have hesitated to say the small energetic blonde was her favorite of the Paton clan. Not that she was supposed to have favorites but… she did. But she also was completely unaware herself that the little spitfire would have known anything about the year prior or… things. She knew she and Vesper were friends of course, but she certainly did not expect baby sister to be going around and spilling her secrets.

And considering the other things she didn't know adjacent to that, perhaps it was a good thing they were focusing solely on ice cream for the day.

Was she surprised Bryony wanted to be placed with her little boyfriend? Absolutely not. And Ve wished she knew the boy well enough to then speculate what house he'd end up in. The impressions she got was he was probably not a Gryffindor, which was too bad because it would have been fun to have her around more. "Best thing about him having an A name is you can ask the hat to put you with him. I hear it's pretty good about taking requests into consideration!"

My word, Florean's made the most delicious ice cream! Just the right amount of sweetness, the perfect ratio of strawberries to clotted cream. It was now her favourite ice cream parlour.. This included the fancy Cornish ice cream which had become a staple in her diet of late. Visiting the new family in St Ives and making her way down the hill into the harbour to treat herself whenever she got the chance.

She was lost in her own world, taking her time over her dessert, enjoying every spoonful and letting it melt in her mouth. She was snapped out of her little dreamworld, however, when out of nowhere, a girl suddenly started teasing her. Her gaze went from the girl with the wiggly spoon, to her cauldron, to her post-it on the table--which she'd somehow managed to cram her entire supply list onto in her tiny, untidy writing—and back to the girl. Her cheeks pinked ever so slightly, but she laughed gently. Admittedly, it looked like she had the whole Diagon Alley stuffed inside the cauldron. “Oh I wish.” She replied breezily. “New girl in school means I have to get everything. It's like being a first year.”

She gestured for the girl to come and join her. She might as well get to know another, what she assumed, was a Hogwarts student, and another of around the same age as her.

“So I've got to come back again in a few days and get the rest.” Minus the cauldron. “Have you finished your shopping?”

Open Post!
 

*claims with a Sky Wiloughby*
 

It was a rather uncommon sight to see Sky Willoughby Daniau in Diagon Alley on a normal weekday. Minus the few times he’d been sent to drag his errant employee back from an extended lunch break. Astraea had been behaving as of late, though, and he also wasn’t about to go spy on his niece for his brother and brother-in-law. Gracelyn knew how to handle herself, and honestly Sky understood her reasons for not joining the family business. LakeStar had enough nepotism going on in its employee roster for a while.

Actually, it was rather a personal visit today, aside from what had brought him to Fortescue’s. Eli had told him to take a break, and so he had. Even if he was still rather dressed for work in suit pants and a dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. But he’d stepped into the ice cream shop to purchase a treat for Lorin’s youngest two kids. He’d treated himself to a scoop of treacle tart, though, the takeaway containers of chocolate frog and strawberry jam for Briar and Willoughby in a bag hanging from one elbow when he saw a familiar face seated near the window.

“Rosemary?”, he said, stepping closer to the table. Just in case it wasn’t her.

Her mind was busy with nothing as she stared out the window at the passing people. The more her years continued on, the less interesting she seemed to find things that used to fulfill her. The ice cream was delicious and she still felt well deserved, but the crowd watching? Not nearly as interesting. It occurred to her that she probably should have started trying to make other acquaintances - friends, even. She had Lucas and that was nothing to scoff at, but her older colleague could hardly want to deal with her all of the time.

She should have kept in touch with people at school. Should have kept in touch with friends she’d made during her brief time married. A whole lot of ‘should have’.

Her thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of her name, and Rose turned with a bit of surprise before a smile stretched when she noticed the familiar face. Another ‘should have’ right in front of her, it seemed. “Sky! It’s been a minute since I’ve seen you. How are you? How’s your cousin?” She assumed life was far quieter for him as well with both the subjects of their previous bonding graduated and no longer at magical boarding schools. Seeing the cup of ice cream in his hand, she gestured to the seat across from her. “Want to join me?”

Bits & Esme! <3
 

Wifey and the Hubby <3
 

Dates with her husband ALWAYS made Esme very happy. It didn’t matter how long they had been together, or what they did. She was just really happy to be with her Olly.

Ice cream dates were one of her favourite kinds of dates, and the summer was the best time for them. It was so nice to escape from the heat and enjoy something cold. Esme had chosen salted caramel ice cream with nuts on top. That was a yummy choice and she was very much looking forward to enjoying it.

Having reached the table they would be sitting at, she waited for Olly to join her. But instead of making his way over to her, he was just… standing there not looking so good. Frowning in concern, Esme made her way over to him. ”Let’s sit down.” Poor Olly had clearly gotten brain freeze, and he needed to sit down and wait for it to pass. Esme kissed his forehead as if that would help him to feel better.

The most adored hubby <3
 

Hubby <3
 

Esme's love <3
 

lovely husband <3