Latest Site Notices

sweetpinkpixie · 10-05-2022, 12:47 AM

Placed strategically along the north side of the street, there are about five park benches on either side of the street offering a place for the weary to rest their tired feet for a moment. There is one situated between Potage's Cauldron Shop and Slug and Jiggers Apothecary, one between Madam Malkin's and Flourish and Blotts - and then on the opposite side of the street, between Magical Menagerie and Eeylops Owl Emporium, and Quality Quidditch Supplies and Scribbulus Writing Implements. The fifth bench is right before Gringotts Wizarding Bank, clearly placed there to let you know you've reached where the street begins to curve.

Take a seat and take a load off if you like, these benches are the perfect spots to sit and chat with friends while you take a break from shopping, or if you've come from Florean's you might be looking for a spot that you can sit and finish off your ice cream before it melts. Try not to be a bench hog though - if you're here for too long the benches themselves might get sick of you and nudge you off so that somebody else can sit for a while too!

Lottiepot · 01-23-2024, 08:12 PM

Simona Bowen wouldn’t ordinarily be wandering the streets of Diagon Alley alone. Truthfully she wasn’t actually alone. Her mother was talking to someone outside of Flourish and Blotts and being the strong independent nine-year-old that she was, she had been parked up on the bench to wait for her to finish her conversation.

It was the weekend which meant no St Woboldo’s and seeing as it was a couple of months into term for the Hogwarts students, it was eerily quiet along the usually bustling street. Simi didn’t mind the quiet so much, what she did miss was being able to pop into one of her sisters rooms for the company she was craving every once in a while. It hadn’t been so bad up until Miriam had turned eleven and now she was the only one left out of a close knit unit of five. Thankfully primary school had provided a welcome distraction, as had the many activities she had engulfed herself in eagerly awaiting her sister’s return. There was a whole mountain of friendship bracelets she had made, each in their favourite colours (except for Anna’s because she was the living embodiment of a rainbow and therefore picking just one colour wasn’t enough) ready to give to them at Christmas.

That was what the girl had chosen to embark on whilst waiting on the bench. Her petite legs swung back and forth, her lack of height preventing her feet from touching the ground. Her fingers were working overtime, braiding the thread back and forth, over and under then tying on a lettered bead, a T for Tamara. Her nose scrunched up in frustration as the bead came pinging off and rolled its way onto a cobblestone somewhere probably never to be seen again.

Felixir · 01-26-2024, 06:22 PM

If anyone asked - and they wouldn't, but it was nice to pretend that they would - TJ Kruus was now incredibly grown up, having just recently passed his tenth birthday. Old enough to come to Diagon Alley on his own, he argued. An argument that had been heard and then swiftly put down, by the way, so that rather than roaming the street alone like he'd have wanted to, TJ was pretending he was here alone while his mum ran some errands in some nearby shops. She could see him through the windows still, which totally cramped his style just to think about it, but it wasn't in his nature to go wandering off or do anything that might upset her or his dad.

There was only one thing that tempted him, and even that, TJ did not do. Slug and Jiggers could wait. It would have to, as it did always did.

In any case, there was no need to even really focus on his impatience, as it didn't take long for TJ to recognise someone from school. Weird as, seeing school people out in the wild, but not as weird as when it was one of the teachers.

TJ bounded benchwards, stumbling slightly as his foot caught on one of the cobblestones and nearly causing him to drop his paper bag of muggle pick'n'mix. He approached right on time to see Simona drop... whatever it was she dropped.

"What're you making?" TJ asked, pulling a jelly snake from the back of sweets and promptly biting its head off. Oh, yeah! "Want one?" He had loads, not just snakes. All bought with some of his birthday money. They were going to add a haul of magic sweets to it today, too.

Lottiepot · 01-26-2024, 09:12 PM

Oh hello friend!

Or an acquaintance? Simona had no reason to believe that her fellow classmate wasn’t a friend as there wasn’t any bad blood between them. She was more one of those children who kept herself to herself over in the craft corner and whose play times were spent watching the other kids play ‘duck duck goose’ or ‘stuck in the mud’ without joining in. Physical education wasn’t her thing and if she were to play she would likely be out in the first round. She wasn’t UNsociable though, just independent. She could appreciate others company without expressly needing it all the time.

“Hi TJ” the youngest Bowen smiled sweetly. “I’m making my sisters friendship bracelets for Christmas but I’ve just lost one of the beads.” Her nose scrunched up in that annoyed bunny rabbit expression. Could she go search for it? Yes. Did she want to make the effort of getting off the bench and crawling around for it? Nope. The nine-year-old wasn’t going to refuse a sweet treat, she had been planning on convincing her Mum to take her to Florean’s after she was done shopping anyway. “Thanks!” Her hand reached in to pull out one of those foam banana thingies which she bit in half.

Her mother glanced up as she heard her daughter speaking although turned back to her conversation upon seeing the young lad that had joined her and the reassuring smile from the youngster. Stranger danger and all that.

“Are you here with your parents too?” Her eyes quickly scanned the street to search out the presence of other adults in the vicinity.

Felixir · 02-23-2024, 12:17 AM

Automatically, TJ found himself checking the ground, lifting one foot and then the other in search of the lost bead. Not for too long though, otherwise he'd go toppling over, and that was never fun. Anyway, the sweets were more important. Sorry bead, but they just were. Once Simona had taken one, he dipped his hand in for one too, though the jelly snake was still only half consumed.

"M'mum's over there," TJ admitted - and it did feel very much like an admission, which was why he sort of mumbled it reluctantly as he waved what remained of the jelly snake's body over his shoulder at some of the shops. Like he didn't know exactly which one she was in, and that she was probably looking out at them at this very moment. "What about the bracelets? D'you need the bead to finish them?" Ha! That rhymed. Sort of.

He checked the ground again, now wondering if he was likely to step on the wayward bead and manage to slip on it or something. Because if it was possible, he'd probably end up doing it. TJ did not like to be called clumsy, ever, but he did have an unfortunate habit of tripping over his own feet or ricocheting off doorframes on his way through them, so actual obstacles were a bit of a nightmare.

Lottiepot · 02-24-2024, 06:58 PM

Being nine was that awkward age where Simona felt that she was definitely brave enough to be on her own in Diagon Alley and yet the fact that her mother was close enough to see her was comforting and offered the security that if anything was to happen she would be straight over. She turned in the direction TJ was indicating whilst nomming on the remaining half of her sweet. “I think Mums secretly have eyes in the backs of their heads” she softly giggled. They always had a habit of knowing what their children were up to, even if they weren’t looking directly towards them. Not that Simi did anything to misbehave but if she did, she was sure that she would be swiftly caught out.

With that being said, she did have the advantage of being the youngest child in the family and therefore the exhaustion her parents must’ve felt bringing up four other girls before Simona came along likely left this Bowen able to get away with the most if she wanted. It was probably a good thing that she hadn’t reached those rebellious teenage years yet, nor had she developed the personality to. She couldn’t WAIT to see what house the Sorting Hat would place her into.

“No” she sighed remembering that the bead was likely long gone now and it would be impossible to find it again. “Well yes.. I was going to put their initials on them but I guess I can do it without them.” Or she could wait until she was home again and hope that she had another. “I wish we could do magic already.” Her short legs swung underneath her as she placed the bracelet back into the satchel she had slung over her shoulder. It would make life SO much easier to just wave a wand and be done with it. That was if she truly was magical and that there wasn’t some curse she didn’t know about that the fifth sibling would turn out to be a squib.

astrocat · 01-07-2025, 11:52 PM

Ashley Fox was out and about today in full force. Which - because of her semi-recent accident limiting her energy - meant sitting on this bench with her art notebook, waving at tiny children and letting people see her work-in-progress while simultaneously handing out invites for her next art show. It was networking AND socializing, okay. And one especially awesome teenager complimented a few of her tattoos, which made her so flattered and she simply HAD to tell him all about where she got them and what they meant to her.

Towards the end of the day, she found herself getting tired and quieted down a little, focusing on her painting of a weary woman transforming into a butterfly. She wasn't ready to go home just yet... and her boyfriend wasn't due to pick her up for another hour or so. Ash allowed herself to get lost in her paints, tuning out the busy space around her so she could drift back into her mind.

NiallNIP · 01-09-2025, 10:39 AM

Quinn had been having fairly frequent outings to Diagon Alley recently. Good for a bit of destressing from the whole...everything, really. Their homecoming was going better than they thought in some ways and much, much worse in others. They had been home for over a year now, and it was at once comforting and painful. C'est la vie.

They were walking down the street, just taking a moment for themself, when they thought they recognized someone on one of the benches. As they approached they squinted a bit, trying to make out if they were wrong, and then realized they weren't. They stopped a couple feet away from the bench, not wanting to run up for a hug on the off chance they were mistaken. "Ash?"

astrocat · 01-09-2025, 11:09 PM

SPOILER!!: Quinn!!

While Ashley was quite invested in her work and in her thoughts, she wasn't so distracted that she didn't hear her name being called. What was interesting, though, was that the voice was both familiar and strange. Obviously someone must know her personally, because she wasn't yet the sort of artist and writer that many strangers recognized on the street... but it was not a voice she'd heard in a long time. And yet somehow, she associated it with positive feelings.

...

"Quinn?" Ash looked up, almost unsure that they were real. They were so... grown up! They were so... adult! But she could still recognize them immediately. She never forgot a friend's eyes (or the rest of their face), never ever. Setting her work down on the bench, she jumped up (read: got up carefully and gingerly in a way that her healers would most likely appreciate) and held her arms out for them. "I thought I'd never see you again." But she was so, so glad that she did, because she'd heard nothing for years, and sometimes she worried. At some point she'd made peace with the idea that they weren't coming back, but she was a big worrier when it came to her friends. Not knowing where they were or if they were safe was truly the worst feeling. "I never forgot about you, you know."

*squidnie* · 10-15-2025, 04:31 AM

It was… weird to be back, to say the least. Anna Keller had spent the better part of the day walking up and down and back up Diagon Alley, re-acclimating herself and dredging up memories. Most of them were positive, though colored as they were by at least thirteen years of life separating her from them.

On what she thought was her likely last pass of the day, she’d gotten herself a tea to-go from the espresso place and wandered back toward the Leaky Cauldron. She didn’t feel like leaving, though. She wasn’t sure where she was staying tonight. Maybe she’d stay at the Cauldron? Or take the Knight Bus somewhere. Or even find a muggle hotel. Before that, though, she was considering getting a tattoo.

She sat down on a bench near enough to the tattoo shop, holding her to-go cup with both hands and sipping her tea carefully as she considered her options.

Erindipity · 10-15-2025, 09:57 PM

Ama heaved a great sigh as she plopped onto the bench and cast a glance about. You'd think she would tire of the Alley since her businesses were not far away, but the sense of nostalgia and comfort this place always brought was a huge pull to return day after day. Throwing a heavily tattooed arm over the back of the seat she began one of her favorite past times: People watching.

GAWWD there was no better place to watch the people than right here. NO PLACE. There were always a slew of interesting folks to behold (and silently judge with her husband or plethora of siblings). Sheesh. Her husband, btw. He was so dreamy. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she thought of Elon for a brief moment, dissociating a bit.

FearlessLeader19 · 10-18-2025, 08:19 PM

SPOILER!!: Ama! <3

It was a beautiful day out, the perfect day to pick up a few materials for her fashion studio. Aria had also asked her to grab a few materials she needed so currently, Anita Aguilar’s arms were quite full with packages and bags from various shops around Diagon Alley. Yes, there was the fact that she could magick them to Posh and Sassy Studios, however, meticulous as she was with her supplies, Annie wanted to double check that the staff at the shops had packed everything she ordered.

If only she could make it to one of those benches…

“OH NO!”

Hands grasping shopping bag handles that were too numerous to mention, and packages stacked in those hands, it made sense that it would be a short moment before she had an accident. The packages tipped at the exact moment she stepped side by side with the woman on the bench that the mayhem chose to occur. Without really thinking, Annie scrambled for them, only to drop her bags and…

It really was all too much!

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!’’ Had any of her belongings tumbled or fallen onto the woman?

sweetpinkpixie · 10-20-2025, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squidnie

It was… weird to be back, to say the least. Anna Keller had spent the better part of the day walking up and down and back up Diagon Alley, re-acclimating herself and dredging up memories. Most of them were positive, though colored as they were by at least thirteen years of life separating her from them.

On what she thought was her likely last pass of the day, she’d gotten herself a tea to-go from the espresso place and wandered back toward the Leaky Cauldron. She didn’t feel like leaving, though. She wasn’t sure where she was staying tonight. Maybe she’d stay at the Cauldron? Or take the Knight Bus somewhere. Or even find a muggle hotel. Before that, though, she was considering getting a tattoo.

She sat down on a bench near enough to the tattoo shop, holding her to-go cup with both hands and sipping her tea carefully as she considered her options.

Noah had just stepped out of Flourish & Blotts, his hands full with purchases, when he caught sight of her.

For a moment, he froze, as though time had stilled in the middle of Diagon Alley. The tilt of her head, the way she sipped her beverage, the casual arc of her gaze... they were all the same and yet elevated from those nights gathered around the Ravenclaw table for meals. So many memories flooded back in an instant that he stumbled midstride, pausing to regain his footing so there wouldn't be another trip to St. Mungo's this month.

He let himself breathe, then stepped closer, his voice quiet but steady.

"A-A-Anna?"

He smiled faintly, an awkward, fond grin, and ran a hand through his ginger hair while balancing his bundle in the other hand. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed just the simplicity of her presence.

And if that wasn't her, well, there was going to be a Noah sized hold in the nearest store window.

*squidnie* · 10-20-2025, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Noah had just stepped out of Flourish & Blotts, his hands full with purchases, when he caught sight of her.

For a moment, he froze, as though time had stilled in the middle of Diagon Alley. The tilt of her head, the way she sipped her beverage, the casual arc of her gaze... they were all the same and yet elevated from those nights gathered around the Ravenclaw table for meals. So many memories flooded back in an instant that he stumbled midstride, pausing to regain his footing so there wouldn't be another trip to St. Mungo's this month.

He let himself breathe, then stepped closer, his voice quiet but steady.

"A-A-Anna?"

He smiled faintly, an awkward, fond grin, and ran a hand through his ginger hair while balancing his bundle in the other hand. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed just the simplicity of her presence.

And if that wasn't her, well, there was going to be a Noah sized hold in the nearest store window.

The person stumbling caught in her periphery, and Anna’s gaze darted that way, hypervigilant, without turning her head. She dismissed it as nothing. Then the person spoke. She hadn’t heard the voice in years, and even now it seemed unfamiliar; older, but there was more than that. Something she couldn’t quite place.

When he said her name, a smile spread across her own lips before could rein it in. Tilting her head, she let her eyes fall on his form completely. He was a grown man now, sure, but that movement with his hair reminded her of the twelve-year-old she once knew.

She was torn between wanting to throw herself at him in a hug and running far, far away.

She chose neither, instead taking a sip from her tea before responding.

“Noah.”

And… that was all he was getting from her, because there was a lump in her throat that wasn’t there a moment ago and she couldn’t speak around it.

sweetpinkpixie · 10-30-2025, 02:13 AM

Well...based on that reaction there was still a very real chance there would be a Noah shaped hole appearing in he nearest store window - or wall.

For a moment, he wasn’t sure she’d heard him right or recognized him. Her voice saying his name seemed to land flat in the air between them in the kind of tone one used with strangers and not childhood friends - best friends. He froze, the softest exhale escaping him as he tried to shape a reply that wouldn’t sound as clumsy as he felt. Naturally, nothing came. He swallowed once, twice, feeling the back of his throat tighten around everything question he wanted to ask but could no longer get out. His fingers tightened reflexively around the strap of the satchel at his shoulder, thumb worrying the worn leather. "I - uuuuuuh… didn’t mean to interrupt," he mumbled while shifting his weight from one foot to the other, his height suddenly feeling inconvenient and like he was looming where he shouldn’t be and his fingers raked through his fringe repeatedly as though trying to smooth out his thoughts. "You just looked…" he trailed off, exhaling softly through his nose and looking anywhere but at her. "Didn’t mean to make it weird," he added quickly. "Unspeakable business tends to… make you a bit odd in social situations. All that experimental magic pooling in one place does things to a person’s sense of normal conversation."

Noah gave a small sheepish shrug, eyes flicking briefly toward her before dropping again. "But, um… it’s good to see you again, though."

*squidnie* · 10-30-2025, 02:56 AM

Oh… oh, no. He was floundering a bit, wasn’t he? She tried to speak. Really, she did. But the lump in her throat was lodged in tightly and she couldn’t get it to shift. That was, until he mentioned unspeakable business and she realized he was, technically, a coworker. And then he actually met her eyes again, however briefly.

Finally, her voice returned and she sat up a bit straighter. “Noah,” she said again, as if trying out the name on her tongue. It’d been too long since she said it. It felt good, though. His presence alone brought her a sense of comfort that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

It was terrifying.

The urge to run away gripped her again. This time, she used the energy to propel herself off the bench and into his bigger frame, whether he was ready for it or not. Her arms wrapped around his middle, squeezing him in a hug that, honestly, she probably hadn’t given anyone since the last time she’d given one to her best friend. Noah.

“It’s good to see you too,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

sweetpinkpixie · 11-14-2025, 01:32 PM

For half a second... he thought she was standing to leave - which meant being unprepared for one Anna Keller to launch herself directly into his ribcage.

The impact knocked the wind out of him in a startled rush. His arms, utterly useless at the best of times, shot outward like two overcooked peces of spaghetti. "Oh-! Wait- I-!" Noah staggered back a full step, then another, boots skidding on the cobblestones. His satchel swung wildly at his hip. His long, lanky frame tried - and failed - to counter the momentum of a very determined hug.

Balance gone. Center of gravity: fleeing the scene.

And then gone.

He toppled backwards, dragging Anna with him in a modestly graceful disaster - their saving grace being the bench right behind them which meant he did not totally fall over. He still hit the bench with a muffled whumph and his coat bunched up like a badly stuffed cushion behind him, sparing his back. For a beat he sat frozen, blue eyes wide behind a wild tangle of ginger hair and arms wrapped around her in a panicked embrace. After a second, he attempted a pat on her back, which landed somewhere around 'stiff board' on the scale of physical affection. He blinked up at the cloudy sky past her shoulder, cheeks burning crimson.

"I... uh... sorry," he mumbled in a self-conscious cough. "My… er... center of gravity isn't… built for ambushes."

*squidnie* · 11-15-2025, 05:10 AM

All things considered, it was probably for the best that the attack!hug had only provided a split second of comfort. It was a moment of weakness. She knew better.

What Anna would not have been able to expect, though, was the complete and utter limb disaster that followed. Noah’s larger - and significantly more unstable, apparently - frame had taken her down with him. In the scuffle, she’d somehow ended up very ungracefully splayed over him, one leg up in the air with the other somehow still firmly planted on the sidewalk. Her face was squished, near as she could tell, somewhere between his jaw and shoulder. Her own center of gravity was putting a large portion of her body weight on the man beneath her.

And he was patting her back like he expected her to blow up at the slightest provocation.

… he was still as intelligent as ever, then, wasn’t he?

Anna coughed as well, clearing the stubborn lump from her throat again. She maneuvered her arms to get herself some leverage from the bench, pushed herself up, then completely flopped onto the bench (front side out, like a normal person) next to Noah. She tilted her head back against the top of the bench and closed her eyes with a sigh. “I apologize for the ambush.” Anna Keller was not blushing. She didn’t do that. “Are you hurt?”

Maybe coming back to London was a bad idea after all.

sweetpinkpixie · 11-28-2025, 02:28 PM

For a moment, Noah stayed exactly where he’d landed as the irrational fear that any sudden movement might startle whatever fragile equilibrium they’d managed to reclaim - if any. He slowly lowered his strangely rigid arms to his sides and finally breathed again when Anna flopped herself onto the bench beside him.

"Oh! No, I’m fine," he answered quickly, sitting up with the mechanical precision of someone attempting not to jostle a single particle of air. His hair was still sticking out at angles, a ginger constellation of static as he tried to smooth it down, only for it to spring defiantly back up. "Completely intact. Mostly intact. Ninety-eight percent. But I would say more of that has to do with spending too much time on Level 9 than...er...anyway. OH ― you're not hurt, are you? That landing seemed, well, complex.”

His ears were still, very much, pink.

He glanced at her only once, in that flicker-fast way he had all the way back when they were first and second years, checking for visible bruises before darting his gaze away again towards a particularly fascinating slow moving cloud above. "You don’t need to apologize," he said softly. "Your ambush… was very..." Noah paused, searching for a word that wasn’t 'startling' or 'terrifying' or 'catastrophically destabilizing to his internal gyroscope'. "…enthusiastic. And… reassuring. It’s… a compliment, actually. To be greeted with that much enthusiasm after so long. Reassuring to know I haven’t been forgotten."

A beat - a brighter shade of pink beginning to creep along his ears.

"I mean...well...I meant..."

Another beat and even more failed attempt to untangle his tongue.

"I just wasn’t expecting... you."

Only then did he gather the nerve to actually look at her as the tension in his shoulders loosened. "I'm... really glad to see you," he added, sincerity threading through the quiet words. "I just… wish I’d known you were coming back. Or...if you sent an owl, maybe it got lost? It’s been years, and…" He swallowed, the smallest, wry puff of breath escaping him. "I ... wasn't sure if I'd get to see you again."

*squidnie* · 11-28-2025, 04:08 PM

She noticed his hair, she did. Anna was glancing at Noah repeatedly in a similar not-really-looking-but-wanting-to-see way. Her gaze stuck for a moment, though, when he mentioned Level Nine. “You’re in the Department of Mysteries??” The question came out before she could even attempt to control it. He couldn’t just drop that information like that and not expect a follow up.

…the hypocrisy was not lost on her, okay?

“I’m not hurt,” she answered, pulling her gaze away from him to become seemingly captivated by a pigeon across the street. She almost smiled but was able to hold back. Complex. Not just the landing.

She sat quietly, eyes locked on that poor pigeon while her entire mental focus remained on Noah and the ramblings he was now firmly locked into. At the ‘forgotten’ word, she felt a distinct tug in her chest and a traitorous stinging sensation somewhere behind her eyes. Each word he said seemed to land directly on her heart or in her stomach, making her feel slightly sick and like she couldn’t breathe.

She was no coward, though, so when he turned to face her, she twisted herself to meet his eyes, silently hoping that hers didn’t betray any sign of the tears that were threatening them. She would not cry. She let his words hang in the air, waiting to see if he would continue speaking. When he didn’t, Anna let out the smallest of sighs. That pressure on her chest was getting worse. This was exactly what she’d been trying to avoid all these years - confronting her sudden disappearance and the reality that, even if she didn’t believe it sometimes - there were people that she hurt with it.

“You weren’t forgotten.” Her voice came out strained, which made her frown and clear her throat once again. “I - I’m sorry for the, er, surprise.” Shock. Materialization. Enthusiastic ambush. “I didn’t really tell anyone that I was coming back. I haven't been here long. I didn’t know I was coming back until… well, really, until after I was accepted for the job.” She hadn’t mentioned that, yet, had she? She took a deep breath, trying to settle herself. She felt off-kilter. Unstable. The only thing she could think to say at this point was, “It’s nice to see you.”

sweetpinkpixie · 01-05-2026, 01:22 AM

Noah's fingers found their way into his hair before he quite realized it, twisting a curl around his knuckle and then immediately letting it go once he realized he was doing it. "Ah... yes," he confirmed, voice almost apologetic and fingers twitching to busy themselves somewhere else. "Department of Mysteries. I, um… well... try not to lead with that. It tends to… raise questions and most of the time I quite literally cannot answer them or else risk my livelihood."

Maybe even his life. He still had not quite learned how to read Flamsteed's rather unique sense of humor

His gaze drifted after hers for a moment, landing on the pigeon across the street that was hopping along on just one leg - as though it were a perfectly reasonable focal point for this conversation. He nodded faintly at her assurance that she was not hurt, relief loosening something between his shoulders and fingers settling on the hems of his pockets.

At her next words he stilled entirely.

For a second, he didn’t say anything at all. Then he breathed out, slow and careful, and when he spoke again it was softer, steadier, like he was grounding himself in the sound of his own voice. "Thank you," he said simply. "I'm...glad...grateful, to hear that." It felt like the truest response he had. He looked at her then, like really properly looked, crisp blue eyes warm despite the nerves still buzzing under his skin. There was something different about him now, something more settled. Not louder, not bolder. Just… more certain. Of himself. Of where he stood.

"I'm… really, genuinely, really happy you're here," he added yet again, the corners of his mouth lifting in a small earnest smile. "It's... strange, how people can know you at a time when you don't even fully know yourself yet. You were one of those people for me. I've… grown since then. Quite a bit, I think. I'm sure you have done loads of growing yourself too." He hesitated, then gave a soft, almost self-conscious huff of a laugh. "It...is scary to admit aloud but...I'm even on the waiting list to adopt, if the paperwork ever decides to be kind."

The moment passed, and - true to form - he redirected, giving her an easy out from the heaviness of that particular topic.

"But...you said… accepted for a job?" Noah asked, head tilting slightly as curiosity replaced some of the anxiety. "What sort of marvelous opportunity has inspired you to come back?"

*squidnie* · 01-05-2026, 03:40 AM

Oh… right. Anna felt silly, almost, which was not a feeling that she enjoyed experiencing. “Of course,” she said, too quickly. “I won’t ask any follow-ups.” It was a suitable way out of that topic, anyway. The fact that they were now technically coworkers. Still… “It’s an impressive position. Congratulations.” She meant it, too. Even if it was a bit odd to congratulate him when he’d likely been there for some time, by the sound of it.

So closely was she watching him that as his body language began to shift, she took in each change and catalogued it. Felt something in herself shift to match. Or mirror.

She let out a deep breath, as if the pressure in her chest had suddenly dissipated and allowed movement. Her gaze dipped to the smile showing on his lips then back to his eyes, and one side of her mouth tugged upward in its own attempt. His words surprised her, knocked at her a bit, but not painfully. The muscles around her eyes softened and her mouth opened just slightly in surprise. That felt big. Like he’d told her something that meant something.

This time, Anna’s smile was full. Her response was soft. Awed. “That’s amazing, Noah.” The undesirable tears were threatening again. She glanced upward at the sky briefly to keep them at bay before settling her gaze back on her friend. Friend?

She laughed then - a real, genuine sound. It surprised her, but what surprised her even more was that she didn’t immediately want to rein it in and take it back. She let the feeling settle into her chest before answering him. “Curse Reversal Specialist.” She knew he was likely being genuine with his question, but she suddenly felt the need to explain herself further anyway. “I’ve been working in spells since graduating Hogwarts. I don’t know if you remember - my dad was a cursebreaker?” She paused, shaking her head slightly. “Is a cursebreaker. Anyway, this is essentially my dream job.” This time, the personal admission and real emotion didn’t scare her as much as it had moments ago. She expected the fear to return later, but for now, she’d enjoy this. It felt nice to be able to give him a real piece of her, like he’d done. Even if she wasn’t capable of addressing his earlier statement yet… he’d been that person for her as well; someone who knew her before she knew herself. And she didn’t have it in her yet to be able to thank him for that.

sweetpinkpixie · 01-21-2026, 06:32 AM

Noah's shoulders eased further at her quick agreement, a faint, relieved smile flickering across his face. "Thank you," he smiled. "I appreciate that." Compliments still sat oddly on him, but he inclined his head all the same. "And—ah—thank you. I don't know that my individual work measures up much compared to others but...I hope it makes a difference."

He listened without interrupting, blue eyes attentive and warm as she spoke, the way they always had been when he was younger - like every word mattered because it came from her. When she laughed - properly laughed - something bright and unmistakable crossed his expression, as though the sound itself had unlocked a memory he hadn't realized he'd been so feverently holding onto.

It wasn't that Noah lacked laughter in his life now. He had learned, over time, that joy still came, just... differently. More spaced out. Heavier with context. Victoria, the little sister he'd once been certain he never wanted and determined to deny the existence of, had arrived like a quiet miracle, undoing him in all the right ways and teaching him how to heal into the man he was standing here as now. He really should invite her over for dinner again soon. Indigo was a constant... kind and capable... but their bond had shifted into something strictly professional, at least as Noah understood it. Peggy lingered in his thoughts with fondness, though time and circumstance had complicated what once felt simple. Still, she remained someone he trusted, whose smile could warm him from the inside out. Aboli existed in a shared history of mutual unraveling and survival, a connection forged at their worst.

And then there were the others. Arsène - proof that a single word, red, could still threaten to buckle his knees and tempt him to make poor choices. Alexandre, once his closest companion, now someone he might pass on the street without recognition. Belle, too, a lingering question mark... whether she could ever accept the person Noah had taken so long to accept himself.

It was heartbreaking, how much could change. And yet... beautiful, too.

Because here was Anna. Still herself, and yet not. Someone who had known him before he had words for who he was, and who now stood before him with a life of her own, intersecting with his once more. Maybe this was a chance not to reclaim what had been, but to see who they had both become, and to build something gentler and truer on that foundation.

"Curse Reversal…" he echoed softly, reverently, as if tasting the words. His brows lifted, impressed in a way he didn't bother trying to hide. "That's... positively extraordinary, Anna. Do you...well, I suppose you must...but if you don't have a new wax seal made yet in honor of your new status, for work correspondences and such, it would be my honor to fix one for you."At the mention of her father, his fingers twitched again toward his hair before settling instead at his side. "I do remember," he said. "You used to talk about it with that look... like you were already halfway there in your head. Even if, maybe, back then, you may not have been completely certain." He smiled at her, genuine and proud. "I hope it's everything you hoped it would be."

For a moment, he simply sat there, letting the quiet realization that the people they had been were not lost, only… layered beneath who they were now. Noah said again, softer this time, steady. "London's… better with you in it. If it is not too bold of me to say and..." he trailed off, almost shyly, before adding, "...if you, well, if you ever want a familiar face while you're re-settling, I'd like formally offer my services."

*squidnie* · 01-22-2026, 06:17 AM

The protectiveness that surged in her was immediate and intense. Protectiveness toward Noah… against his words. The self-deprecation of them. Anna shook her head slightly, one side of her mouth twitching in an almost-smile. “I’m sure that’s not true,” she said confidently, “And you can’t tell me about your work, so you can’t argue.” A teasing tone had bled into her words. Ravenclaw logic never failed her.

She turned slightly toward him, her hands itching to fidget with her clothes, or reach out to him, or something. Instead, she slid her fingers under each of her thighs, pressing her palms into the bench beneath her. She listened to him carefully as he spoke, finding herself focusing on the timbre of his voice. She’d heard that voice through several different stages. It was different now, of course. Ten years would do that to a boy - now a man. He wasn’t the seventeen-year-old kid she knew before. But there was still him in the way he sounded. In the way he spoke.

“You’re too kind,” she said automatically, instinctively ready to decline the offer. She paused for a breath, though, and let herself smile again. “I think… I think that’d be very nice.” He said he’d be honored. “I think I’d like that very much.” It seemed like that could make it real, this job. It could help make it feel like hers. Like she deserved to be there.

Anna’s gaze flickered away then back to Noah’s face, side-long, too unsure to meet his eyes full-on now. He remembered. He had always known her so well. Even when it felt like she hadn’t known herself at all. “I hope so too,” she said quietly. There was more she wanted to say, but the rest caught in her throat again. How was she supposed to tell him?

… like that, she supposed. Now, she was able to make direct eye-contact. She gave a short, sharp nod. Blinked twice to keep the threatening tears behind her eyes where they belonged. Cleared her throat.

“I’d like that, too.” She nodded again, punctuating her own words. She forced a deep breath before continuing. “I’m glad I ran into you today. Er- literally. If nothing else, I’m glad I came back to London because I got to see you.” There it was.

sweetpinkpixie · Yesterday, 12:24 AM

Noah ducked his head slightly, a soft exhale leaving him as though he'd been holding that breath for years without realizing it and ruffled his untamed red curls. "I'm glad you ran into me too," he admitted, the corner of his mouth lifting. "Though perhaps next time we can attempt it with less… full-body commitment."

The attempt at humor was gentle, fond, and with a lingering concern for his more brittle physique. He let the moment linger a second longer before something practical tugged at the edge of his thoughts. The ever present awareness of time, of obligations waiting in neatly stacked parchment piles, was another intense byproduct of working in Mysteries ― particularly when his research and cataloguing shifted focus to the Time Room.

His fingers brushed at the hem of his coat as he straightened a little. "I do, unfortunately, have to head back shortly," he said with visible reluctance. "There's a bit of writing waiting for me that becomes… temperamental if ignored for too long." A small pause as he held up the bag on his person from Flourish and Blotts. "But," he added quickly, "if you're not in a hurry… I could walk you wherever you're staying.”

He glanced at her properly then, hesitating and searching for phrasing that didn't sound overly sentimental or desperate. "I'd like a few more minutes. To talk. And so I know where to send an owl that won't get tragically lost in transit again." The owl was fine, by the way. Properly returned to sender and everything.

There was something very Noah about the practicality of it. Not possessive. Not forward. Just… wanting continuity. A way to ensure this didn’t slip back into a decade or more years of silence.

"And," he added lightly, adjusting his satchel strap on his shoulder, "Diagon Alley can be treacherous terrain, as we've clearly established." His smile softened again. "If you’d allow me the honor?"

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