It was certainly funny to him, as Gray's head tilted back to give a soft laugh at her words. "Nope, you are the one and the only. I'm not sure I know any other McCarthy's at all." He wondered if that was a common name. His mother's last name certainly seemed to be - Russell was everywhere. Though truthfully, he was also related to most of them. "Well, I'm still a clumsy sort so it's not too big of a deal. I'm alright. I don't mind the help if you're willing to give it though. There was a ton of litter around so... I gathered a bit." Before promptly re-littering it. And while normally he wouldn't ask someone else to touch other people's trash, he was hoping to not lose the small progress he'd made by the winds picking it all up and away.

"My knight in shining armor!" He grinned back at her, before turning his attention back to picking up a few more pieces around him and reaching his lanky arm up to drop into the bin before back to reaching around. "What brings you to Diagon Alley today?"

[color="mediumredviolet"] She smiled at his words. She liked being the only McCarthy, though she wouldn't admit that because really that seemed sort of selfish and she knew plenty of McCarthy's since it was her family. "Well there is an entire litter of us at home, so plenty of McCarthy's to go around." Her parents seemed to be finally done having kids though, but her uncle had a few and then the kids start having kids. It was all just too much to think about really.

Laughing and shaking her head about the knight stuff, she really wouldn't go that far, but it was sweet. As she started picking up the litter to help him out she just shrugged a bit, "I don't live too far from here so I thought I'd just take a little walk. During quidditch season I tend to stay around this area instead of Germany, less people recognize me here." She had become the starter this year for the team and her face was getting more and more known and even though she had been in the pro's for a few years the entire fans recognizing her and wanting to talk to her all the time was still something that made her so uncomfortable.

"What brings you down this way other than being a great person and picking up after people?"

"An entire litter? Do you have a lot of siblings or just cousins?" He smiled in response at her, trying to not think about his own. A good portion of his time was spent trying to find the Liu side of his family, people he didn't know since his Dad had passed when he was so young. The Russell's were around but... they were a mess, and he didn't much like them, his half sister Daytona included. Leela was his family and that was often where he stopped.

He grinned at her, offering another small "Thank you" as she did continue helping with picking up the litter. Between the two of them, they should be able to make quick work of the small armful he had collected prior to his trip. "That makes sense. Give yourself some peace and quiet during the offseason. How is Quidditch going?" He imagined good, and he believed he'd seen a couple of articles mentioning her name - but he could not remember for certain. The comment about him being a great person got a chuckle in response, and he shook his head, "I'm not really that. I actually am on a journey for a book for one of my uni classes. Library was all out, but I got distracted on my way."

[spoiler="mediumredviolet] She couldn't help but laugh, she felt like she didn't have too many cousins and then all of the sudden had quite a bit. "I am one of five. My older brother and I are only a year apart, then I have a younger brother who is a seventh year, I have a younger brother and sister that will have a few years before Hogwarts.. " See, littler in her eyes, but she enjoyed her close family and was happy she had them all. "What about your family?" She was always interested in other people.

As she continued to help clean up she nodded in agreement, "I don't want it to come across as something bad, I just, when I'm in Germany there isn't many places I can go without cameras or some sort of commotion. Which is lovely to have fans, but some days I just want to have an off day and a break." She hated feeling like she was ungrateful when she just struggled with the center of attention thing. "Oh Quidditch is going great, I got to be starter this year so that has been exciting. Training has been going well, just can't wait for the matches to start." She thought about offering him a ticket if he ever wanted to come watch, but didn't want to sound self absorbed either.

"What book are you looking for?" Not that she would know any uni books, but she loved reading and maybe it would sound interesting.

One of five?? That was certainly a lot, though he supposed in reality five was not that different from three. "That sounds like you guys are quite spread out in age as well then. Well, at least in terms of the younger two. When do they start at school?" His family was all done, to his knowledge even the cousins had all graduated and moved on. Though really, there were so many he tried to not know much on it was possible there were Russell's still running around there. "Mine?" Then came the awkward pause of trying to decide how much to divulge. "I'm the middle of three. My younger sister and I are pretty close. She graduated from Slytherin not long after we did."

From what he could remember her, the fact she quickly cleared that she didn't mean things in a bad way seemed very much on par with the sweet Chloe McCarthy he'd noticed before. It was certainly nostalgic feeling from back at school, and also nice to see that while they all grew and changed at least the positive personality traits seemed to remain in place. "That seems entirely understandable. And you do deserve a break. Just because you have recognition now doesn't mean you shouldn't still be entitled to privacy, which it seems can be a hard balance to find. I'm lucky that I only take small ads for modeling, and primarily for Chinese clothing companies. It gives me an excuse to visit and explore somewhere of interest to me." And truthfully, that was where he was hoping he would be recognized. "A starter! Congratulations, that's so exciting!! I'll have to try to catch one of your games!" Not that he knew much about Quidditch, but it was still very exciting to support a former peer.

"The Herbal Medicine Makers Handbook. I haven't tried the book store yet. I was hoping to give myself some time and try to find a gift for my little sister too for Christmas," never too early, "but I haven't figured out where to look for that yet." Maybe a herbology book for her as well? Or maybe he should try the junk shop and get her some cool looking upcycle items. Or maybe a book on upcycling AND some cool items?

"Yeah, I'm not sure if my parents one day decided oh, the older ones are getting to the point they don't need us lets have more or what." She laughed jokingly, but it had come as a shock at the time and she knew she had not taken the news well of having another girl after living her life as the only girl for so long. "Three isn't too bad of a number really, I was the middle of three for a long time. I didn't mind it really. Gunnar got a lot of attention being the oldest, so they were strict, Morgan is a handful, so I slid under the radar at times which was fun. " She never minded.

"You model? That is awesome, I could see you being great at that." He was handsome and she could see his smile doing great in ads. "[/b] She definitely enjoyed finding out what others did after school and loved to get to celebrate their amazingness with them. When he said about catching a game she couldn't help but really smile more. "I.. I could get you tickets if you ever wanted. You could bring a friend or girlfriend too if you want. Just let me know if you are ever interested."

"Are you wanting to get into medicine or herbology?" She smiled curiously, "I love learning about both really, I think if I hadn't went to quidditch I would have went into medicine or counseling. My dad works for the German ministry in the Herbology department so I grew up around plants." She was talking too much and got a bit pink in the cheeks knowing she should stop. "Oh I love Christmas shopping, it is one of my favorite things to do." Buying things for others was always so fun.

A small laugh escaped at her words, nodding his head. "Good for them too though. And it sounds like still enough age gap they won't have the experience of being the same age as nieces and nephews?" Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it certainly seemed like it would be confusing to explain to others. And understood enough about awkward family dynamics and just... not really wanting to have to explain them often. "Under the radar is good. I kind of had similar. My mom's eldest had a lot of drama surrounding her," self imposed, he would add, but decided against. "And my younger... needed a lot of attention. She's not a bad kid, just different needs." Leela had been the youngest when they'd lost their dad, so a lot of focus had gone to her. Something started by him really.

"I do! It's not what I really imagined doing but.. it pays the bills and gives me a lot of travel opportunity." To destination he wanted to go in. Losing his dad so young had cost him a lot of missing out on his paternal side of the family and the culture his Dad had grown up in. All he and Leela both really wanted was to have more connection with their dad, and this was his attempt at getting that for them. The offer of tickets was sweet, and he grinned at her before nodding. "If you ever have any spares, I'd love that." The idea of a girlfriend was laughable, and he couldn't help the soft chuckle. "No girlfriend. The one ticket is fine." Friends was not something he had a lot of either.

"Herbology. It's the only thing I've ever been interested in. I'm thinking I'd like to teach with it, or maybe apply for something in the ministry with my experience after I graduate." Which was.. so close. He really should probably buckle down and figure out the exact plan for after. "Oh? I could see you being good at that! Do you think maybe you'd still looking into sports medicine or counseling after your Quidditch career?" Not that he knew how long that lasted, but he remembered hearing something about a lot of people going into another related field after they'd played for some time. "German ministry? That sounds awesome. Does he like what he does?" The excitement at Christmas shopping was cute too, and once again Gray found himself smiling. "Do you have some time to maybe help me out then? I could use a female opinion to find something she might actually like."

She couldn't help but laugh as well, it all seemed crazy when talked about, plus she couldn't believe how mad she had been and now she couldn't see life without them. Her youngest siblings were great. "That is a good thing, I don't think my mom could handle that kind of stuff." She tried to think about who was the most dramatic with her siblings and honestly it wasn't Gunner, maybe herself, though she truly felt it was Morgan.

"I think Morgan is probably the most dramatic of all of us, but it could be just that he is more social." She felt she was social, but he out did her with friends and places to be. "I think traveling would be the best, I try to travel during the off season, but I typically end up just going to Brazil to visit family." She should try to go other places, but her trips to Brazil were always fun. No, girlfriend was shocking if Chloe was thinking about it, someone as sweet and cute as him she figured would have been taken. "I can get tickets anytime I want so just let me know which game and I'll get it for you. Maybe we could even do dinner after or something." Especially if they won she would be willing to go out and celebrate.

"I really couldn't see my dad doing anything else, he has always been into plants, even invented one while he was still at Hogwarts." Her pride in her dad really showed through as she spoke about him, she would always be a daddy's girl. "I don't know, I haven't really thought that far, but probably sports medicine since I see and deal with so many injuries every season." Not sure why she even looked at her watch when he said time, she had the entire day, "I'm all free, so I'd love to help."

Talking about her siblings brought another question to his mind, and while he vaguely remembered at least Gunnar and Morgan's names, he realized he didn't know what they had gone on to do. Or, well, in Morgan's case what they would be doing. "Where did Gunnar end up after school? And does your younger brother know what he wants to do after graduation?" Which always seemed to come sooner than one imagined it would.

"And are you the calmer of the McCarthy's?" He didn't really remember hearing of any drama surrounding her - but he also actively tried to stay uninvolved in all drama so long as it was not something he'd need to stand up for his sister for. So if Chloe had had any type of drama or anything surrounding her, odds were he would not have heard or noticed. Despite having liked his dorm mates, he never even got involved or questioned about any of their on goings. Probably a large reason why he hadn't had many lasting relationships after graduation. "Being social certainly can bring it's complications. Seems to come with more pros than anything though." Which at least there was that. "If you could pick somewhere to go outside of seeing family, where would you want to travel to?"

Tickets to one of her games and dinner after? It would certainly be really nice to get to catch up more and see her successes - so both of these ideas sounded good to him. "That sounds like fun! But if you're giving me free tickets, I insist on covering dinner. Deal?" He grinned at her, before pulling out his pocket calendar. "I also have most weekends free. So just give me a date for a weekend game and I'll be there."

Wait. Did she say her dad invented a plant??? How COOL was that? Gray couldn't help the slight widening to his eyes as he looked interested. "Really? Do you remember the name of the plant?" It was something he'd love to look into as well, just for the sake of interest. "Sports medicine would make sense. Gets to combine your caring and compassionate nature with your love of the sport in a great way." Though he supposed it didn't necessarily mean she'd deal with Quidditch related injuries alone. He was incredibly grateful at the agreement of help, and the large relieved smile properly was the best conveying of that. "Oh you're certainly saving me. My sister likes to repurpose old items and turn them into something new but... I have no idea what has beauty in it when it's an object." He'd gifted a few rather hideous shirts that she had been non too pleased about.

A crash. A clang. A terrible yOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooowel.

There was nothing particularly unusual about the kneazles and cats that belonged to those living in apartments in the Alley have at it around the rubbish bin. Someone HAD just thrown away half a tuna sandwich, after all. Though that was not exactly what this little quartette of orange and darker orange stripped fur were hissing about.

Wing bent in a direction it clearly ought not to be, Barnacle was just returning from an overseas delivery when he had uncharacteristically swished when he should have swooped and zigged when he should have zagged. The result was his left wing and side had fallen victim to the claws and paws of a kneazle perched upon one of the rubbish bins and now was a crumbled pile of defenseless feathers upon the ground. At least the furballs seemed preoccupied enough with one another and who got to carry home the prize that he was forgotten for now.

But not likely for too much longer...

Gemma was clearly out having a good time in the summer. She was going to meet some friends and do some shopping, but knowing the alley pretty well with her mom's old tea shop and her dad's bookstore she knew the shortcuts pretty well. Taking a turn she headed down near the rubbish bins just in time to see something out of place.

What the heck was that? Squinting she moved closer and noticed it was an owl. She glanced around to see if anyone was around, who's owl was it? "Hi little guy, are you okay?" She didn't want to scare the owl but she didn't want to just leave it either.

Camilo Aguilar usually passed by the rubbish bin without giving it a second glance - it was just a smelly (and in his opinion, potentially dangerous) rubbish bin! But the sound of a CRASH coming from the bin grabbed his attention. It could be just the kneazles or cats or whatever fighting around the bin, but it could also be the sound of someone throwing rubbish from a distance and missing it. As a shopkeeper in the Alley, he felt that he had the responsibility to pick up litter to keep the area clean. Unfortunately, what he discovered when he moved closer was not rubbish, but what seemed to be an injured owl.

"Oh no ... oh hello, Miss Kitridge," he said to Gemma, a former student whom he would have greeted more happily if the situation wasn't so bad. After a moment of hesitation, he stepped forward, shooed the furballs away and picked up the owl very carefully. "I don't think it's okay ... I think I'll take it to Eeylops - no, the owl post office is closer, they'll know how to treat the little guy. Would you like to come with me?" he offered.