"Oh! Thank you," Maggie said, sounding quite surprised. She shuffled her feet. "But I don't know . . ."

She was already going to be up to her neck in trouble. She wasn't sure how bad it would be. She'd never run off or defied her parents the way she had today. She was sure it would be bad though. And there was still quite a bit of summer to go that she'd have to deal with her parents throughout. The hair stood on the back of her neck at thought of her mother's shrill voice yelling at her. Her father's disappointed looks. Maybe this was a mistake. Perhaps she should've stood there and listened to her father converse about the magical sports ball. That certainly would have been the patented 'good girl' thing to do. No. Then she wouldn't have met Veda. Besides she was having . . . fun? She wasn't quite sure. It was a new sensation for the girl. And buying a pet was so tempting . . .

"You said potions shop next, right?" Maggie asked rhetorically as she put the remembrall in her tote bag. She remembered what Veda had said. "Let's go!" She said, hurrying out of the shop. It was probably best to leave anyway. Given that she asked to go to the joke shop it was likely the first place he'd check. If he was listening at all. Her parents rarely did. They weren't fans of dolls with voiceboxes. She wanted to prolong whatever grounding was coming her way for as long as possible. She knew that once he found her - and he would - it would be over. She didn't want today to end so soon.

@Veda Lunar

Location/Time Reducio Diagon Alley|Potion Supply Shop

Current Outfit Reducio New Hufflepuff Robes

Mentions Reducio @Margret Murphy

Veda nodded, once again confused at Maggie's hurry. She didn't even get a chance to say 'yes, we are going to get potion supplies' before the other girl's slim figure was darting away. She quickly rushed after her, narrowly avoiding witches and wizards. "Excuse me! Coming through!" Veda said to more people than she could count. She picked up a few rude remarks, but not enough to make her slow down. With the streets being this busy, she had to keep up with Maggie. Finally, she caught up to her new friend, and Veda was panting. Do you do track? You're really fast," Veda asked with her hands on her knees, bent over in fatigue.

Veda looked up and saw the potion supply shop. They were in a less populated section of Diagon Alley, though that doesn't mean it was empty. The shops looked more run down, the wizards more creepy, but Veda didn't mind as long as no one looked at her.

How about this, Veda brought up the pet conversation again. I can keep your pet with me until the train, then I can give it back to you. So your mom won't know! I think a pet would be good for both of us. As long as it's not a toad. I hate toads." Veda made a face at her last remark.

Maggie looked over her shoulder nervously. Her ears twitched as she listened for her father. As if he might hear the two girls plotting through the Diagon Alley crowds. She still couldn't see or hear him. He would probably be distracted by magical sports ball talk for quite a while if she had to guess. He was a socialite. Conversing was basically his only skill. 'Maggie'!" she chastised herself internally for the thought.

"I doubt I have enough extra money on me," Maggie pondered. Her family had plenty of money, but her father hesitated to exchange their muggle wealth for some strange new magical 'Chuck E. Cheese' coins. As such he only exchanged just enough for her school supplies. He said it 'sounded like a scam' and the currency 'made no sense'. Maggie recalled when her father first had the knut to sickle to galleon ratios explained to him. He almost had an aneurysm. To be fair, she didn't understand it either. What an obtuse currency.

"We'll have time to figure it out though," Maggie said as she slipped between members of the crowd. She stopped, realizing she had no clue where Potages even was or if they were going in the right direction at all. She stood on her tippy toes and leaned around the taller adults of the crowd, struggling to get a view of any particular shop. After a moment, Maggie caught a glimpse of cauldrons in a window. "There! I found it," Maggie pointed out. She picked up the pace, slipping between people until she managed her way to their destination.

@Veda Lunar