Continued from here!
Participating: @Eira Cravensworth

Sadie bit back a frown at the negative tone in Eira's voice at the mention of her cousins.

"I know what you mean. My dad had a sister and a brother I never knew existed until I got my letter from Hogwarts. The sister has children, apparently, and I've not met them. Who knows, though? Your family's all magic, right? So maybe you'll get closer now that you're at school," Sadie suggested.

Then the conversation changed to the wondrous mundanity of muggle magic shops, and t he slightly less mundane subject of actual magical shops like the one they were standing in. Sadie still felt a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of products in the shop, but she made more of an effort to browse the shelves, now that she was becoming more comfortable around the magical stuff.

"I don't actually think I've ever seen a true magic shop in all my life as a muggle," Sadie said slowly, tapping her chin. "There've been a few toy shops with the occasional magic tricks, but it's all mostly tricks of the hand and that sort o' thing."

She walked slowly through the shop, hand finally settling on a yo-yo, and she was amused and baffled by the appearance of such an ordinary object. She looped the string around her middle finger.

"Eira? What's this-" And Sadie let the yo-yo fall without thinking, her eyes widening in surprise and terror as it began to scream louder than Miles had done when he was a baby.

As quickly as she could manage, Sadie scrambled and wound the string on the yo-yo once more, shoving it onto the shelf and welcoming the silence as its screaming ceased, but despite the loud obnoxiousness of it, she couldn't bite back the smile on her face.

"Wow. That was - that was something," she said, gesturing to the yo-yo. "Care to have a go?"

Outfit: A black pleated skirt just past her knees, a brown jumper with patches that almost matched the color of the original material, but not quite, and a pair of brown trainers with soles that clearly hadn't originally been fitted to this pair of shoes.

Eira made a tiny jump backwards as Sadie tugged the Screaming yo-yo before she gave an embarrassed laugh. "I haven't actually used any prank items," she confessed "I don't really know how to use a yo-yo... um, but I can teach you the different silverware one can use on different parties" she excitedly added.

And hearing Sadie share that her family's dynamic, Eira couldn't help but empathize with her. Families are... complicated. But thankfully not as complicated a prank items and toys.

Giving her a grin, she gingerly reached for the proffered toy and tried to imitate Sadie's earlier movement. It took a few turns, each time making her laugh as the supposed screaming turned into a segment of mid-shouts before she realized she had to focus her wrist movements.

"Oh this is like spellcasting!" she exclaimed "Spells needed precise wand movements in order to be cast correctly."

Happy that she managed to call back the yo-yo at least once, she offered it back to Sadie and clasped her hands behind her back, "Are you thinking of buying some trinkets or maybe a souvenir from Diagon Alley? I know that if I visited a magic shop in Muggle London, I would love those top hats or a deck of cards."

She would love to ask Sadie if they can be Quill Pals or maybe even share dorm rooms (according to her parents) if they were placed in the same houses. Her parents chose to keep it secret on how a student is placed in each house, but she had seen enough memorabilia from both her mum and dad that they were quite... enamored with their respective houses.

But then... the Cravensworths don't have owls, and she hasn't asked if Sadie's family received any correspondents through owl posts.

Eira was about to ask more before something bright and fluffy flounced and weaved through the shelves with its usual feline grace, causing some of the other customers (especially kids) to look at it both in awe and alarm.

The pearlescent ragdoll cat stared at Eira, its thick bushy tail swishing from side to side and opened its maw; her mum's voice flowed from the translucent figure-

"Starlight, let's meet up by Madame Malkin's within thirty minutes. I've got all the ingredients I need. Stay safe, darling!"

As soon as the message was delivered, the Cravensworth girl felt herself unfroze as her mum's Patronus dissolved into a silvery mist and gave a weak smile to Sadie.

"Ah, that's a Patronus by the way. My mum used it to send me a message."

OOC note: I'm so sorry for the late reply, just finished my term paper! Now I can respond to posts again quickly

Continued from here!
Participating: @Eira Cravensworth

Sadie watched with much amusement as Eira figured out the workings of the strange variation of the muggle invention that was the yo-yo. With each flick of Eira's hand, and each subsequent scream, Sadie's grin only grew until she was giggling so hard she had to struggle for every gasp of air. Scary wizarding toys and pranks were a lot more fun when they were being used by someone else, she realized.

"I hope casting spells isn't as difficult as this," she said as she took the yo-yo and began to attempt some of the old tricks Reina used to do for fun. Sadie couldn't manage them, so she quickly returned to the normal yo-yoing. "Is it really so hard, waving a wand around?"

The yo-yo let out a particularly guttural scream as Sadie began to slowly go through the movements to practice the classic 'trapeze' trick with it, but it still wasn't going as she'd hoped.

When Eira asked if Sadie had any intentions to buy souvenirs or other such memorabilia, Sadie kept her face even with the practice of a girl who'd been hiding her poverty her entire life. She didn't want to say that her parents had likely had to borrow money from their muggle bank just to buy her school supplies. It was too embarrassing.

"Honestly, my wand is enough of a souvenir for me. When I get it, that is," she said, smiling with a genuine excitement at the mere thought of having her own wand.

Her own wand. A magic wand. A stick that could cast actual, magical spells. It was still hard to believe, even after all she'd seen, and she almost expected to wake up any moment and return to her life before she received her letter from Hogwarts.

"But, really, what's-" she began to ask, but then the strange, glowy, spectral looking cat marched in gracefully, and Sadie looked between the cat and Eira, looking for any sign that this was, or wasn't, normal for witch children. The yo-yo ceased its trapeze movement, tangling in a mess of strings between her fingers, and the screaming alternated between an actual screech and a softer whimper as the yo-yo itself swung like a small pendulum in the stringy mess.

"Right," Sadie said slowly, blinking once. "A Patronus. Also known as... the wizard's cell phone...?"

Her statement, which had been intended to imply that she knew what she was talking about and wasn't a complete idiot when it came to all things magical, ended as more of a quiet question as she watched the Patronus dissolve into nothingness.

"Can you do that? Is that how young witches reach out to their parents?" she asked, seeming genuinely impressed.

Outfit: A black pleated skirt just past her knees, a brown jumper with patches that almost matched the color of the original material, but not quite, and a pair of brown trainers with soles that clearly hadn't originally been fitted to this pair of shoes.

Eira tilted her head at another term that was unfamiliar.

Celfone? It must be the tiny thingamabobs that Muggles would press on their ears and talk to while walking on the streets.

Tugging on the ends of her hair, Eira hummed.

"It's actually uncommon. Usually, we would send enchanted paper planes that can travel quite a ways if the owl post is not an option. Though, be careful not to use a Howler, they usually scream the contents of a letter."

Eira had noticed the sudden shift of Sadie's countenance ever so slightly earlier when she brought up souvenirs, and without meaning to, she took a hasty look over at Sadie's appearance once again. She thought it was just how Muggle fashion was, seeing as she had once noticed a group of teenagers wearing torn clothing with vibrant hair colors as they smoked by the alley near the Leaky Cauldron before dad dragged her away from them.

It wasn't that she pitied Sadie (it would be insulting to both of them), it was more of empathy where you wanted to hide something that you feel ashamed of. And one of those was Eira's ability to talk to a certain reptile that was deemed evil by most of wizarding society. Not that she hated her gift, rather, she detests that she has to hide it.

It was infuriating.

When Sadie mentioned that she was excited to get her wand, she nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I suppose that a wand is the best one you can get from the wizarding world. They are extensions of a wix after all."

Sadie looked a bit worried as she she voiced out the potential difficulty of casting spells. Eira wanted to reassure her that it is simple and she can catch up in no time at all, but would it be really reassuring?

Eira did come from an affluent family who had the means of getting her an excellent education after all, it may came out condescending to someone who had no knowledge of magic at all.

Spotting the time on a laughably gigantic clock with spirals for arms, Eira sadly knew that she had to meet her mum. The Cravensworths don't have an owl, and surely Sadie's family doesn't have one either as they are in a Muggle household.

But looking at Sadie's pretty blond hair, an inspiration strikes her.

She rummaged through her satchel and felt the cool surface of the object that she was looking for. Fishing out the barrette that she bought on a whim, she presented it to Sadie with a sincere smile.
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Sat on her palm was a multicolored barrette that shone brightly with the shop's vibrant lighting. "I usually give presents to visitors after a tea party," she explained, "But I want you to have this as a token from me, for the lovely time we have spent and as gratitude for sharing your world with me."

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She would have loved to conjure a flower for Sadie like how her mum does to her friends after hosting a gala but a pretty barrette suits her before she followed up the function of the hair accessory, "And not to worry, it changes colors to match your outfit and enchanted spiders can even spell out your name with silken webs if you wish!"

Her eyes widened when she saw the hand nearing the time her mum had asked to meet up with her, and while Eira wanted to spend more time with her new friend, she knew that it was time to leave. Like that Muggle fairytale about a girl who had to leave her prince by midnight.

"Oh my, how time does fly. Apologies, but I must cut our conversation short."

Tucking her hair behind her ear, she gave one last smile to Sadie. "I do hope we get to see each other at Hogwarts so we can learn more about each other. Mum's waiting and she's strict with punctuality. Have a wonderful time with your family here at Diagon Alley."

With a flourish, she exited the joke shop and headed towards Madam Malkin's, heart lighter and now even more excited to go to Hogwarts.

Yes, she and Sadie would definitely see each other again!

Continued from here!
Participating: @Eira Cravensworth

"Enchanted paper planes?" Sadie asked in amusement. That was quite possibly the funniest thing she'd heard all day. Well, maybe. The screaming yo-yo and the actual, real existence of kelpies were certainly up there. "I'd like to try out one of those 'howlers.' It sounds fun!"

The conversation shifted to wands once more, and, while it was a relief that Eira accepted Sadie's deflection, Sadie tried not to let herself realize that Eira had probably noticed her embarrassment. Sadie fought the urge to shrink back under Eira's unintentional gaze.

"Hopefully my wand's as impressive as yours," Sadie attempted a joke as Eira began to rummage through her bag.

She'd glanced at a nearby clock, Sadie had noticed, and her mom's strange little spectral cat phone had presented them with a clear time limit, so what came next? Was she going to give Sadie one of those 'enchanted paper planes' so they could keep in touch? This was the point when a muggle might've given Sadie their phone number, if Sadie had been able to afford a phone.

But Eira didn't produce a paper plane, or any sort of paper, really. Instead, she presented a beautiful barrette. One that looked otherworldly to the former muggle girl. Sadie accepted it with both hands, holding it like the precious item it was.

"Oh," she breathed, staring at the beautiful accessory in her hands.

She imagined what it would be like to attend one of Eira's tea parties. Maybe it was a bit pathetic, since they'd only just met, but the thought of being there - of spending time with Eira like that - it filled Sadie's heart with such overwhelming joy that she felt like her chest would explode from happiness. For once, she didn't feel very alone, and it was the first time someone not in her family had given her that feeling.

"Enchanted spiders," she repeated dumbly, not even registering her own words as she tried to keep her own smile from taking over her entire face. The urge to jump up and down from sheer happiness was there, and her willpower was struggling against it. She held the barrette to her chest as she watched Eira turn to leave.

"Thank you," she said quietly as her thumb rubbed the barrette.

She couldn't wait to see Eira again. In that moment, for Sadie Murdock, school couldn't come soon enough.

Outfit: A black pleated skirt just past her knees, a brown jumper with patches that almost matched the color of the original material, but not quite, and a pair of brown trainers with soles that clearly hadn't originally been fitted to this pair of shoes.