August 2020
@Lucia Fox

Summer had been a difficult one for Callie but in spite of everything she appeared as carefree as ever. After all the school year was starting again and it was only a matter of days away! The idea of Callie actually being excited to go to school wasn't a new one but this time her excitement had reached new heights. The past month or so had been a difficult one for Callie and retreating from the hardship to Hogwarts was an extremely welcome change of pace. Even if it meant she had to leave the delights of movies and video games behind for a few months, which wasn't exactly ideal. There was still so many games she wanted to play! In particular Roblox had managed to catch Callie's eye after Thomas and Elias brought it onto her radar but that's a story for another time.

Callie bounded through the door to the bookstore and looked around the neatly laid out shelves in awe. The possibilities were endless! Well, endless if Callie had the patience to properly sift through each book meticulously which she simply did not. Her attention was quickly caught by a dark navy blue book with gold flecks on the spine and it wasn't long before the book in question found it's way towards Callie's hands. As someone extremely keen to get ahead the book was one of particular interest which meant it entirely caught her full attention. So much so that Callie slowly sank to the floor and sat cross-legged, going as far to adjust her glasses to properly focus on the matter at hand. Thankfully this particular session of the bookshop was quiet so Callie found herself able to properly read the book, for now at least.

Interacting with @Callie Jensen
Family photo refs • Outfit (on the right)

If you were in Flourish and Blotts on any day of any year, there was a 99% chance that you wouldn't find any member of the Fox family within its walls. The reason why? Well, that much was obvious if you lived anywhere around Oxfordshire at least.
The Fox family lived in a bookshop.
As such, any books they needed were naturally taken from their own shelves, and Lucia could not remember ever actually entering Flourish and Blotts before.
The Foxes had already done their school shopping, but had realised several days too late that they lacked a copy of A History of Magic, which Briar needed for her first year at Hogwarts. And, annoyingly, that meant a trip to what was likely the most successful wizarding bookshop in the whole of the UK (if not the world).
And so, Ebony Fox had grudgingly organised a trip to Diagon Alley, opting to bring all three sisters rather than just Briar.

-•°•-

The moment they entered the shop, Lucia could tell it was going to be a bad day. Ebony had spent the first five minutes grumbling about all the customers they were getting, Briar distracted by the Ancient Runes section (which was stupid since she wouldn't even be taking the subject 'till third year), Lucia daydreaming and humming to herself, and Willow pleading to go to the Magical Mengarie.
By herself. Even though she was six years old.
Which obviously wasn't going to happen.
"Agh!" Ebony stifled a scream of frustration. Holding her hands up for the girls to fall silent and listen to her, she ordered, "Lucy, you go take Willow to the Magical Creatures section to keep her out of trouble for a bit - no, you're not leaving this shop, Wills, you hear me? - and Bree and I'll go find... What was it again dear?"
Having been informed which book it was the two were looking for, Ebony and Briar made their way towards what they hoped was the correct part of the shop, and Lucia grabbed Willow's hand before she could run off.
"Why can't I go see the animals, Lucy?" the girl whined, and Lucia had to explain that six-year-olds weren't generally permitted to wander off by themselves.
"But we'll go find some books about them, ok? With pictures." Lucia promised, and Willow happily pulled out of her grip before skipping towards the Magical Creatures section, forcing her sister to scurry after her.
The first thing the youngest Fox did upon arriving at the Magical Creatures section was spot the one person within range and make a beeline for her.
Merlin, not again.
Why was it that Willow was an extrovert, Briar antisocial, and Lucia stuck in the middle? Why, Merlin, why?!
Lucia hurried to pull Willow away, but she'd already started talking, leaning over as she did so to try see the cover of the girl's book.
"Hi, I'm Willow, what's your name? Ooooh, do you like magical creatures too? I love them, I want to be a Magizoologist when I'm grown up... What book're you reading? Is it good? I-"
The reason she'd stopped was because Lucia had snuck up behind her and clamped her hand firmly over her sister's lips. Willow mumbled through them, and Lucia winced apologetically at the girl.
"Sorry about that..." she said awkwardly, then pulled her hand away from Willow's mouth hurriedly. The little girl in question's tongue was hanging out, and she immediately retracted it.
"Ew, Wills, that's discusting!" Lucia wiped her hand on her skirt - it was obvious that Willow had licked it.
"You deserved it though." Willow muttered grumpily.

The last thing Callie was expecting in a bookshop was an escaped six year old to approach her and start asking questions but Callie had come to expect the unexpected since arriving at Hogwarts. Besides Callie was always willing to talk to someone! Especially people who seemed so interested in magical creatures as she was. Callie's own fascination with the creatures had been sparked a couple months prior by Miranda who entirely caught her attention when the pair started talking about the beasts. As a muggle born Callie often felt like she had a significant amount of catching up to do but when it came to catching up in her knowledge of creatures she didn't at all mind. The class itself may have been a year away but the books surrounding the topic were far too interesting to grow frustrated at. Besides anything that wasn't transfiguration or flying usually tended to capture Callie's interest anyway.

"Oh hey Willow, I'm Callie!" She greeted with a bright smile whilst resting her thumb on the page she'd gotten up to. "I love magical creatures too! But I don't know an awful lot about them yet, so that's why I'm reading this!" Callie held up the book to show the young girl the cover, proving it was a book on the very topic that the small child seemed to love. When someone who appeared to be the child's sister appeared and clamped her hand over the siblings lips, Callie couldn't help but chuckle. Her brother often had to do the same thing to Callie as she rarely ever realised when it was time to be quiet. "Ah, don't be sorry! I don't mind! Besides, I'm always willing to listen to an apparent expert on magical creatures." Callie looked to the younger child with a pleasant smile. "What are you guys in here looking for? I'm meant to be hunting for a charms book but I uh, got a little distracted.." She admitted with a sheepish grin.

Interacting with @Callie Jensen

Luckily, the girl - Callie, if Lucia had heard correctly - didn't seem to be all that annoyed at Willow's constant questioning, and Willow glowed with pride in response to Callie's compliment.
Though Lucia opened her mouth to answer the girl's question, it was the youngest Fox child who got in first. She had perked up the moment that Callie started speaking, and was bouncing from one foot to the other, hands clasped behind her back.
"Bree an' Ebony - that's our sister an' mother - they're getting a book. For Bree. For Hogwarts," she said quickly. "What's-"
Lucia interrupted, putting her hands on either of the little girl's shoulders to keep her still. "We don't usually come here," the Hufflepuff said in an apologetic tone. "This is the magical creatures section, right?"
"Duh, of course it's the magical creatures section!" Willow replied, squirming out of her sister's grip. "That's a book on magical creatures, isn't it?"
She pointed at the book in Callie's hands, and Lucia had to restrain herself from sighing 'It's rude to point.'
"Yes, Wills," Lucia said in what she hoped was a patient tone, "but that doesn't necessarily mean we're in the magical creatures section."
Willow looked flabbergasted at this 'logic', and immediately began ranting about books, idiots, and sisters. The only think Lucia really understood was that 'idiots' and 'sisters' were linked.
Ignoring her sister's tirade, Lucia held her hand out to Callie, offering an apologetic sigh. "I'm Lucia, Lucia Fox.

@Lucia Fox

For someone who a mere year ago was first coming to terms with all things magical for the first time Callie was surprisingly at home in the confines of the bookstore. Perhaps even more so now that she was speaking to two girls who were pleasant to talk to. Especially the younger sibling since she reminded Callie so much of herself although she did sympathise with Lucia since she often put her brother into a similar position. "Oooh, is it her first year? I had to do all that for the first time a year ago, crazy right?" Callie laughed and closed the book in her lap entirely to focus on the conversation at hand. "You don't usually come here? Where else do you go to get books then? I thought this was the only place.." In truth Callie wasn't at all aware that other magical bookstores existed, as silly as it may sound.

"Oh this is the magical creatures section! I got completely distracted..my friend Miranda told me all about some magical creatures so I just had to find out more! Do you know much about them? I still get a little lost if I'm honest." Callie grinned and stood up to shake Lucia's hand, adding in a small curtsy since she found the gesture quite formal. "Callie Jensen! Pleased to meet you!" Shortly after she tucked the book underneath her arm and idly drummed her fingers against it's spine. "What house are you in? I'm a Ravenclaw myself! I know it's a little early but I'm already excited to get back."

Interacting with @Callie Jensen
Sorry for such a late reply!
Family photo refs • Outfit (on the right)

"Yeah," Willow said offhandedly in response to Callie's question about Briar's year, before jumping back into her conversation.

Callie asked about where the Fox girls usually went to buy their books, if Flourish and Blotts didn't receive them as regular customers, and something between an amused smile and a long-suffering frown crept onto Lucia's lips.
"Fox? As in... Fox's Magic Shop?" she tried, though she knew it was probably pointless.
In truth, their family bookshop wasn't at all as popular as Ebony liked to make out, and it was unlikely that Callie had heard of it if she didn't live in or near Oxfordshire.
If Callie expressed no recognition in the name, Lucia clarified: "Our mother - Ebony Fox - owns a bookshop in Oxford, usually we get all our books from there."
"But we sold out!" Willow added in a strangely proud tone. Surely, only a very good bookshop would sell out of a book!

When Callie had proved Willow's point, the little girl looked distinctly proud of herself and ended her rant mid-sentence.
"Told you!" she crowed to her sister, and Lucia looked a bit embarrassed - it was always annoying to be wrong where your younger sister was correct.
"Oh, I know loads," Willow bragged, "Like, did you know that pygmy puffs like to eat snot, and earwax?" She shivered delightedly. "Straight from your nose and ears! It's discusting!"
"Wills!" Lucia looked downright horrified at this. Of all the trivia her sister could have picked, Willow Fox just had to pick the one which involved distractingly cute furballs eating snot and earwax. "Ugh!"

Though a little confused at the girl's curtsey (which did not fail to bring a slight flush to Lucia's cheeks), Lucia thought it was probably polite to curtsey back, so she dipped her knees slightly and bowed her head - not quite a proper curtsey, per say, but something like it at least. Willow watched with an air of puzzlement mixed with amusement.
"Callie... Jensen?" It was obvious to both girls that Lucia recognised the name. "As in... Prof. Jensen? The Head of Slytherin?"
Were the two related in some way? Surely, Professor Jensen was too young to have a child going into her second year - maybe a niece or something?
"Oh, I'm in Hufflepuff. Second year." Lucia replied.
"I'm gonna be Slytherin!" Willow added enthusiastically. "But I'm only six, I'm not old enough yet."

@Lucia Fox
It's okay, I've had hardly any internet until now anyway!

Callie wasn't someone who was well versed in many aspects of the wizarding world and sadly Fox's Magic Shop proved to be outside her sphere of knowledge. She took a couple of moments to try and recall the name but came up short, much to her own disappointment. "Sorry, I'm still pretty new to this whole wizarding thing! I'm sure your shop is great though, I'll have to give it a look sometime!" Callie offered an apologetic smile, feeling slightly guilty that she hadn't heard of the name before. "Ah you sold out? It must be great then! That settles it, I need to pester my parents into going there one day." Callie chuckled before the younger sister started talking again.

"They really eat all that stuff? That's so nasty...cool!" Callie's eyes lit up at the new information, clearly keen to hear more. If a creature that apparently embodied cuteness ate something that disgusting what other possibilities were there? How many creatures were out there? Were they all as strange as the elusive pygmy puff? Callie made a mental note to look into the subject a little more, having been inspired by the younger girl to delve even deeper. However her train of thought was quickly cut short by the sudden mention of her older cousin. "Oh as in Nora? Yeah, I'm related to her! She's my older cousin and makes the BEST cake ever, nothing compares to the birthday cakes she makes." Callie almost drooled at even thinking about the delicious delicacy that in her opinion wasn't consumed often enough. If it were up to her she'd be eating birthday cake just about every day. "Oooh, Hufflepuff! Like Rosie! You guys are so close to the kitchen, I'm kind of jealous about that if I'm honest." Callie laughed. "Really, Slytherin? That's so neat! I'd be a little scared to stay where they are though but I doubt you would be! You seem pretty brave to me."

Interacting with @Callie Jensen
Sorry for such a late reply (again oop-)
Family photo refs • Outfit (on the right)

Interacting=with=@Callie Jensen

Lucia laughed awkwardly along with Callie as she said that she would have to visit the Hufflepuff's family shop. "Heh, thanks," she said. "Most people get their books from here, worst luck, but we get a lot of people in around August anyway. School supplies."
Then, she suddenly realised what Callie had said - that she was new to the wizarding world. Willow didn't seem to have noticed anything, but Lucia did immediately. "Wait. You're a mud- sorry- muggleborn?" she asked, looking the blonde up and down. Lucia hoped she wouldn't be offended by the Hufflepuff's slip - she did try not to call people mudblood any more, but it took an effort to remember.

The girl was a little confused at Callie's reaction to Willow's fact - spouting, but Willow herself was delighted. "Yup! It's horrible," the little girl said with relish.
"I don't get how you can find that stuff fascinating..." Lucia murmured.

Professor Jensen was a... baker?! Of all the hobbies Lucia would have imagined the Head of Slytherin to have, baking (of all things) surely wasn't one of them. And wait... How could Callie be a muggleborn if she was related to Professor Jensen? Were they both muggleborn? It was very rare to have a muggleborn Slytherin, but Lucia supposed it could happen sometimes. Callie had already switched subjects, though, so Lucia let it be.

Willow beamed under the spotlight of pride the older girl was shining upon her. "I'm brave!" she grinned. "I love dungeons an' creepy stuff, but Lucy an' Bree're wimps so we never get to do much gross-an-creepy wise."
"Am not!" Lucia protested.

"Muggleborn, sure! I don't see the point in all those labels though, they don't make a person! Sorry, I'm getting off track." Thankfully Lucia quickly corrected herself on the slip up and seemed genuinely apologetic for the occurrence. So Callie didn't make much of a fuss about it this time around, even if she resented the term deep down. There was pride to be found with being a muggleborn, Callie simply had to remind herself of that more frequently in comparison to others. "It's disgusting." Callie confirmed with a wide smile, clearly finding just as much delight in the subject as the younger sibling. "How can you not? The gruesome and nasty stuff can be so interesting! Like some of the super crazy Roman emperors..did you know one of them tried to have a war or something with the ocean? How cool is that? Even if it's a little stupid." Callie noted with her usual easy going smile.

Lucia's silence about her relation to Nora was more than enough to clue Callie in on her confusion. It was something she'd encountered before and found rather funny. "We're related on her dad's side." Callie explained in the hopes of clearing some things up but other than that didn't go into much depth. It wasn't exactly a topic she found rather fascinating and family tree's were so hopelessly boring to slog through. "I knew you were brave! I know a brave and noble warrior when I see one." Callie grinned and straightened her glasses so she could properly see the two sisters. "Never ever? Where's the fun in never doing something that doesn't make you at least a little scared?" Callie questioned but again didn't go into much depth. "Are you guys with your parents? Mine are probably wondering where I've gone.."

Interacting with @Callie Jensen.

They don't make a person.
Well, that was an interesting sentiment, especially to Lucia's ears. Although Willow was too young to really care about all that yet, she, Briar and Lucia had grown up in a world where labels were everything. Her blood status (pureblood, or at least that was what everyone thought), her family (the Fox-Baxter, though no-one really acknowledged Ebony's maiden name) and her social class (medium-upper - it was complicated) had made up all of what Lucia Fox was until she had come to Hogwarts, met people her own age who didn't know her, and become her own person.

Roman Emperors? Lucia blinked. She knew that Rome was the capital of Italy, but not really much else. "Italy has Emperors?" she asked, confused. Lucia hadn't really learned much about the world's geography, apart from the wizarding sides of it of course.
"And how can you have a war with the ocean?" Willow asked, looking confused (but in a cute way).

Willow Fox practically loved this girl."Yeah!" she squeaked, apparently awed by the fact that this girl thought her a brave and noble warrior. Lucia snorted.

"Oh..." Lucia looked a little uncomfortable. "I have my boundaries, I guess... I'm no Gryffindor."
Willow snickered. "Lucy, you couldn't get into Gryffindor if you tried."
"Good thing I didn't try then, isn't it?!" Lucia snapped at her younger sister.

Parents... Well, they were certainly with one parent, but the sisters' father hadn't been seen for at least six years, so neither particularly cared about him any more.
"Yeah... Ebony-"
"That's our mother," Lucia interjected quickly.
"'s over... There... Somewhere..." Willow gestured vaguely in the direction that they had left Ebony and Briar.
"Wait," Lucia suddenly thought something. "How did your parents get into Diagon Alley? You need a wand to get in... Did they have to get Tom to let them in? Or could you do it? Or are they just stuck in the Leaky Couldren?"