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August 18th, 2023

Some of Maeve's favorite stories included trickery and chaos. Though she wasn't sure she wanted to be associated with naughtiness and mischief, she was certainly interested in it. At home, she had her own kind of mischief. Still, she had to be careful, usually having someone over or being over at someone's house to manage it, often leading to the other getting in trouble and her reputation remaining intact.

Entering Weasley's Wizards Wheezes had been something she had been meaning to do for a long time. Her governess, Victoria Rose, had had quite a stiff lip about entering the premise. Maeve knew the woman didn't really mind the shop itself, merely what Ms Blackwell would think of it. There'd been a heated exchange until the redhead had entered as the door opened, her governess in tow.

Inside was unlike anything she had seen before. It was pure, unfiltered chaos. The store had shelves of all colors. Lights, sounds, and action figures demanding attention left and right. There was a pink and frilly area that attracted her. As much as she favored herself a bit of a tomboy with eccentric interests, she was still a fan of the girly and frilly in life.

This seemed to relieve her governess, who decided to step back. Yes, love potions and beauty products were more than acceptable compared to what the shop offered. Victoria had decided to take a step back, and Maeve was relieved. If she balanced her purchases, she could make it work. So long as there was enough pink, her governess wouldn't be stingy on offering coins.

With Victoria chatting with someone's father, Maeve was free to explore. She moved further, keeping close enough to things approved by those in charge of her purchase. She had grabbed a few products and perfumes, which she had placed in a small basket. After all, she needed something to cover what she planned to purchase. A smile perked her lips as she noted a bottle of U-No-Poo. Oh, the fun mischief that could happen next stuffy Afternoon Tea hosted in her honor...

Elijah was supposed to be en route to Madam Malkins but Diagon Alley proved to have its fair share of distractions. He had been here once, with his mother when he was younger, but it was at that age where you stared at the pretty colours and sparkles and didn't really take anything in. Now, eleven years old and with the freedom to explore while his muggle father waited just outside the alley, Elijah was ecstatic. It was not a surprise then that he deviated from the path as soon as he spotted the wildly extravagant store labelled 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'.

Pushing the door open and immediately having to duck to avoid a stray balloon was a good sign in his books. He wasn't entirely sure what Wizard Wheezes meant to be honest, but looking around at the explosion of sights and sounds coming from various strange objects, coupled with the ever present sound of laughter, Elijah could wager a guess that he was standing in some kind of magic joke? prank? shop. He didn't know those existed but with that realisation, his interest doubled. Vaguely, he wondered how high Hogwarts tolerance was.

Moving through the store was an experience. His only exposure to magic had been his mothers simple charms growing up and to see it being used like this was.. enlightening. Dungbombs, Screaming Yo-Yo's, Peace Disturbers, Elijah did nothing to quell the grin that grew with every new name. He didn't have the extra money to buy something today but perhaps one day.... He came to a section that seemed to have a pink theme going on, staring in interest at bottles labelled 'love potions' and little containers of powder with fluffy brushes he was tempted to touch. Straightening, he backtracked and almost ran into a girl staring intently at a bottle of U-No-Poo, a gleam in her eye that was impressive as it was scary.

"I'd hate to be whoever you're thinking of right now,", he mused, "what crime did they commit to earn such a fate?"

As she considered varies uses for this innocuous jar of treachery and chaos, patrons walked near her. Some reached over, a fact she was used to. Part of being a child meant, people often just grabbed, reached, and pushed you aside as if you were a doll rather than a person. A fact she hated. It was why she rather enjoyed heels. Her mother didn't allow her to wear very tall ones just yet, but Maeve took every inch she could, or in her case, an inch and a half.

A voice pulled her from her reveries of ruined dinners and elaborate schemes to ensure she had "the best" and allow her to get to more important things, like catching a bowtruckle in the gardens or capturing as many lightning bugs as she could come dusk.

— "Have you ever had to sit through an afternoon tea?" she asked. "It's quite the dreadful affair. I love frills and dresses as much as the next, but I rather not be forced in settings with snobby obnoxious children that stomp their feet in greed."

Maeve took a moment to study her interlocutor more carefully now. She eyed his brown curls and faded freckles, his green eyes perhaps the only striking feature about him. Like most of the boys she'd seen, he was what one might consider lanky. He could use a scone or two.

— "Though you're here, which leads me to believe that perhaps you have someone of your own you wish to pepper the existence of with the joys of constipation or the chance of it if used sparingly." There was something poetic about leaving such things to fate. She imagined hiding one or two in a cup of candies. Innocuous, innocent, merely there so long as the odds were in your favor. A crime that would leave no witness or question. These things...happened. Until perhaps chance made it that they ate two of the acid-green candies...

— "Maeve Blackmore," she introduced, extending a hand towards him.

"Elijah Ace," he offered, shaking her hand quickly before being forced to step back as a man reached between the two to collect a jar. He blinked a little, not knowing whether to be offended or not at the obtrusive interruption. Mentally shrugging and looking down to scuff at the floor with his shoe instead, he waited until the man had retreated into another aisle before continuing.

"Afternoon tea isn't the crime I was expecting," he admitted, "but I have heard siblings tend to invoke murderous intent."

She talked funny - long words and a drawl that spoke of something more refined than the language he had grown up with. More similar to the books he read written by authors long past. He liked it, and found himself subconsciously trying to match it.

"There's no one in particular yet," he said, picking up one of the jars to have a closer look at the labels, "but I'm due to attend a new school you see. You could say I'm scoping out my options as a ... precaution. Of sorts."

He still hadn't figured out what he felt about Hogwarts, or what to expect. Part of him was curious, itching to explore and uncover this new world with all its magic. The other part of him just wanted to be home, among familiar streets and his mothers Sunday roast dinners. Not that it mattered at this point, he had already agreed. Had always known he was going to agree. Elijah had a thirst for life that could be downright insatiable at times. He devoured every book, every hidden street, every new song and experience like it was something greater than it was. His mother had whispered once that this had to be his first life, the only explanation for the reverence with which he viewed the world. She had known he would leave the moment the letter arrived, that he would not stay in his hometown like she had chosen to all those years ago. The restlessness would have consumed him.

So inevitably, here he is. But he is still eleven, and he is still scared.

Elijah shakes his head and puts the jar back, turning to Maeve again with the corner of lip quirked up. "Do you think it'd be suspicious if magic food from a magic school went bad?"

@Maeve Blackmore

And she was finally back to the amazing world of magic and wonder! After shopping everything required to her new year at Hogwarts, she wanted to explore other shops in that famous crowded place. First time she had been in there everything represented the illustration of the scary unknown to her, it was frightening to walk between all of that for the first time, with so much things happening and distracting her at the same time. At that time, she had never seen so much magic in one place, besides her own first instance of magic and once or twice she had caught her brother training some spell, this world was a complete mystery to her.

But this time, she knew this was her world, she already belonged there. In fact, she felt very privileged to be able to be a being of both worlds and to be able to enjoy every characteristic of each one. She knew somethings where still dangerous, but life is full of risks! Some things though, she just kept to herself and her parents could never dream of. Like what happened during her first broom racing, that would never leave her memory! And that was just one example.

When she arrived to the colorful and animated shop, every shadow of darkest thoughts vanished completely from her mind. It reminded her of a living circus, something got out of her bedtime stories' illustrations. She was amazed with everything her eyes were seeing. The shop was decorated extravagantly with all types of curious and funny items and products.

Her attention was called out by a girl’s voice that sounded very pompous to her ears and most certainly to her age, it sounded funny and adorable at the same time “…of your own you wish to pepper the existence of with the joys of constipation or the chance of it if used sparingly.” She was saying to a boy with brown curls. They both seemed close to her age but she didn’t recalled ever have seen them, so her first guess was that they were younger then her, perhaps going to their first year to Hogwarts?

"Maeve Blackmore," The girl extended her hands toward the boy and Ying decided to approach. Letting go of one of those traitorous pink vials filled with love potion, putting it back to the rotating glass shelve, she walked towards the couple of presumable first years. On her way, her footsteps got abruptly cut by a very large kid, he was much taller then her and probably much older, she almost bumped to his side but was able to evade the collision, I'm not that invisible! she thought a little annoyed. "Elijah Ace," she heard the boy say when her track was finally empty of intruders. They were talking about mischeif, trying both tho be eloquent in their choice of words, Ying thought it to be pretty cute and amusing.

"Do you think it'd be suspicious if magic food from a magic school went bad?" the boy cheekily asked. "I think professor Lear may not like it!" Ying answered from behind him, "And there's a lot of food there, you would need to buy a lot of it I would say!" She continued playfully, a glint in her eyes that indicated she was feeling excited to meet them, "Fang Hui-Ying, Hi!" She introduced herself with a smile and a small wave of her hand, "I personally prefer the exploding bonbons! Can put on quite a show, if you get what I mean!" She stated nodding at the jar with colorful balls in front of the red-haired girl. Ying's expression had a malicious glint and she was feeling that the beginning of that school year could come with a good promise for fun.

His grasp was firm, and she appreciated it, meeting its enthusiasm before stepping back to allow an adult rudely pick something off a nearby shelf. She couldn’t help but leave a “rude” fall under her breath which went unnoticed by the offending party well across the shop nudging other children out of the way.

"I wouldn't know, never had a sibling despite having begged on multiple occasions..."

Her mother had once even used the silencing charm on her whenever she attempted to bring up the subject. Eventually, she stopped trying. It wasn't worth the silencing charms, and she found other ways to entertain herself.

A new school. She knew all about that, being in the same boat, or soon to be on the same train. She couldn't help but smile. "Sounds like we're both heading to school then." she beamed. Anxious? she asked, placing her own feelings on the boy before her. She didn't get far in the psychology of it all before a girl interrupted with mentions of Lear. She'd read about the Headmaster of the school.

"I..." she looked between the two, and the girl introduced herself, and she gave a dip of her head. She had a good idea. "Exploding bonbons?" she inquired. Those sounded devilishly fun. Definitely, the sort of item her mother would frown upon.

"Maeve," she reintroduced herself. "Apparently we have someone who can tell us all about pranking," she told Elijah. "This is Elijah," she told the other girl. That way they could get onto talking about pranks. "What year are you in?" she asked Ying.

The store wasn't exactly quiet. It was busy enough that people were crammed together between shelves filled with all assortments of objects and there was a constant chatter of excitement occasionally interjected with an explosion or shrill laughter. The point is, Elijah didn't jump when he heard the voice speak up behind him. He didn't.

He turned to see another young girl about his age, taking in black hair and almond eyes before he realised she was talking specifically to them. She held an air of confidence around her, playful and knowing as she name dropped a professor - another Hogwarts student then.

"I wasn't really thinking of pranking the whole school actually," and then, with a one shouldered shrug - "but I admit targeting the professors specifically wouldn't have been much better. Though the idea is always on the table of we ever want a lesson or two cancelled during the year."

Elijah stepped back into the shelf behind him so that they could stand in a rough circle, no longer having to turn back and forth between the two. He ducked as a spinning ball of colourful light flew overhead, buzzing cheerfully at him before disappearing elsewhere in the store, and turned back to the conversation.

Maeve for her part, looked very excited at having someone with Hogwarts experience in on the planning, even more so at the idea of exploding bonbons. Whatever they were.

"A very useful source", he agreed readily, giving a wave when Maeve introduced him to Ying.

It hadn't crossed his mind earlier that there would be other Hogwarts students in Diagon Alley at this time, but meeting them did make him feel better. He wasn't exactly anxious like Maeve had asked earlier just... it all felt so unknown and big. Larger than life. Meeting others in the exact same boat made it feel less so.