Backdated: Sunday, February 23rd, 2025

@Aurelia Valentine

Thought the air quality of London was nothing compared to the Scottish Highlands, it still felt like breath of fresh air to be back home. Harvey wasn't sure why they couldn't go home on the weekends whenever they pleased. It wasn't as if they were muggles and couldn't travel far and wide in almost an instant, but he supposed trying to arrange that all the time would prove tiresome, but there was no way he was going to miss the chance to do so. Hogwarts had proven an acceptable home away from home, yet from time to time the homesickness would catch up with him. Not to mention that he missed his private room all the time. However, the chance to sleep in his own bed was not why he was overly excited to be back in London. No, it was time for one of his favorite activities. Shopping!

His grandfather, Larnak, had stuffed his coin purse full of galleons and sent him off to Diagon Alley with one of their hired servants while the elder attended to business at Gringotts. As much as Harvey would have liked his grandfather's opinion on things, the old goblin did not have the fashion sense that the boy had. Everything he wore was impeccably made, but was always practical and functional. Any flare or intricate design was always waved off as frivolous and Harvey couldn't wrap his head around it. While he too agreed that most occasions called for reasonable attire, there were moments to flaunt your style and the boy loved every one of them. The spring ball was just around the corner and there was no way he would show up in any suit or robe he had already been seen in that year. While Larnak had feebly argued against the need for new clothes he could not argue with the importance of proving your status. Especially amongst peers that may look down on him for his mixed heritage, so he had made the proper arrangements for Harvey to come home for a weekend.

After some breakfast the two parted ways and Harvey's caretaker escorted him immediately to Madam Malkin's. The best store in the entire row if you asked him! Soon enough Harvey would be surrounded by the finest fabrics that galleons could buy, now only to choose. There was a lilac dress robe that was absolutely stunning. While the color was not his first choice, the fabric and thread work was top notch. A dark navy suit lay before him as well and he simply knew that it would call attention his way as soon as he entered the ball, but perhaps a classic silk robe and pointed hat was needed for the occasion? The black did not suit the spring occasion, but the fabric screamed money. Harvey's long fingers toyed with the garments as he became lost in the thought of it all.

@Aurelia Valentine

Harvey's long fingers continued to play with the fabric around him as the decision weighed on his mind. Many would think this easy and for most their attire was nothing more than looking nice or feeling comfortable. However, for the boy it meant much more than that. Harvey was trying to make a statement. Not just for the ball, but his clothes spoke of his character. He wanted his wardrobe to signal to those around him that one, he came from a meaningful family and two, that even though he was still a child he was meant to be taken seriously. A rather intense mindset for someone so young, but that was just Harvey Barrows.

His beady eyes scanned the room around him as he clocked the other people shopping. As much as he enjoyed the sense of freedom that was often granted to him by his grandfather and his caretaker, Harvey would be lying if he wasn't a bit envious of those that had their extended families with them. The boy had no one to talk fashion with. Larnak could care less and his caretaker's only duty was to make sure he was safe. The goblin's in his family's employ never got close to him. Partly his own doing, but it was also their instruction. His mother never proved to be a good shopping buddy either. Harriet was kind, but also meek. She wouldn't offer anything except for blind praise of his looks and while that was nice, Harvey wanted brutal honesty when shopping.

The part-goblin's mind was still quite lost to a decision when a loud clang nearly had him jumping out of his skin. Harvey's gaze shot to the disturbance and he eyed a young witch with the most luscious curls he had ever seen trying desperately to pick up the rack that had fallen. It was clear she had been the one to cause the accident and while such clumsiness often irritated the boy he couldn't get over an impulse that drove his little legs forward. "Hey, hi." Harvey moved himself into her eyesight and waved his arms to get her attention. "Just leave it. You don't have to pick it up, someone will just use their magic." The boy's expression gave away his surprise that anyone in this world would instinctively move to use physical strength to remedy such a blunder, but he quickly shifted to a pleasant smile.

"Burok!" Harvey raised a hand into the air and gave a loud snap of his fingers. The female goblin would come to his beckon with haste. "Please attend to this." She would obey the order with a silent nod. If Aurelia allowed, he would reach and take her by the elbow with one hand while gesturing they get out of the way with the other. "Don't you worry. She will take care of that. Now I must admit you have caught my eye." His gaze flashed about as he studied her features more closely. Merlin's beard would he love to dress her! "I see that green must be your color." He gestured to the barrettes the adorned her beautiful curls. "Have you seen that evening dress?" Harvey's long finger pointed towards the one on display in the window.

@Aurelia Valentine

Burok was on the scene with a quickness and with a practiced hand and a few snaps, no one would be able to tell anything had been out of place. The clothing rack would drift into the air as if floating on a cloud before softly landing in the exact spot it had previously occupied. The few items of clothing that fallen off their hangar would swirl about as the fabric found its rightful place. When the goblin was done her work she simply nodded at Harvey and took her position back near the counter. Out of the way, but close enough should he require more of her services.

Harvey had grown quite used to having employees of his grandfather buzzing around. They had been present his whole life, so what difference would he know. However, he had been taught the difference between servant and slave. Burok had indeed dedicated most of her adult life to the employ of his grandfather, but that did not mean she was not handsomely rewarded for her services. Larnak the Lender was many things, but never would he expect unpaid service from one of his own kind. He wouldn't even except it from the house elves so frequently abused by their human masters. How history could have been written had goblin-kind not revolted against witch and wizard so many times. Perhaps they too would have been shackled to servitude. No, Harvey's grandfather expected perfection, but his servants were as loyal as the muggle queen's guard and lived comfortable lives as a reward.

"You've caught my eye." Harvey repeated as the brunette girl looked to him in confusion. The boy had long since developed the habit of scouring the room for the most interesting within it. Many things could be that determining factor. Obvious wealth, titles, beauty or skill. If they had it, Harvey wanted to be near it. She was correct that he was no low class citizen looking to rub elbows with rich. Harvey looked every part the privilege that he had grown up with and while he had been taught by his grandfather that said privilege must be earned, anyone of his social stature had queues that could rarely be shaken off. Not that he did one thing to try and hide it with his fine clothing, expensive jewelry and the air of importance that he couldn't hide if he wanted to.

Harvey only briefly raised a brow in reaction to her remark of elementary. Perhaps it could have been taken as an insult, but he enjoyed people that were honest. His deduction did not require much skill and while some social norms would need to be followed, he liked people that told it like it was. So much time was often wasted on the pleasantries. Her eyes would follow his long fingers towards the dress he pointed out. While her gaze did flash with a bit of appreciation, her expression did not show the enthusiasm that his did when looking at such a fine garment. Harvey could use a good lesson in fashion sense. While he enjoyed fine things, his grandfather always valued function above flash. perhaps this left him at a disadvantage in the fashion world?

The boy looked back to her as she demanded a pause in their interaction. Harvey held his hands up to show no harm as her brown eyes squinted at him suspiciously. Yet he could not help the chuckle that escaped his lips when she pointed out they had not even had a proper introduction. A slip on his part as the commotion of it all had excited him, but why not remedy the situation. "Harvey Barrows." The boy offered a courteous bow of his head and would shake her hand if she so wished. "Apologies for dragging you around. Excitement got the better of me. I have just been surrounded by all of these wonderful fabrics and when I saw you I was struck." The girl was indeed very pretty, but Harvey was yet to see the opposite sex in such a light. What he meant was he had a budding interest in fashion and every designer had their muse. "You did not seem as taken with the dress as I am. Would you care to elaborate?"

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FEB. 23RD, SUN___________ ___________ MADAM MALKIN'S
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___ ___ thinking • speaking • other dialogue @Harvey Barrows “A wealthy half-goblin in Madam Malkin's,”

sta 4 • eva 10 str 3 • wis 8 arc 7 • acc 8 Advanced Casting ❝ an evening dress ❞

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𝕱lashbacks of reading a particular issue from Daily Prophet made her contemplate the underlying fear of the Wizarding community in terms of allowing half-breeds to wield their own wands. This is because magical creatures exerts an insurmountable amount of magical powers, especially creatures which had comprehensiveness and mental capacity akin to humans.  They fear the possibility of someday being surpassed;  the prospect of them coming upon the realisation of their immense power. Apparently, they have this notion of oppression and / or being oppressed ‐ like the ancient oppressors with house-elves and other magical creatures alike. Co-existing is probably a myth here in the Wizarding World.  There are rumours surrounding the Gringotts’ Wizarding Bank. Re-tellings of goblins working in the aforementioned bank being underpaid are in order. In which she wishes is not true. There are stories of them working through unreasonable hours circulating around the block.  Rumours. Aware of the fact that staring is outright rude, Aurelia cannot help but watch the female goblin utilise her magic in order to place the fallen racks in their proper arrangements. The Hufflepuff witch sniffed from the display, not a huff - simply because there is snot threatening to drip from her straight nose. Who can blame her? The girl almost bawled her eyes out from mortification.  It was her turn to quip an eyebrow when the half-goblin informed her that he finds her interesting. She looked every bit like the muggle-born she almost was – underneath her cut-price and very economical witch robes, the young badger is currently sporting a green tee with an enormous frog print in the middle. Paired with jeans too; a combination which her mum referred to as fashion failure. Whatever that means.  Is it because of the cheap clothing?  Perhaps her messy riot of hair?  The young witch consciously ran her nimble fingers over the curly tresses. They are incredible to look at, sardonically speaking. It is like they have their own consciousness; the wild mane can be utilised as an umbrella with how it sits ferociously over her small head. Her stylish barrettes cannot even pin her hair down to keep it from smacking people on the face whenever she turns her head. Someone mentioned before back in her former school that one can recognise her perhaps over a mile away with how her hair catches attention. It was not acknowledged as a compliment, nor the person who told her that had good intentions in the first place.  Whatever it is, she wanted no part in this sudden interaction. She is already over-analysing the entire situation; thinking things will end in disaster; perhaps make this progressively awkward as Aurelia is not exactly the most social sheep in the flock; to an extent, that American movie entitled Mean Girls (2004) eventually comes to mind for unknown reasons. Mum, save me.  Aurelia subtly glanced out the shop windows for signs of her mother, Cordelia, who went ahead to retrieve her cellphone she accidentally dropped in Flourish & Blotts. It cannot be taking that long, a cellphone is pretty much useless in this block – the magical powers flowing through the alley disrupts electricity, rendering a phone to an unusable block of metal.  ————————————

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However, the moving posters and advertisements plastered up on the glass window also rendered the endeavour useless. She cannot see if Cordelia is already out there, searching for her daughter.  Harvey Barrows.  The boy introduced himself with a flourish, a bow before he offered his hand for her to shake. Her eyes widened slightly, but it would be disrespectful to not take his hand. “Aurelia Valentine. Nice to meet you, Harvey Barrows. I have never seen you around the castle, but then again, the Hogwarts castle is tremendously and ridiculously huge,” Aurelia introduced herself right after, offering a small smile as an attempt to lighten the situation for her benefit. Although, it looked like a wince from an outside perspective.  The Hogwarts castle is huge, but she never really bothered to make friends. The ones closest with her – namely, the Hufflepuff girls she was sharing dormitory quarters with, or any badgers in particular – she never got close to, excluding Ruth Fairchild and Pamela Graham, of course, as these two badgers' lodgings  are in the next dormitory rooms over.  Therefore, the aforementioned statement is genuine. Aurelia chose not to be social, plus she does not look at people's faces especially whenever they are not talking to her. Harvey Barrows could be linked with the couple of  troublemakers throwing a dungbomb on Fifth Floor, which closed off the shortcut down towards Second Floor as it was being cleaned. She would be angry for taking a lot more extra flight of stairs for that incident and she would not have known whether Harvey Barrows is involved or not.  Which he clearly is not, but that did not debunk anything in particular. Harvey Barrows is [shamelessly] wealthy in her opinion, and people like that normally do not get in trouble for a few laughs in order to preserve their reputation.  Aurelia only nodded when she heard his apologies; an affirmation to her acceptance, still inherently confused but made no point to show it. As long as Cordelia has yet to barge in through Madam Malkin's, then she will stay to entertain her fellow Hogwarts schoolmate.  Following up with his observation of not being taken aback with the dress, Aurelia hummed in thoughtful consideration as she tilted her head slightly, assessing the said dress with a critical eye. An eye she never had towards fashion, although Cordelia probably would have boatloads of her opinion towards the clothing material.  “It's just a dress. Should I be impressed with how pretty it is? Never mind, I am impressed – however, I find dresses quite impractical. Particularly with the wretched cold in the Scottish Highlands. Such material would not keep me snug and warm like all my sweaters do,” Aurelia replied flatly, before a genuine smile appeared in delicate face.  “I think you would love my mother. She is into fashion and if she was here right now, perhaps she would call everything a fashion disaster. Clothing shops – err, muggle shops – she comments on every article of clothing. She would comment on one particular outdated item, since she already saw it in a fashion magazine months or perhaps years ago. My mother immediately knew which clothing would rip to an everyday use, her basis from their thread count. I am an only child, so my mother forces me to wear dresses on some occasions. I suppose I should be thankful for that because I now do not mind wearing dresses that much.” The young badger babbled aimlessly.  Her voice softened considerably, deep brown eyes eyeing him with her lips formed in a straight line. The young badger, for sure, tends to share too much information. No one will think twice why her mother is eccentric like that. “Err, you?”

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ISSUE NO. 003________________________________________________ 5 SICKLES
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code by the amazing Adeline Spinks
1,150 wc
OOC: I perhaps already dulled my quill, lol

@Aurelia Valentine

Harvey was all too aware of just how fearful wizarding kind could be of the other magical races of the world and he was perhaps the living example of another fear. What if the pureblooded families of the magical community were to vanish altogether? Humans and goblins reproducing? It was not only a threat to the establishment, but a fear that their genetic makeup may dwindle away to all sorts of half-breeds and muggleborns. Not to mention that these races were hardy soon to forget the centuries of mistreatment that peppered the shared history of magic-kind. No wonder it was so hard fought against to give someone like Harvey a wand. Even though the boy was mostly human, there was still hesitation to arm a potential enemy. However, Harvey was developing much different feelings about it all.

The half-breed boy looked to both goblin and human as a people lost in old traditions and mentalities that only held the community back. He himself was a being that drew upon the power of two ancient sources of DNA. It was not only human that should look to people like him and be afraid. This world was changing and it was people like him that would take the next step. Those that were willing to evolve would be the ones to inherit tomorrow. That was here nor there at the moment though. There was shopping to attend to.

Harvey kept his gaze locked on the girl as her own eyes seemed to look about for an exit. This type of interaction often left both parties feeling quite awkward. She looked like she wanted out, but Harvey only wanted more. He had always been prone to fixations and for better or worse this young lady was becoming one of them. Harvey didn't care what someone was or where they came from. If you had something special about you the boy wanted to have it too. Not to possess or to own, but to forge a bond with those he deemed to be the best. Was this all currently based on her appearance? Mostly, for now anyways. He wanted something pretty to decorate, but there was also a hint of energy about her that intrigued him as well.

"Nice to meet you as well, Aurelia." Harvey gripped her hand for a proper introduction before letting it fall away. "The castle is quite the design flaw I must agree." Hogwarts was clearly a building that had been built by wizards. A maze of corridors and towers all stacked impossibly high. "Better late than never they say." He kept his tone light in a hopes to move the interaction past any awkwardness. Harvey too was not one to keep a large friend circle. Not only was he very choosy about who he kept company with, but often times he just did not mind being alone. Something that kept him from being the most popular kid in school while also protecting him from too much exposure.

Harvey watched her eye the dress closely as she formed her opinion on it. His own brow rising slightly when she asked her question. Should she not be impressed by how pretty it is? Of course she should be! Isn't that the whole point of fashion? Yes, people had different tastes, but it was all in the pursuit of looking good and feeling good in the clothing, was it not? "Well I must agree that you would never wear something like that for function, but don't you think you would feel good in something that looked so nice? Even if it were something more your style, don't you ever wear something special just because you like the way it makes you feel?" He thought of his own suits and how they almost felt like armor at times. They boosted his confidence and made him feel important.

If Harvey should meet her mother then Aurelia should meet his grandfather. They could ramble on and on about how important functionality and practicality mattered above all. However, hearing that her mother was into fashion perhaps meant all was not lost. "Let's see. In my opinion the dressmaker did a fine job in choosing the color, fabric and shape of the garment. As you can see, we are surrounded by wonderfully crafted pieces." He gestured around them for emphasis. "But what I think matters more than that is having the right person to put it on. So many different people would wear that dress in different ways. You see, the person wearing the dress is what really makes it or not. That's why you caught my eye. I can envision you wearing that and really brining it all to life. Do you see anything here that speaks to you in that way?"