Interacting with @Frederick Buckley
Date: 12 August 2025

Thanks to the shoppers that were thronging Diagon Alley, Lilith had finally managed to lose her mother and her grand-parents in the packed streets. She was finally gonna get to relax and actually enjoy all the shops, instead of hearing her grand mother ramble about how she had to "make the family proud" at Hogwarts and her grand father ranting about the number of "clueless muggles" he heard marvelling at all the magic items they saw.

Looking around, she noticed a shop whose sign seemed promising: Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Rummaging in her pockets to check if she had a few galleons to spend on some stupid trinket she could use to prank whoever found themselves on her path, she entered the shop. The shelves were full of treasures she couldn't wait to try.

Her gaze fell on a pack of Extendable Ears on the higher shelf. Lilith's eyes lit up. That was perfect. She was gonna love hearing all the little secrets her pur-blooded family kept from her. She raised her hand, reaching for the pack of Extendable Ears. Unfortunately, the item was too high for her. Ever the persistent one, Lilith didn't give up and hopped on a nearby stool. As she finally had the ears in hand, she slipped. Trying (and failing miserably) to regain balance by waving her arms with all the energy she could, Lilith fell dramatically, not without making one of the shelves collapes.
All the bags of Exploding Bonbons that were on the shelf tumbled down to go explode in a absolutly spectacular clamour...
On a boy who was passing there.

Lilith smiled innocently, supressing a laugh.

"Hum... sorry ?"

Frederick Buckley was more excited than ever. Finally, the big shopping day at Diagon Alley had arrived, his first-year Hogwarts supply list in hand and his heart racing. He and his parents had just left the cauldron shop, and for the third time, he asked: "Now, the Weasleys’ Wheezes shop? Just a quick stop?" Ever since he saw the loud and colorful display of the shop during a visit to Gringotts with his mother, Freddy had dreamed of stepping inside. Just imagining what he might find, potions that made you burp colored smoke, sweets that made you float, or maybe a trap to use against annoying classmates, made him giddy with excitement.

His parents exchanged a resigned look and gave in, with two conditions: he couldn't spend more than two Galleons, and he had to wait for them inside until they came to get him. "Deal!" he replied with a wide grin before disappearing into the shop.

The moment he stepped inside, the world seemed to grow brighter. Freddy spun around on his heels, eyes sparkling, trying to decide where to start. He wasn’t at all intimidated by the crowd of other kids fighting for space. On the contrary, he slipped between them easily, making his way toward the towering shelves full of magical gadgets. That’s when he saw what looked like the perfect item: Extendable Ears. Brilliant. He started making his way toward them, when an unexpected scene unfolded right in front of him.

A girl with dark curly hair was trying to reach that very same item on a high shelf. Standing on a stool, she stretched her arm... and slipped. Freddy was close enough to see everything in slow motion. Just before the boxes came crashing down on him, he instinctively stepped to the side. Luckily, he dodged them, though the boy behind him wasn’t so lucky.

BOOM! Exploding Bonbons. All over the boy. Everywhere.

Freddy couldn’t help it. A loud laugh burst out of him. "Brilliant!" he said, still grinning, as he looked at the sugary chaos all over the floor... and on his shirt too. But who cared? Turning to the cause of the mess, he extended a hand with an amused smile. "Are you alright? I think you better run before they make you pay for all this… or worse, clean it up." He gave her a playful smile as he helped her up, still chuckling.

Lilith hit the ground with a hard thud, the sugar from hundreds of bonbons falling on her like a sweet rain. A little stunned, she took a moment to collect her thoughts and, as she was about to get up, she heard a chuckling voice adressing her.

Lilith looked up, her dark pupils meeting a pair of blue eyes. Taking the hand that was extended to her, she got up and started brushing off her clothes, trying to get rid of the sticky mix of dust and multicolored sugar that was pretty much covering everything within a radius of three meters. As she did so, she observed the boy standing in front of her, taking in his brown hair, his bright eyes and his amused smile.
"Well, since you're talking to me and you're covered in sugar, I think there will be two of us cleaning up." she retorted, chuckling as well. And she was right. With his sugary clothes and his playful grin, he absolutely looked like the responsible for the explosion.

Smiling, she was about to say something else when voices caught her attention. She looked over to where the voices came from and bit his her lip nervously. Two people, who appeared to work in the establishment, were approaching, a frown on their faces. Lilith turned back to the boy, excitation clear on her face.
"How fast can you run ?"

Freddy’s smile widened as he watched the girl brush off the sugary remains of their spectacular accident. She was quick with words, and just as bold as she was clumsy, he liked that. Her black curls were now dusted with pastel-colored sugar, and her dark eyes sparkled with the same mix of mischief and thrill he felt.

He opened his mouth to reply, but then he heard them too: stern voices cutting through the buzz of the store. Freddy turned his head slightly and spotted two Weasleys' staff members marching toward them, their faces a blend of suspicion and fatigue that could only come from having dealt with one mess too many.

Freddy glanced back at the girl. "How fast can you run?" she asked, eyes gleaming with anticipation. His grin stretched from ear to ear. “Faster than you, I bet.” he said excitedly, already grabbing her hand. Without another word, he bolted through the shop, weaving between laughing kids, ducking under floating joke hats, nearly knocking over a display of Skiving Snackboxes. Freddy could barely stop himself from laughing as they ran. There was something thrilling about the chaos, the freedom of it. And the girl, whoever she was, matched his energy perfectly.

After throwing off the two employees, taking a not-so-straight path to the exit, Freddy gave one last glance over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t being watched before pulling the door and slipping quickly out through the gap. Outside, he let out the breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding, laughing with relief. The adrenaline was still buzzing in his chest, and the excitement on the girl’s face he saw before only made it all feel even more fun.

It was only then that he noticed he was still holding her hand. His eyes dropped to their joined fingers, and he quickly let go, a little flustered. “Uh… Sorry,” he mumbled, brushing his palm on his robes. “Name’s Freddy,” he said, still chuckling and trying to catch his breath. “Frederick Buckley.”

@Lilith Darcy

When the boy grabbed her hand and started running, Lilith couldn't help but let out an excited laugh. Finally, someone who wasn't afraid to actually have fun. He led her through the shop, slaloming between the kids that were crowding the place. Stranglely enough, they got to the exit without causing another catastrophe.

As soon as they were outside, he let go of her and she realized they had been holding hands like they had known each other forever.
"Name's Freddy, Frederick Buckley," he said. He was still out of breath, and he wasn't the only one. Lilith's chest was still heaving from the crazy race they had through the store. "Lilith. Darcy." She smiled. "Delighted to meet you," she said in a parody of formal greeting.

She laughed again, she couldn't help it. He still had sugar all over his clothes. What a great first impression I make, she thought, kind of proud of it. She was assured he wouldn't forget his shopping day in Diagon Alley. And she may have made a friend, judging by his amused grin still in place. Finally catching her breath, Lilith shook her head.
"Too bad we didn't get the ears..." she regretted, but her chuckling tone contradicted her words. "But I must admit, you're pretty fast."

@Frederick Buckley

Freddy wiped some of the sugar stains off his sleeve in a useless attempt to look less like a walking dessert. “Fast? My mum says I’ve been running since before I could walk. Comes in handy when bonbons start raining from the ceiling, doesn’t it?” His laugh was quick, light, still carrying that buzz of adrenaline from their escape.

He leaned against the wall just outside the shop, trying to calm his breath, though the sparkle in his blue eyes made it clear he wasn’t in any hurry to calm down. The chaos of the Weasleys’ shop still spilled out onto the street, laughter and shouts mixing with the clinking of coins and the jingling of door charms, but here, just outside, it felt like they had carved out a small corner of calm, sugary clothes and all.

Freddy looked at Lilith properly now, curiosity in his expression. Her dark curls framed her face in a way that made the faint dusting of sugar look like glitter, and there was something about the way she smiled, half mischievous, half daring, that made him certain she was someone who got into trouble on purpose. Not the bad kind of trouble, though. The fun kind. The sort of trouble he liked best.

He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly aware that he had just dragged a stranger through a shop like they’d been friends forever. Still, he wasn’t embarrassed, just oddly glad she hadn’t let go. “You know,” he said with a lopsided grin, “I think that’s the best welcome I could’ve had to the shop. Not many people can say they escaped a sugar explosion their first time at Weasleys’.”

His grin softened into something a little more thoughtful as he added, “By the way… are you going to Hogwarts this year too?” He tilted his head, genuinely curious. The way she carried herself, bold and unshaken even after nearly being buried under candy, told him she wasn’t the type to just stand in the background. And he couldn’t help but imagine what kind of fun they could get up to if she was going to be there too.

@Lilith Darcy

Lilith kept brushing off the sugar, though the sticking remainings of candy didn't seem to go anywhere. She shook her black curls and a halo of pastel sugar formed around her head. She then looked around as well, her eyes falling back on the boy, her amused gaze roaming on his face. He was already looking at her. She felt like he was analyzing her, and she didn't bother hiding that she was doing the same. He was slightly taller than her, with lively blue eyes and freckles that mirrored hers.

Finally catching her breath, Lilith smiled.
"Yeah, I think I'll remember this day for a long time !"
She was still buzzing with adrenaline, barely holding back her laughter. When he asked about Hogwarts, her smiled widened. She could already see what they could if they were together for the coming year.
"You too ? Yeah, I'm starting this year. Can't wait to discover everything."
Can't wait to cause as more trouble as I can. She didn't say it, but she felt like he knew, and more, like he was thinking the same. He was the kind of person who was ready to run like he was guilty just to have fun, and she liked that.

@Frederick Buckley

Fred’s eyes lit up at her words. “You too?” he repeated, the grin spreading naturally across his freckled face. Something about the idea of starting this adventure together with someone who already seemed just as restless as he was made the prospect even more exciting.

“My whole family went to Hogwarts,” he added quickly, almost proudly, his voice carrying that lively spark that made it hard to tell if he was bragging or simply happy to share. “Guess it’s finally my turn now.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his hands sometimes brushing over the back of his neck, sometimes tugging at the hem of his sleeve. Fred’s energy seemed to pour out in every small gesture, his blue eyes fixed on her as if he didn’t want to miss a single reaction. “So,” he went on, tilting his head slightly, “are you here in Diagon Alley for the first-year shopping too?” His tone carried both curiosity and a kind of boyish eagerness to make the connection deeper.

As Lilith began to answer, Fred’s gaze flickered over her shoulder, where he caught sight of his parents weaving their way through the crowd. His stomach sank a little. He could already imagine the looks, or worse, the questions, that might come if they spotted him lingering here after his little escape. And the last thing he wanted right now was to get scolded in front of the girl he had just met.

So, in an instinctive, almost hurried motion, Fred straightened up and gave her a quick, lopsided smile. “I’ve got to go,” he said, his voice lighter than his sudden shift in posture. Already turning on his heel, he threw a glance back at her, his grin returning full force. “See you at Hogwarts?”

Without waiting for her answer, though he fully expected one, Fred slipped back into the crowd, his heart pounding with a mix of relief and excitement, sugar still clinging to his hair and clothes as proof of the chaotic meeting.

@Lilith Darcy