Sauvage waved to Blade and Toru as they left, trying to imbue Toru with as much encouragement as she could without saying anything. Niamh wandered over shortly after buying her things and Sauvage informed her that the others had left for the Shrieking Shack - a place that mildly interested her. When Fade came back, she told them where they others had left off to as well. "I just love zat you can change yourself on a wheem. You know, wiv 'ow I am always changing my 'air, eet would make my life so much easier. And we all 'ave somesing zat we want to change about ourselves." She knew how insecure he could feel about his ability, especially before he had learned to control it so well, so she tried not to talk too much about it.

Trying to picture the stamp-making process that Fade described, Sauvage shook her head as she was unable to conjure the image. She said, "I cannot peecture eet, but I am sure ze stamp would look amazing. And my grandmozer loves sings even more when zhey are 'andmade. I guarentee she would love what you make." As they reentered the street, Sauvage reached back for Fade's hand almost on instinct and rested her head on the shoulder that was free from Chase. "Derveesh and Bangs eez repairing my cauldron," She said when Fade inquired on their next location. "But I cannot peeck zat up until next week. Want to go to ze joke shop?" She suggested there, figuring it would be a place Fade would enjoy what with his antics. "Or we can just walk outside for a while." She did not care either way. She had finished her errands and was happy to be able to spend some time alone with Fade, seeing as how rare that occurred. Sauvage waved at Elizabeth and her companion () as she left the shop with Fade and they entered it.

(and everyone else)

Niamh thanked Sauvage, although she thought it sounded a bit odd if she was honest. Heading over to the tables where they had ink and quills set up for people to try, she pulled a fancy-looking notecard from her bag and wrote a short note in it. She wrapped the card around the quill she'd purchased, and added a little wax seal on the front.

Not really paying attention to anyone else, she headed out from the quill shop and in the vague direction of the Shrieking Shack, although she had a feeling that Toru and Blade weren't really heading for the Shrieking Shack at all.

--

(Paddy's still shopping for books)

Zoe was now happily shopping for inks. She did think it was odd when Sauvage said Blade and Toru where off to the Shrieking shack until she realised maybe Toru was going to check on Blade. She hoped they could help. Though Blade was acting more normally now.

Niamh thought she spotted a flash of red hair from the end of one alleyway, so she headed in that direction. Finally reaching where Toru and Blade were, Niamh paused just out of sight of them, not wanting to interrupt as Toru seemed to be trying to coax Blade into conversation. Niamh didn't think it was going that well though. "Wingardium Leviousa" she whispered, pointing her wand at the wax-sealed gift, as she waited for a suitable opportunity to levitate it into Blade's hand.

--

Paddy gathered up a few books for herself, plus an additional one for her Uncle, and took them to the clerk to pay. She was pleased she'd been practising the charm to make her shopping bags weightless, as these books would have been impossible to carry back to Hogwarts otherwise, especially with her purchase from the pet shop to collect too.

Heading over towards Magnus, she thought it was time he realised she was there. "Spot any good books?" she asked, laughing as he jumped with surprise when she spoke.

Toru sighed softly and shifted their watery eyes up to him. "I-I don't w-want to go t-to the shack. I j-just wanted to g-give you a-a safe place t-to t-talk. You're my b-best friend and if s-something were w-wrong, I'd w-want to h-help." They admitted softly even though they were sure Blade was already onto them. "I-I'm gonna b-be worried about i-it the w-whole party."

"Yes, I surmised as much," Blade said with a little droll. The shack was so not Toru. "I appreciate the concern. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time, Ru. C'mon, let's get you over to madam p tea shop do you'll be on time." Just then he spotted Niamh. "Ah, I see you've found us. Toru here absconded with me. Sorry if it upset you. What shop would you like to visit, Niamh? Ru's got a party soon but maybe has time to visit one shop with us. Niamh do you hover your things often?" he inquired at the floating quill.

Magus laughed as he clutched his heart. "Trying to kill me eh? Yes found some great books. You?"

Niamh jumped as Blade and Toru started walking towards her. "Erm, that's not actually my things," she said, flicking her wand so the wax-sealed gift drifted lazily into Blade's hand. "I'd thought about looking in Dogweed and Deathcap," she added, "but that's not essential if there's somewhere either of you would rather look."

--

Paddy grinned, "I found the perfect potions book for Uncle, plus a few for me. You can never have too many books, right? You going to look in any other shops while we're here, or is it just the bookshop for you today?"

Callista waved to Elizabeth and Lorcan as they entered the shop. She hadn't seen many other Slytherins out today and she had been quietly wondering if there was something she'd missed hearing about (and if she'd just missed it or someone had decided not to include her--which would be worrisome).

She was looking at different parchments and papers and considering whether the sketchbooks she'd found were big enough for the work she was currently doing. At the same time, her pile of parcels was getting a little ridiculous.

"For me?" Blade asked. He read the note which said something along the lines of: seeing as you don't seem the chatty type, I thought writing (or reading) was more your thing. You aren't running away from home, are you? Don't keep it all bottled up inside though. That never works. And besides, despite what you might think, you do have friends here, and we are concerned about you.

Niamh xx

ps I thought you could do with a quill seeing as you bought lots of letter writing supplies - hope you like it 😊

Blade slipped the note in his pocket. "What do the xs at the end of your name mean?" Oh and er thanks. Its a nice quill." He shifted awkwardly, not knowing what to really say. "I would love to go there! I love herbology."

"Sweet. I agree. I love books," Magnus said. "Ain't really got a plan. So I good going anywhere."

Zoe was now selecting pretty quills as she hummed happily.

((Okay with tea party then))

Niamh felt herself blushing, but didn't quite know how to reply. She hadn't even thought that Blade might not know what the xs were, and looked at Toru in the hope they might be able to explain to him, seeing as Niamh found she couldn't really get the words out to explain without going even redder (if that was even possible).

--

"I've got something to collect from the pet shop on the way back," Paddy replied, "but other than that, there's nowhere I need to look. Someone had mentioned a tea party later this afternoon, but I don't know if I was meant to be invited or not - Zoe kind of invited me half way through a conversation."

Toru squinted at the letter and sighed just a little. Thry knew Nimah had it bad for Blade. Like really bad. They read enough romance manga to know. Unfortunately for them both. Blade was as dense as a rock when it came to any form of social bond...including crushes. They saw Nimah give them a pleading glance. They cleared their throat softly. "Xs at t-the end o-of a l-letter means k-kisses. Os m-mean hugs." Toru paused a minute as they draped their parasol over their shoulder and sighed. "S-She is g-giving you k-kisses." They simply stated and walked past Nimah back to main street.

Niamh flashed a quick smile of gratitude to Toru for explaining it, as she looked at Blade's slightly confused expression. She was hoping he'd say something soon, otherwise she'd look like a lobster with the way she was blushing.

((Bennet said it was okay so adding in Blade's Grandfather now.))

Blade listened to Toru's explination and was suddenly blushing heavily. She was kissing him? He'd never been kissed before. Did he want to be kissed? He never really thought of it before either. And was Toru's sighs that of exasperation from something that should be obvious? 'HOLY HIPPOGRIFF AM I ON A DATE?' he wondered. How would he know? Should he ask or would that show just how clueless he was? "Oh..." he said lamely as red as his hair.

"Oh whatcha get?" Magnus asked curiously. "A tea party huh. You going?"

It had taken Klaus several tries to find someone who could read and explain the message but finally he managed. With the help of the student he sent a reply. "Thank you for your concern. I shall send him a mobile phone and solar charger so he can call me. I am not sure what is going on but he can speak with me anytime. ~Klaus. P.S. I don't know English well. Student wrote this for me."

Callista was very surprised when she heard the push notification, but she set down her things and took her phone out of her bag. Blade's grandfather had messaged her back! And the message was a nice one, which was a great relief.

Hmm. Not good at English. Did her translator app have German as an option? Yes. It did!

"Thanks for your reply, Mr Albrecht," she typed, and the translation appeared below. She pasted that into Messenger. It looked all right, so she continued typing and pasting, but just in case she got hit by some weird translation or autocorrect malfunction, she decided to tell him she was using an app.

"I'm using a translation program, so I'm sorry if this comes out sounding strange. I'm not sure what's going on either, but I know he'll be glad to hear from you--he asked to use my phone earlier, but then I think decided that he didn't want to have to say everything where I and our other friends could hear it. But I'll let him know, and I'll help him learn to use the phone when it gets here."

She had been beginning to suspect that there was family trouble. But now she knew that there was at least one person in Blade's family who cared about him--and wasn't a jerk about Blade having interests outside of a narrow range of topics 'appropriate for the Sacred Twenty-Eight'. That didn't fix everything, but it certainly would help.

(Not that the name Edwards was on that list. Zabini wasn't, either, but Callie didn't care. Being part of a family that was on the list hadn't made Liane Malfoy's life any easier.)

Elizabeth thanked the boy() who held the door for her. What was his name again?, she thought, a bit ashamed of not knowing that. She knew he was a Metamorphmagus, though. He was accompanied by Sauvage (), a chic Hufflepuff girl, who she greeted as well. They seemed to have their own plans about shopping - and it was obvious they'd like to spend some time alone in Hogsmeade as they were a couple.

She saw Zoe() and Callista() as she looked around a little and waved at them. What should she get? Corvus had sent her a Thunderbird feather, obviously made smaller by a charm. It was by far the most beautiful writing instrument she owned for school by now. So maybe she should get a new notebook for school? Wondering, she looked over to Callista, who seemed to be busy with a small muggle device. She remembered this thing - her friend Lotta had one. It was a funny thing, but Elizabeth's parent didn't approve of such things. So, instead of disturbing Callista, she took a step back from the notebooks. "What are you getting?", she asked Zoe, "those quills do look pretty. Especially the pheasant one."

Lorcan was a bit taken aback that Elizabeth went directly over to her friends. However, he couldn't blame her. It was just that it's been ages since he had seen her and she just left him standing there? He shook his head and sighed. He was being ridiculous. His old friend didn't have any bad intentions. Actually, he often wondered if he was this bad with people since his mother disappeared when he was only a child - which would made him assume the worst about others. Then, he looked up from his thoughts. He barely recognized the pretty dressed girl from the beach, but the big cat next to her helped him to remember her. His gaze shifted over to Elizabeth and her friend. Well, he knew Zoe at least, as she was a Ravenclaw and Head Girl as well. Thinking about this, he bit his lip and thought of a letter he was trying to write as formal and reasonable as possible - but it was a difficult task and he didn't want to make any errors. However, he shoved these thoughts aside. He was here for fun and shopping after all...but then, he didn't want to disturb the girls' talk.

(tea party sounds great! =D )

"I got the usual pet food," Paddy replied, "but also Uncle had sent me some money to get a companion (despite all the ones I have already), and there was a particular little pet in the shop that I found myself falling for. It wasn't quite the pet I had in mind before I set foot in there, but it'll certainly be an interesting one." She thought for a moment, "I dunno, I heard a mention of fashion, and that's not really my thing. I guess it depends if everyone else is going or not. I mean do I want to be the odd one not there?" "Were you invited?" she added.

--

Niamh held her breath, not quite sure what Blade's reaction was going to be. Seeing him turn the same shade as his hair wasn't quite what she'd expected. Did that mean he liked her too? Suddenly Niamh felt almost as clueless as Blade, not really feeling sure how to continue the conversation without it getting somewhat tricky, or risking herself saying entirely the wrong thing. After a while, she realised Blade was waiting for her to say something... "so," she said, "erm, what do you think of that?" She blushed even harder, knowing that she probably sounded totally dumb, but she seemed to have lost the ability to string a proper sentence together.

((and everyone))

Klaus read the message a lot easier this time. Slightly off but far better than the translator program he’d tried. He sent a reply back with his app.

“To me he German speak would. I am glad that I to his girlfriend spoke. For your help, I thank. App am I to this using.” ~Klaus Albrecht.

“Ooh yes, that’s a lovely feather,” Zoe said. “I’m thinking of getting one of those pheasant feathers, a peacock quill and this lovely blue quill which I’ve been trying to figure out which bird it’s from. Jabberknoll maybe? Blade got an eagle owl today. She’s so lovely that I’m also considering getting this eagle owl quill as well. I wonder if it’s difficult to make quills? When my new barn owl drops his feathers would I be able to make quills with them? Would you like to see him? He’s lovely.” She didn’t wait for a reply and set his cage down on the table to pull the cover up. She was beaming. “How about you? Getting any quills today?” She scooted a little closer and dropped her voice. “Are you here with Lorcan as a date? He’s cute.”

“You know you kinda didn’t answer that. What pet did you buy? You’re really making me curious now. Surely not a tarantula. A bunny? Another dog?” Magnus asked as he stood up to stretch. “I think I found the books I want. Nope, I ain’t been invited. I don’t really know Callista well. But if you wanna go, don’t worry about me. Surely Fade’s made ‘is way over to Zonkos by now. I can go pester him.”

Blade rubbed the back of his head as he tried to regain his rhythm. “How about we go to Deathcaps now then?” he asked since he had no idea what else to say. “Ru? Coming or needa head to your party?”

((ooc: I wanted the translation to sound awkward. lol. Most of those apps do sound weird.))

Paddy laughed, "I know, I was trying to avoid admitting what pet I ended up with. It's a tiny kitten. The clerk said he'd put some protective charms on her for me, so Snowden and Remus can't harm her... and he'd also try and make her as safe for a werewolf to own as possible," she added quietly. Paddy didn't really feel that a tea party was necessarily her kind of thing "If you're not heading to the tea party, then I don't mind tagging along if you're heading to other shops. If you don't mind me being there, of course."

--

Niamh felt oddly relieved that Blade had changed the subject - that hadn't quite gone as easily as she'd thought, although she noticed that he hadn't actually answered her question. "Er, yeah sure, we can head to Deathcaps now," she replied.

"Awww I love kitties. Kippers were me first pet after all. But honestly I thought you'd 'ave a pack of dogs before a kitty. What's 'e or she look like?" He shook his head. "Why would I mind? You're me friend too silly." Magnus took his books to the register and paid for them. "After Zonkos we can get a bite to eat at the three broomsticks if you want."

"Okay, sounds good." As the three walked down the street, Blade put his hands in his pocket. He felt the package of pepper imps and realised who put it there. That was sweet. With a little sigh he said, "No I haven't run away from home, by the way." He thought he was answering Nimah's question, but misunderstood, again. "Not sure what got you to think that, but since you're both my friends I'll put that theroy to rest. What I'd like is to enjoy the day as much as possible and I want everyone else to as well. Okay? Please." It sounded a little like begging, but he really didn't want to spoil everyone's day or be the focus of the day either. Surely some of his activities might get an eyebrow raised but there was nothing he could do about that.

"Same here to be honest," Paddy replied, "in fact, it was a dog I was aiming on getting, but I didn't look at much else than that kitty to be honest! She's a Tortoiseshell, but with what the clerk described as a 'split face' so one side is light and the other is dark." She grinned at Magnus' reply, "well, I thought I'd give you the choice. I didn't want to just invite myself to tag along."

--

"That's good," Niamh replied, "it was just that you seemed to be getting more supplies than you'd need for the rest of this term, and even more than you'd likely need at home too." She paused before adding "ok, I'll try my hardest to not bug you with any more questions. I can't guarantee that, mind. My Mum always said I was too nosey for my own good." She realised she was blushing again, and made a mental note to find out if there was an anti-blushing charm she could learn. "But I meant 'what do you think about the xs on the card', not my theory."