"I think it's similar to drawing on paper. You can 'ave a go on mine if you want. I don't mind," Magnus offered thrilled at the idea of a sleepover. Okay cool. I wanna find Toru, Nimah and Callista. Got a little something for them."

@ (if anyone wants to see Magnus.

(sorry I've been really sick and unable to focus due to pain and a cold)

"I'm lucky to have him really. Well - he would have you know that I am actually lucky, and that it's not just a nice sentiment to say because he could choose to leave at any moment. I know he never would though, we're too close." Aria watched Dax as he played prank on a couple walking hand in hand down the road and giggled softly. At least they are harmless fun, she mused.

"The professors at Hogwarts let him in because he is a sentient mini-snowy owl griffin, this is as big as he'll ever get." Aria gestured over towards him. He was only about the size of a very large house cat, or perhaps a medium sized dog, weighing only about 25 pounds. "He looks like he should weigh in around 40 pounds but his avian ancestry brings his weight down."

Aria saw the confused look upon Toru's face as she was talking about Dax. "We don't talk about it much really but I helped save him from a madmagician who'd been experimenting upon him (and other animals), which is why he's so small and sentient. He's got a human spirit magically sealed to his natural griffin one, or at least a portion of a human spirit." Aria looked rather sadly down at her hands. "I saved him, he saved me, and it sort of just went in a circle because then Magnus saved the both of us! We used to be homeless before Magnus helped us." She looked up at Toru in the hopes that she'd be accepting of them still.

Callista waved through the window to Toru, Magnus and...Aria? She thought that was the name of the girl with the griffin.

"Hey, Zoe, want to say hi to them?"

"Sure," Zoe said smiling and heading out the shop to see them all. "Hi guys." She handed a box of chocolates to Aria whom she didn't know every well. Then she gave Fade, Toru and Magnus all got the same gift. A portable easel filled with acrylic paint, brushes, a pallet and canvases.

She'd given her gift to Paddy already, but handed Nimah an envelope. It contained a petshop voucher. "I knew ye liked pets but was nee sure what to get," she explained. Zoe blushed realising she didn't have anything for Blade. "I'm sorry, I did nee get ye anything."

Blade shrugged. "Don't worry," he said. He wanted to give Cal his gift, and Toru but he was feeling like his gift was more humble for Cal now after seeing the more expensive gifts Zoe was giving out.

(( - ))

Callista had some friends with her and one named Zoe, who Aria did remember from their last outing, had an arm full of packages. Zoe stopped at the group and handed out several gifts. To Aria she handed a box of chocolates.

"Thank you so much for the chocolates," Aria said in quiet grateful shock. "It's Zoe, right?" I remember you from our last gathering," she commented while opening the box of delectable chocolates. "I adore chocolates, especially the ones with peanut butter, raspberry, or mint filling." The Gryffindor smiled at Zoe with genuine gratitude written all over her face.

Dax's head popped up behind Aria's right shoulder as soon as she'd taken her first chocolate. He lowered his beak and rested it on her shoulder, staring intensely at the chocolates she held. Giggling, Aria peered down at Dax, who was still resting his head with intent on her shoulder. "I think he wants one." She commented with mirth. "I'm not giving you any more sweets though, you silly griffin." Aria didn't move to shrug him off her shoulder though, she really enjoyed his closeness.

Toru blinked a bit at what she was explaining and cocked their head curiously as the story was told. Though as Aria progressed with the story they looked a little more horrified. "T-That s-sounds awful." The Hufflepuff didn't seem upset at the commentary though and when Dax scampered back up to them they leaned down to gently pet the soft feathery head.

The conversation with Aria was broken and Toru jumped a bit as a familiar voice called out to them. A head of bright red hair bobbed toward them through the crowd as Gresham approached with a parcel. The package was dropped into the Hufflepuff's lap. "T-Thanks G-Gresham. They carefully opened the package and looked excited at the sketch book and art supplies. Toru took it out and carefully smelled the unblemished pages. There was nothing better in life than a fresh sketchbook. "I-I have y-your present t-too." They reached into their bag and pulled out a small scroll of parchment. As the parchment unfurled it was a beautiful watercolor of Gresham wearing some kind of muggle-inspired high-fantasy armor riding a dragon. It seemed like something the redhead would enjoy.

"A-Ah, Gresh... T-This is A-Aria. A-Aria, this i-is Gresham. H-He's in G-Gryffindor t-too!"

The rest of their friends arrived and Toru smiled happily at them. "M-Merry C-Christmas everyone..." They mumbled happily. They handed out more bits of parchment. They didn't really have a lot of spending money this time of the year so watercolors was the best they could do. Zoe's was a lovely doodle of her as a mermaid with bright blue scales that glistened in the dull wintery light. Magnus' was a colorful Koi pond painting that the watercolor fish would swim across the paper. Blade's was a beautiful wispy white Thestral that was stunning to look at. Fade's painting was of both he and Sauvage holding hands, and Fad's hair would change colors occasionally. Paddy's was a beautiful wooded lake that had the fresh smell of pine. Finally Callista's picture was of Ikebukuro and the bright billboards would change occasionally.

Waving a hello to Zoe and her fashion-forward Slitherine friend as they approached, Fade smiled. ( ) “Zoe, wow! Thank you.” Fade grinned from ear to ear as he inspected the easel and its contents. “Oh right. Here, I got this for you.” Fade pulled out a large magazine that was more the size of a novel and handed it over. “It’s a muggle publication, full of their fashion trends and brands. Thought you would maybe be interested in it, maybe.” The cover read Vogue across the top with an editorial image of a famous muggle woman in a massive and very interesting looking gown.

Fade’s grin remained but his cheeks flushed pink when Toru delivered their drawing. It was his turn to stutter. “T-thank you, Toru.” () He admired the attention to detail and the way his hair color shifted on the parchment a few minutes before carefully stowing the art inside his newly acquired easel. “Er, I know you prefer painting, but I saw this and thought you could try it.” Fade pulled a small latched box out of his pocket and handed it to Toru. Inside was an ink pen with golden inlay. “I’ve got one and it’s been going strong for a year now. It is called an Infinite Ink pen. This one’s ink is gold. Good for accents and stuff.” Suddenly Fade felt a bit awkward not having anything else to offer the other people in the growing gathering. Perhaps later if given the chance he would buy them all a coco or something. ( )

(and all)

“Ye’re welcome,” Zoe said. “Aye, I’m Zoe. Oh good I’m glad ye’ll enjoy them then.” She blushed shyly. “Ooh I’ve got some cat treats in my bag if ye’re pet would eat some?”

Blade stood in uncomfortable silence as many gifts were handed out. “Thanks, Ru,” he said softly, but he didn’t open the parchment. Instead he slipped it into one of his bags, preferring to look at it in private. “I er… got something for you too. Dom helped me make it.” He handed Toru a bag with a beautiful flute. There were some sheet music in it as well. He then handed Callista her back. It was a homemade sketchbook bound with emerald green ribbons. There was a pretty Snowy Owl quill inside the giftbag and a bottle of blue and a bottle of colour changing ink. He was feeling self-conscious though since Callista’s gift wasn’t exactly the most imaginative gift he thought.

Zoe giggled with glee as she saw her picture. “Ooh I’m a mermaid! It’s lovely Toru. Ye’re so skilled. Thank ye!” She was beaming.

Magnus smiled. “Ooh cool man! I love it. I’ll put it up in me zen room. It’ll be perfect there. Me koi fish look just like it.” He handed Toru a gift. “This is for you.” Inside was a how to draw Manga kit, with expensive pens and markers, paper and book, plus online demos, some Japanese sweets and a dragon plush.

“Ye’re welcome Fade,” Zoe said. She was pleased he liked his gift. “Ooh thank ye.” She was not expecting anything at all so the rather large magazine was a surprise. “I look forward to looking through it.”

Callista didn't know everyone well, but she had prepared small packets of Japanese sweets to hand out to people she hadn't known what to get (and people she hadn't expected to bring her anything), and these she passed out liberally. For Niamh, whom she'd known since Ilvermorny, she had made a bright red rose silk hairpin that would look good with her uniform so she could wear it every day. "No more headscarves," she teased; a lot of the Alexandrian girls had worn hijab, but Niamh had worn it only to keep her hair free of sand. "So now you can show off your hair!"

When she saw Toru's gift, she had to catch her breath. "Oh, Toru-chan, it's beautiful. I love it!" She gave them a little hug. "Thanks so much! I'll bring this to school with me for when I miss Tokyo."

She was also surprised by Blade's gift. "Blade! That's beautiful too! Oh, I love it! I'm always filling up sketchbooks, and the paper and ink are lovely!"

(and anyone else!)

((edited because Raven and I posted over each other))

((and all)

"i know it's not much..." Blade said, "but I thought you'd like using it when in Japan for the remainder of your stay." He was blushing. "I-I thought you'd perhaps spell it together once it filled up and could then use the ribbons elsewhere. I-I'm glad you like it.

"I like it lots," said Callista, smiling. "I couldn't get something like this in a store. You and Toru have given me really precious things. I wish I had more time to make gifts right now, but I'm working on my design portfolio, so all I've managed is little things like hairpins--and little bead and leather bracelets and things."

and everyone

Toru giggled when Callista hugged them for their present. "I-I'm g-glad you like i-it..." They were very pleased the home-made gifts went over well. Blade was the only one who didn't look at theirs, but he was a private fellow so they weren't entirely surprised.

They didn't want to be rude so for the group the introduced Aria and Gresham to Castilla, Fade, Zoe, Blade and Paddy. Magnus would already know Aria so they only introduced Gresh.

Unrolling his gift from Toru, Gresh was thrilled to see a picture of himself in high fantasy armor and riding a great dragon. He cackled out loud and then gave Toru a hug. "That's f***ing awesome, Toru! Thank you!"

Gresham sat quietly while everyone else exchanged gifts. He didn't know this particular group of students, and besides, he had no presents for anyone besides Toru. He had spent enough on that one gift. Sometimes living poor was just an inconvenience, but at times around the holidays, it was a downright problem. He couldn't even afford to get ice cream for everybody here; there were too many of them.

As Toru introduced him, he put on his usual cheeky grin and waved at everyone. "Hey guys," he said cheerfully, forgetting his disappointment in not getting everybody a gift. It was hard for him to stay insecure for very long, especially when around new people. He watched the gifts being exchanged, taking note of everything everyone got. One of the other students handed Toru a flute, and he grinned. He could just imagine his little friend sitting somewhere piping away at the instrument. "That's a perfect gift for you, Small One," he teased, nudging Toru a bit so they'd know he was joking.

(( et al ))

((and all))

Blade gave a small smile to Callista. “I’m glad you like. Don’t worry, I don’t need gifts. And I know you’re super busy in Japan.”

“Hi Gresh,” Zoe said brightly. She’d not been introduced before but as an avid people-watcher she had known of the Gryffindor. “Happy Christmas.”

Magnus smiled. “Nice to meet you, Gresh.” he said in his cockney accent.

Privacy wasn’t the only reason Blade hadn’t opened his gift. He knew no gifts would be received from his family. He’d gotten a zither alright, but his grandfather misunderstood and sent it for him as a gift. He hadn’t realised Blade was wanting to gift it to Nimah. Blade never told his grandfather of the mistake either. But he’d already gotten the gift from Nimah early, a lovely parrot, and he wanted at least one thing to open on Christmas day. He still wasn’t sure if he’d stay with the Zabini family or not. Only Toru and Callista’s family knew Blade was living alone. And Toru and Callista were the only ones who knew he was in fact living in a tent. He’d kept it quite but the Zabini matriarch found out about him being disowned and offered to have him stay during the winter. So far, the fiery teen had stayed a little longer than the single night he’d been planning on but he was emancipated and was struggling with things that he was shouldering more or less on his own.

Blade nodded to Gresh but was more focused on Toru. His heart sunk when Toru said nothing about the flute. He’d spent a lot of time making it and knew how important music was to his friend. But now he was feeling a tightness in his throat. Toru didn’t like it, obviously. Blade had tried so hard too. He didn’t have much money and had worked two jobs not only to support himself, but to help buy gifts where he needed to. Feeling rejected, Blade started to slink away.

((Blade's not gone and can be stopped.))

Callista was pleased to meet everyone and said so. She hadn't met Gresham before, but he was pretty cute. "Your hair is great," she told him after their introduction. "What year are you? I'm in sixth."

Then she noticed Blade about to slip off. "Where are you going?" she said, shaking her head.

She wondered if she should've brought his Christmas gift, but it was under the tree. She hadn't expected him to give her her present here, but that made sense because she could use it. She had said at breakfast that she'd been planning to get a new sketchbook soon.

Had he still not decided to stay through the end of break? It would've made sense for him to leave if she was the only one he was actually friends with, but he spent just as much time with her brother and his bird, and her little sister and her music, as he did with her, and he liked her older sister, too. And he loved Tiana the fossa, who was, admittedly, extremely lovable.

(and anyone else I missed)

Paddy whistled to Remus and Snowden. She didn't mind them having fun, but there were more people about now and she didn't want to be having to chase her pets down the streets because they were having such a great time. Snowden came back almost instantly, but as usual Remus wanted to explore all the nice smelling students first, putting his paws up on Blade's legs, asking for attention. "That's one way to stop Blade from walking off," Paddy said under her breath. She felt a bit embarrassed at not having brought gifts for some of the other students - she hadn't expected so many of them to have come to Diagon Alley, so she made a mental note to get some chocolate cake slices that she could box up for anyone she'd missed out.

Niamh took the envelope from Zoe and opened it, "wow, thank you! That's always a good choice of voucher, I could spend a fortune in there!" She pulled an envelope containing a voucher for Flourish & Blotts out from her pocket and handed it to Zoe, "it looks like we had similar ideas for what to give," she added with a grin. Spotting Callista, she waved - but what had she done with the gift she had ready for her? She carefully took the hairpin and fixed it into her hair, "what do you think?" she said, flicking her head, "it's perfect, thank you Callista!" Niamh continued rummaging in her bag- surely she'd remembered to bring that present with her? "Ah, found it," she said at last, "sorry I didn't have a chance to wrap it up, but I hope you like it." She handed over a small paper bag which had a scarf-sized piece of fabric in it. "The fabric is charmed to change colour depending on your mood," she explained, "I thought you could either wear it as a scarf, or make something from it."

(OOC: whoops, looks like RL took over for longer than I'd anticipated! Catching up now, so sorry if I missed anyone )

Toru moved to open the flute box and was puzzled that it came in 3 different pieces. They had only seen flutes in pictures and was puzzled at the silvery instrument. "D-Do you play t-the pieces t-together?" They seemed pleased with the instrument though and gave Blade a small smile. "I-I hope t-this comes w-with flute l-lessons?"

They moved to tug on Blade's sleeve to keep him from walking off entirely. "I love it." They managed to say it confidently enough that their stutter didn't sound at all. "M-Mum and dad h-have a p-present for you t-too, but t-they wanted t-to give it t-to you themselves." Meaning before he left he should swing by the shop.

"Oh my goodness, a mood scarf!" Callista grinned. "Honestly, I think it's fine as it is--are you sure the charm won't be affected if I do sew lace on it or something? I doubt I will though. Thanks, Niamh!" She wrapped it around her neck immediately and tied a little bow. Not much of it showed with the high collar of her coat, but it was clear that she was in a happy place right now.

Toru wasn't going to be at her house on Christmas, so she had a present for them--a headbow on a band with silk yellow roses and daisies, wrapped up in a little bag with a bow. "This is for you," she said, "but Blade, I left yours under the tree...uh, don't worry, they're not the same thing!"

(and all)

Blade shrugged since he had no general location in mind. He just wanted away from the merriment and all. “Dunno. Find out when I get there I suppose.” He was about to move on further, but then was stopped by the little “beast.” He glared at Remus. “What do you want?” he asked the dog. He wasn’t especially fond of dogs. They were too needy for him and hyper. But he did pet the animal before skirting away from him.

“Ooh thank ye. I’ll enjoy spending it there.” Zoe laughed at how they both gave each other vouchers. “Great minds think alike.”

Blade was halted in his exit by Toru’s words. “It fits together,” he said softly. Then he showed Toru how it was assembled. “Clarinet also breaks down. It’s easier to clean the instrument in sections. Yeah I can teach you how to play. As can Zoe.” He felt better when Toru said they loved it. “Oh, good. I would’ve gone with a clarinet but its much harder to play so thought you’d enjoy the flute and if you liked it then you could try it next. Clarinet is double reeds.” He was surprised to know their parents had a gift for him. “They do?” he asked. “Er, I could pick it up after work tomorrow.” He was helping in the shop now. But the way he phrased it most would likely assume he was talking about his job at the music shop in Hogsmede—well those who knew he worked there.

Blade looked at Callie. “I don’t need anything,” he said softly.

Yet Zoe smiled and asked, “Ooh are yer families hanging out together on Christmas day?”

“No Zoe, our families won’t be together,” Blade replied. “Don’t really know what my plans are yet.”