Twas the week before Christmas and all through the snow, Many students were scurrying with plenty of places to go. There were toys and brooms and sugar plums dancing on signs, Hot chocolates and cauldron cakes and books to fill minds. The snow was falling and the cold made cheeks all ruddy But this made a more festive feeling all--even if clothing got a little muddy. Portkeys were sent, and powder for the floo, Surely everyone knew just what to do. The Caretaker was there all wrapped up warm She'd be happy to help out, and keep up with the student swarm A magical season of love and friendship Come one, come all and hop on this trip!

Shops

2nd Hand Brooms A shop that sells used broomsticks. Amanuensis QuillsA shop that sells quills. It is next to Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions shop. Apothecary A store located at North Side, Diagon Alley which supplies merchants with ingredients for potion-making. Broomstix A shop that sells broomsticks. Eeylops Owl Emporium A pet shop located in Diagon Alley that sells owls and various other things needed for the care of owls, like Owl Treats. It sells a variety of breeds, including Screech, Barn, Tawny, Brown, and Snowy. Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour It was owned and operated by Florean Fortescue, and was located at Diagon Alley. Flourish and Blotts A popular bookshop in Diagon Alley where most Hogwarts students purchase their schoolbooks. Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop is located in Diagon Alley. Gringotts Wizarding BankGringotts is the only known bank of the wizarding world. It was created by the goblin Gringott. In addition to storing money and valuables for wizards, one can go there to exchange Muggle money for wizarding money. Junk shop A shop that sells secondhand items such as broken wands, lopsided scales, etc. The Leaky Cauldron A popular Wizarding pub in London. It is the entrance to Diagon Alley. Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions Sometimes simply referred to as Madam Malkin's, it is a shop in Diagon Alley. Students get their Hogwarts school uniforms there, and also dress robes, travelling cloaks, and the like. Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions Located at 275 Diagon Alley, this shop helps witches getting rid of "warts and worse". Magical Menagerie One of the shops where students buy their pets and supplies. Obscurus Books Located at 18a Diagon Alley, Obscurus is a Wizarding book publisher. Its range of titles include the popular Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Ollivanders Ollivanders is the sole wand shop of Diagon Alley. Peeling gold letters over the door of the shop read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.. The shop's display consists of a solitary wand laying on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. The shop is tiny, empty except for a single, spindly chair in the corner. Thousands of narrow boxes containing wands are piled right up to the ceiling of the tiny shop, and the whole place has a thin layer of dust about it. Potage's Cauldron Shop A shop that sells cauldrons. Quality Quidditch Supplies A shop in Diagon Alley. Its main products are things having to do with Quidditch such as Quaffles, Bludgers, and broomsticks. Rosa Lee Teabag A teashop located in Diagon Alley as well as in Hogsmeade. Scribbulus Writing Instruments A shop that sells ink and presumably other stationary items (quills, parchment). Second-Hand Bookshop A shop that sells second-hand books. Second-Hand Robes A shop that sells second-hand robes. Slug & Jiggers Apothecary This is where students buy their potion ingredients. Sugarplum's Sweets Shop A shop that sells confections. TerrorTours Located at 59 Diagon Alley, TerrorTours is presumably a travel agency for wizards and witches. The Ministry Press A publishing house affiliated to the Ministry of Magic. The Daily Prophet's main office Presumably where the Daily Prophet newspapers are printed. Twilfitt and Tatting's Twilfitt and Tatting's is a wizarding clothing shop located in Diagon Alley. Given that it is favoured by elitist pure-blood witch Narcissa Malfoy, it is probably an upmarket shop. Twilfit and Tattings Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Located at 93 Diagon Alley, it is a joke shop owned by Fred and George Weasley. It sells practical joke objects, such as Extendable Ears, a Reusable Hangman, and Fred and George's special WonderWitch products, such as love potions and ten-second pimple remover. There is also a section of Muggle magic tricks in honour of their father Arthur. They're not big sellers, but they do fairly well. Exterior of Weasleys Wizards Wheezes shop Whizz Hard Books Located at 129B Diagon Alley. Whizz Hard Books is a Wizarding book publisher. Its range of titles include the popular Quidditch Through the Ages and Hairy Snout, Human Heart. Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment A miscellaneous equipment shop. ****Various Stalls and Peddlers There are a variety of street peddlers who take up space in between shops out on the main thoroughfare of Diagon Alley. Included are a flower vendor, a vendor who is selling roasted chestnuts, and a jewellery vendor. I'm happy to make up anything you want.

As you can tell, this is a holiday shopping trip. If you need a clerk, I can play one. If you want to play a random clerk for that shop, go for it.

If you move on, please put it in bold or spoiler so others can see what shop you went to and catch up. Example: Magnus is in Leaky Cauldron or

Magnus is in Leaky Cauldron

Magnus is in Leaky Cauldron

Nothing here

And then the text :)

If you'd like to see a shop, we can make one up. Just let me know. **No going to Knockturn Alley. I don't really plan on rping a chaperone unless needed/wanted. For the purpose of our rp, this is a single day. Monday the 17th

PS: Tardis' rp will still continue.

Aria leaving Sugar Plum Sweet Shop and going into Whizz Hard Books

Aria snuck around the corner with a bag full of sweets from the Sugarplum's Sweets Shop and ran into Whizz Hard Books. She walked through the dimly lit back portion of the shop, among the heavily laden dusty book shelves. She was looking for a very particular book for her brother Magnus. "AH! there it is!" She exclaimed in delight upon reading its title. Her smile faded on her lips when she opened the decrepit book and realized that this edition of 'Were is the Moon of Wolves' was a fifth edition. It was missing the pictures and ancient depictions of werewolves which normally are inset into the first and last pages of the book, so she put it back on the shelf feeling rather melancholy. "Will I ever find that blasted book." Aria muttered to herself as she continued to scan the limited edition and releases section in the hopes of finding the ever elusive first edition of the amazing book on werewolf theories and ancient prophecies.

As she meandered and rifled through the books she also munched on a peppermint brownie bar. The shop did say no food but she was pretty hungry after a full day of shopping. Eventually she gave up and decided to try one of the other book shops in the area before going to her plan C option for a gift for her brother.

Aria meandered slowly down the alley and enjoyed the light dusting of snow that had covered everything, making all the older piles of snow appear clean and white. She knew they were dirty from the muck of the street underneath the new white blanket, but for now it all looked rather pristine.

At this point she had no idea where Dax was, but was fairly cretin he'd found someone to beg sweets off of. Either that or he'd found Paddy's puppy to play with or one of the other pets that a student had brought along for a shopping trip. Dax did love to play in the snow, so he might just be burring himself under a large snow-pile or digging tunnels for people to fall through as they walked on seemingly sturdy ground.

Aria stiffed a giggle at the thought of what mischief Dax could be up to and shook her head as she walked happily down the road.

Aria leaving Whizz Hard Books and walking down the street towards another book shop

Paddy's walking down the street - not gone into a shop yet Paddy stopped in the middle of Diagon Alley to let Remus and Snowden check out some interesting smells on the side of the shops. She had a feeling she might regret bringing both of them on the shopping trip, but she couldn't trust either of them to not chew everything to pieces while she was out, so they both had to come.

Niamh is in Eeylops Owl Emporium Looking around, Niamh still couldn't believe there were quite so many different owls - she knew of some species, but Eeylops seemed to have at least three times as many as she'd ever heard of. Trying not to get completely distracted, she headed for the owl treats stand, and tried to work out which type of owl treats would work best for gifts for her owl-owning friends.

Magnus is strolling along about to careen into Paddy Magnus wasn't really paying attention to where he was going. He was mentally calculating what he had left to buy. In his hands he had giftbags to hand to friends as he saw them and one bag of things he bought. Thankfully the clerk spelled his things weightless and he did have his expanding bookbag to put things in if he needed too. He was so wrapped up he didn't notice his friend Paddy who was innocently walking along. Still the teen managed to stop just short of crashing into her. "Oh sorry, didn't see you. 'Ow are you? Got your Christmas gif 'ere if you'd like it now." He smiled embarrassed.

Zoe is in a bookshop. Zoe was humming absentmindedly as she pursued through the books. She adored books and was nearly always surrounded by them. Reggie, her Scottie dog, was at her side.

Paddy looked round just as Magnus almost walked into her. Not doing much to stop Remus from jumping up Magnus trying to lick his face (anyone would've thought that Crup had been starved of attention for the last month the way he was eagerly jumping), she rummaged in her pocket. "I've got your present here as well," she said, pulling out an envelope tied with ribbon, "Uncle insisted on chipping in for this," she added as she handed it to him.

Callista is having a banana split at Fortescue's Ice Cream. It's her last day in Britain before she goes back to Japan to finish her internship, so she might not be around all day.

Magnus struggled to keep the crup from getting all over him. He smiled and handed her a large box that he pulled out from his bag. Inside he had an assortment of fine Japanese sweets, a beautiful kimono, paper parasol, a painting he did of her Remus and Snowden and a cute Totoro plushie.

"We went to Japan at the start of the break," he explained. He opened his envelope and was surprised to see tickets for a tour of Scotland by the moonlight. He had told her about no longer being a werewolf. "Woah! Wicked! Thanks! I'll take tons of pictures!"

Blade was walking down near the ice cream parlour looking for Callista He was nervous about giving her his gift, but knew he couldn't delay it any longer. She was leaving soon and he wanted to give it to her for her trip. He was carrying several bags and was nervous about each gift.

Paddy open the box, and felt her jaw drop at all the things inside. She was lost for words, especially at the painting, but realised she couldn't stand there forever without saying anything. "Thank you," she spluttered, with a massive grin, "that painting is perfect and I love all the Japanese things!" She grinned even more when he opened his present, "I thought that would be the first thing you'd want to do, to celebrate your new-found freedom."

Magnus enjoyed her reaction. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like it all. Oh and I got a gift for your uncle too." He pulled out another box. "It's tons of chocolates from Japan. there's also a chocolate covered scorpion covered in a raspberry lolly if he's brave enough to try. I wouldn't touch 'em but that didn't stop me from buying one." He laughed.

He smiled brightly. "It's perfect! Thank you!" He gave her a hug.

"Wow, thank you," Paddy replied, taking the box from Magnus, "I know he'll enjoy these, and knowing Uncle, he'll be wanting to at least try a nibble of the chocolate covered scorpion!"

Niamh is leaving Eeylops and heading towards Fortescue's Ice Cream Finally satisfied with her selection of owl treats, Niamh made her way to the clerk to pay, then wandered along Diagon Alley, looking in the shop windows as she headed towards the ice cream parlour.

"'E'll 'ave to tell me if 'e liked it," Magnus said. "Happy Christmas."

Blade saw Callista and Nimah about the same time. He waved to Callista, unsure if she saw him. But Nimah was now in front of him. "Hello, Nimah," he said just outside of the ice cream parlour "How are you?" He felt extremely nervous now. "Er, I have your gifts." He handed her a gift bag. Inside was a large box of licorice, a some sheet music for violin and Zither, some finger guards and a zither.

playing sound of silence on the Zither

"It's German. It plays all sorts of music, but since you like folk music, I thought you'd enjoy this. You could even play with a bow. My Grandfather helped me get it. He's a musician in Germany." He was blushing heavily waiting to see what she thought.

Niamh reached the ice cream parlour just as Blade arrived. Taking the bag from him, her eyes lit up at the sight of the liquorice and sheet music. She wasn't too sure what the large item was, so she carefully lifted it out of the bag for a closer look. Plucking a couple of strings to test the sound, she recognised it as something she'd heard being played before, even though she'd never seen the instrument itself. Carefully putting it back into the bag, she wasn't too sure how to phrase her thank you for such an amazing present. Rather than risking sounding like a spluttering fool, she flung her arms around Blade and gave him a hug.

Toru is strolling the street

Toru left their family's shop. They had heard several of their friends would be shopping today in Diagon Alley, which would make it easier to see them while they were around. They looked very snug dressed up to fight the chilly winter breath blowing down the Alley. They looked unsure where to start looking in the crowded street, but they were determined.

(and all. Sorry its not much. He's not cooperating well lol.)

Blade's eyes widened with the hug. He wasn't expecting it and he blushed furiously. He stood there frozen in awkward silence.

Toru spotted Blade and Nimah at the ice cream parlor. Nimah had Blade in a tight hug and the redhead was blushing nearly as dark as his locks. There was a slight emotion that crossed Toru's features that was hard to explain that flashed for a split second, before they sighed and kept walking for a bit. The two would be easy enough to find to give their presents later, and Toru was not in the mood to wreck whatever moment they were having outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

Instead they wandered into Flourish and Blotts where a young lady was mumbling about finding a book. Anyway to distract themselves would be an improvement. "D-Do you n-need h-help finding s-something...?" Toru paused and blushed. "I-I mean... I-I don't w-work h-here, b-but I l-live off the A-Alley..." They began rambling as nerves set in and began fading off quietly to try and stop themselves. "A-And I-I'm h-here often e-enough... and I m-might k-know what y-you're l-looking for..." Their face would be scarlet by the time they finally finished their rambling. Maybe it was too bold of them to offer help to a stranger.

Aria standing in the street watching the animals play

Aria had been just about to turn the corner towards the book store when she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw that it was Dax. Dax had been digging tunnels under the snow and had just burst out of one near and her two little ones, Remus and Snowden. Paddy hadn't really noticed but the two pups sure had. Now Dax mimicked their puppy-like joyful body wagging and romped with them in the snow.

The tall blonde girl giggled as she watched her beloved snowy-owl griffin, Dax, playing with the pups. Aria was sure glad she had him.

Aria back in a book shop - Flourish and Blotts

With a smile and a lighter step, Aria walked around the snow pile on the corner and headed into the book shop, Flourish and Blotts. The store was much brighter and less dusty than the Whizz Hard Books. There were plenty of students and store employees running about the store as well. She noticed many sitting chairs and even a little booth where one could drink some butter beer or hot cocoa while reading.

"Alright, back on to my search for that book," she muttered while walking towards the back of the store where the limited edition books would be found.

She scanned the book shelves and softly whispered the name of the text over and over while reading title after title of other old tomes and closed edition books. Aria had almost not heard the offer for help because she'd been so trapped in her thoughts. She looked up as the girl stood there flushing deeply and almost whispering. "Oh, hello!" Aria smiled warmly to the girl. "I'm searching for a book for my brother, Magnus. I've been searching everywhere but can't seem to find one that is the first edition and not one of the later less accurate editions." Aria continued scanning book titles, hoping that maybe it might help the girl feel less awkward for offering to assist her. She continued speaking, "Perhaps you could help me though, it's called 'Were is the Moon of Wolves' by Frederick Sophizche."

Toru blinked a little at the girl when she mentioned Magnus' name. "M-Magnus Lee?" Toru cocked their head just a little curiously. Magnus mentioned having siblings on the beach trip but it had sounded like they were a baby. This young lady didn't seem like a baby, perhaps Magnus had more siblings they didn't mention before?

The name of the book definitely meant it was for Magnus. Toru gave the girl a small smile. "M-Magnus i-is my f-friend at H-Hogwarts." They moved to fiddle with the edge of their scarf absently, not really realizing they were doing it. Fiddling with their clothing fabric seemed to be a nervous tick for the Hufflepuff. "M-Mmm... I-If we can't f-find it here, I-I think I h-have a copy a-at home?" Toru moved to help the girl look for the book on the shelves of limited editions.

((just fyi, Magnus was cured secretly. He will no longer be a werewolf in the rps. But he also wouldnt like that book. Anything about werewolves makes him angry. He'd probably rip it up. I think I wasvso tired i thought i replied qbout it to you, but never actually did. I'm sorry.))

Magnus smiled. "Ey Aria," he said as she joined them on the street. I'm off to go see if i can finish playing Father Christmas. You two 'ave fun now." He left the pair and headed towards Weasley's hoping to find Fade.

Meanwhile Blade blushed and stood there with not a single word coming out of his mouth. He didnt see Toru.

Magnus knew his friend well and would find Fade perusing in the self-writing quill section of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes on the second floor. “Hey man, super weird running into you here.” Fade joked when he saw Magnus approaching, it was always good to see his best friend. “Here I got you something.” He pulled a brown paper bag out of his pocket and held it out. Inside was a haphazardly wrapped bottle of ink, and a tin of clear powder. “You draw something in the ink and while it’s still wet, put the powder on it. Then hit it with some heat and the thing you drew will like, puff up.” He spread his hands and fingers in the air for emphasis. “It’s crazy, AND it’s a muggle thing. Or well the embossing powder is. The ink will turn whatever color you think of when you use it.” Fade grinned hoping he would like it. ( // got me a 10 hour shift tomorrow so I'll try and catch up when I can ♥)

(no worries, I'm flat out myself. I wanna roll into a cocoon and come out in like 3 years :P lol I'm exhausted. Don't envy you with that 10 hr shift.)

"I know, how random ain't it," Magnus said. He smiled at the gift. "Ooh neat. Thanks, I'll enjoy playing with it. Got you something too." He handed his friend a box filled with Japanese sweets, some art pens and paper, a catbus plushie and a book called The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki. "We went to Japan at the start of the break. Most of everyone's gifts are based off that trip."

Catbus plushie