(Open)Wonderful meetings and chance greetings.

Aoen stepped into Diagon Alley with her head high and her wand tucked safely in her vest pocket. Her mother finally gave in and allowed her to do her school shopping alone, after days of convincing. Her mother insisted that just because He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been gone for a while, that didn't mean it was safe for a young woman to go off on her own. Thankfully, Aoen's father, Hector, stepped in and convinced her mother that she would be fine and would likely meet up with friends while doing her shopping. Aoen couldn't agree more.

Now, standing in the long cobbled street of Diagon Alley, Aoen cringed. She didn't see anyone she knew, but she wasn't afraid. She wished she would have sent an owl to her friends to meet up with her. Aoen watched as parents and children walked to and fro from the shops, their wares in hand. She wondered how many of them were collecting their supplies for school to come. She also wondered where to begin first for her own supplies. She didn't need an owl, Bach was still young and ready for any distance of deliveries.

After a few long moments of debating, Aoen decided to get her new robes first and headed towards the robe shop. Her old robes still fit her, not having grown anything over the year, but were tattered and frayed from use. Aoen walked down the cobbled street towards the shop, moving gingerly between people as she went.

Madam Malkins was bustling with shopper of all ages. The poor woman seemed to have her hands full. Aoen frowned slightly at the sight of all the people thronging the store. There were robes in arms and measuring tapes moving of their own accord. She stood near the window to wait her turn and found that watching the people was quite amusing. Several children were eyeing each other suspiciously; Aoen was sure they were up to mischief. One woman was arguing with her older daughter about dress robes, insisting that they be more traditional.

The sun outside warmed her back through the window as she watched and waited. Aoen wasn't in a hurry, but her stomach was beginning to rumble. She couldn't decide if she should wait a bit longer for her turn, or to come back later after eating and getting her other supplies. She wrinkled her nose in consternation.

"Go away!"

It was still quite early in the day, but Katherine's temper was already flaring to dangerous levels. She'd intended on shopping for her school supplies on her own, but her older brother decided to tag along. The veins in her temples had not stopped throbbing since. Jonathan was a nuisance, and a very loud one as well. He was also a very shrewd nuisance, and knew exactly all the buttons to send her over the edge. Still, deep down---deep, deep, down---Katherine was actually glad that he decided to spend some of his busy time with her. Her older brother was frequently away, meeting with foreign officials and deeply involved with many of the reformations taking place in the Ministry. The fact that he could drop all of that to spend a day shopping with her, without any tinge of guilt or hesitation, showed how highly he prioritised their time together, and that was not lost on her.

Even so, this was one part of her shopping list that she wished to do on her own. Buying robes in front of her brother would have been mortifying; she may as well have paraded about in her knickers. After a volley of their usual sibling arguments, she managed to get him to leave and buy her potions supplies, leaving her plenty of time to get fitted for robes and have her purchases set. She walked in to Madam Malkins, and instantly regretted it. She supposed she stopped there first out of tradition, but Madam Malkins was becoming too popular for her own good. There were too many people about, and all the bustle did little to calm Katherine's blood pressure. She looked at the queue, debating whether it was worth the wait; after all, there were other robe shops nearby, and they probably wouldn't be so busy. She was not discriminating about her attire, since they were only uniform robes. With all her activities planned for the school year, it wasn't worth paying top galleon for clothes that would only last the year.

"Yeah, another place, perhaps..." she thought to herself. She wanted to get her shopping list done as quickly as possible, so she could enjoy the rest of the day in leisure. Shopping was not really therapeutic for her like it was for many girls her age, unless she were book shopping. She also didn't have anyone to talk to, not that she wanted one, really. She wasn't sure she could spend an entire day talking about fabric colours and patterns in between summer gossip and boys. Eyeing the queue again, she decided to just turn back, except that people were coming in, further packing in an already crowded shop. For all her business, why doesn't she expand this bloody place?!

Her way out currently blocked, Katherine tried to snake out in a different direction. She went around some mannequins, passed a few shelves of neatly folded fabric, and made her way to the windows. If she hadn't been looking down at that moment, Katherine would likely have missed her completely. But, for better or worse, she noticed her Housemate waiting by the window.

"Hello, MacCoulagh," Katherine said stiffly. She was known for greeting people by their surnames, a habit that stuck with her since her boarding school days. Katherine noted that the girl had not grown an inch since they last met, and thought hard about the last time she'd been Aoen's height. Perhaps her first year? Perhaps even before then? Katherine was comfortable with her height, but she had to admit that it was awkward to look so far down on someone who was as old as she was.

"Have you been waiting overlong?"

Aoen continued to watch the people moving about in the shop. It was a small place and was filling up quickly. Parents and children of all ages were waiting to be fitted while others hemmed and hawed about prices and what not. She frowned, she had been there an hour already and she was no where nearer getting fitted. With a heavy sigh, she decided to skip getting robes for now but heard a familiar voice.

Looking over and up, Aoen saw another Ravenclaw of the same year speaking to her. Aoen smiled briefly and then frowned. The girl was much taller than her, by nearly six inches she guessed. She hated being so small. People constantly picked on her for her height, and tossed her around playfully like a childs doll. But Aoen knew the girl fairly well and greeted her kindly, if not a bit reserved as they weren't in an institutional setting like they normally were.

"Ello Katherine. Need new robes as well I take it. I've been here nearly an hour and haven't gotten any closer to getting finished. I don't think I'll be getting mine here, or at least not right now. There are too many people and it's becoming a mad house."

A small smile flickered on her face again as her stomach gave a loud rumble. She put her hand over her stomach for a moment then stuffed it in her pocket. Aoen hated the sound her stomach made when she was hungry. It was irritating and embarrassing to her. Her father said it sounded like a semi-truck starting up and that made her very self-conscious.

"Have you got all you need for school yet? Or have you only begun your shopping like the rest of us poor souls, trying to get it all in before the train leaves?"

She chuckled halfheartedly.

An hour? Katherine frowned at the information. She didn't want to wait that long for robes. She nodded along as Aoen continued, thinking along similar lines.

"I think I'll be buying my robes elsewhere. They're not that high of a priority for me to wait so long for a set." There were plenty of other shops that likely offered better prices in addition to a more expedient purchase. Expedience was the key word for Katherine, who didn't have much patience for shopping in the first place.

"Admittedly I've just begun crossing items off my list, far later than I'd have liked. I'm actually looking to get a few robe sets as quickly as possible, especially before my brother returns. I'd gotten him to buy a new cauldron and some new stocks of---" Katherine's voice trailed as she heard Aoen's stomach grumble. She arched a brow, thinking the whole thing made it seem like she was talking to a ten year old. Granted, Aoen wasn't the sort of person that Katherine warmed to; her Housemate had far too sunny a disposition for Katherine's taste. She changed her course of speech, supposing it would be impolite to just leave the girl as she was. She took a peek at the clock, and did a quick calculation. She should have time to take a quick break and get her list done, she thought.

"Since you've been here for an hour, I can understand if you'd rather stay until you've been fitted, but if you'd like to join me, I was thinking of heading to a café a few doors down for moment. There's also this robes shop by the end of Diagon that usually isn't busy, and I think I may get my uniform there."

"What a lovely idea!"

Aoen was pleased to have an excuse not to wait longer for a fitting. She nodded quickly, a smile on her face.

"A bite to eat and more shopping. I've only started as well. My mum didn't want me to come by myself, but da convinced her of it."

She smiled still and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she remembered the conversation she had with her parents. Neither of them were sure about the school list; her mother having been out of school for quite some time, had forgotten how much fun school shopping was, but didn't like the crowds. Aoen had pleaded with her mum to no avail. Her father on the other hand, thought that she was old enough to go on her own. Aoen and her father had always gotten along. They said similar tastes in food, as well as similar opinions of freedom, respect, and responsibility.

"I don't know any other shop for robes. Mum and I always came here. Mind if I tag a long for fittings? I can't have torn and tattered robes again. It was horrible last year, being tossed about like a doll in frayed robes."