A Trickett up my sleeve ~ [Tricketts]

There wasn’t a lot that Freya Trickett hated. In fact, the blonde often made a conscious effort to like things. Even when they were frustrating or out of her comfort zone.  One thing that she did hate, however, (and quite vocally too) was the cold. The Tricketts were generally an outdoorsy bunch, and Freya was no exception. The problem with winter was that it was horribly restricting. Sure, snow was awesome fun, and hot chocolate and soup and roasts and all of that winter stuff was great, but there was just a whole lot more to love about summer. Bonfires, quidditch, swimming, camping, parties… all a whole lot better in the summer months.

So maybe she was a little more rugged up than was required for a March morning as she made her way down to Hogsmeade, but it was particularly chilly today and she could always take layers off later (another problem with winter – being stuck with either carrying around coats and scarves and beanies or not dressing warmly enough). Besides, it was always better to be a little too warm than a little too cold in the Gryffindor’s opinion. Freya made a mental list of all of the reasons that Summer was better than winter as she made her way through town. She knew that she was meeting family today, but she wasn’t sure exactly who would be there this time.

A grin spread across Freya’s face as she recognised a man walking ahead of her. It was her uncle! Without a moment of hesitation, Freya threw herself into a run (noting somewhere in the back of her mind just how much fitter she was since she’d been made co-captain of the quidditch team and actually started exercising properly). The blonde felt her ponytail whip behind her as she jumped up onto her uncle’s back. “Uncle Alf!” she cried, laughing as she wrapped her arms around his torso tightly, just like she used to when she was little. Freya wasn’t tiny any more though, and after giving him a second to get over his shock, she dropped to the ground, playing with her pony tail.

Being around her family, and her aunts and uncles especially, made her feel like a little kid again. “It’s awesome to see you!” she said quickly, giving him a beaming smile. Huh. He was shorter than she remembered. Or maybe she’d just grown since she’d last seen him, though she hadn’t felt like she’d grown at all! “Are we going to the bakery?” she asked, still smiling. She’d known that uncle Alf was going to be there today and she looked forward to it immensely. Vaguely she wondered who else was free today.

Arick was having a bit of a dilemma. He had been certain that he had Hogsmeade down to a science, and that he would have no trouble finding his family. Unfortunately, Hogsmeade wasn't as memorized as he thought it had been. He was now standing on a completely unfamiliar street, filled with completely unfamiliar shops and completely unfamiliar people. The former Gryffindor turned on the spot, trying to find something that would jog his memory, but he had no such luck.

"Uh..." He said to himself, running a hand through his hair. When he had heard that some of the family was going to be meeting up in Hogsmeade, he had thought it would be the perfect time to surprise Freya. But there would be no surprise at all if he couldn't even find them. Taking a deep breath in and out, he reasoned that if a bunch of Tricketts were supposed to be here today, then he should be able to spot at least one of them. And so, with purpose, he tossed the tail of his scarf behind him and set off, determined to--

Oh. There was uncle Alf, strolling down the street with that almost drunken swagger. He was about to call to him, when he saw a whirlwind of blonde hair land on top of him. Freya began talking adamantly to her uncle immediately, and Arick laughed to himself, starting to walk towards them.

"Hello, Freya!" He called happily, giving her a wide smile, "Hello, uncle Alf!" He wondered absent-mindedly if he had his monkey with him today. He wasn't in favour of the monkey. The screeching noises he made almost sounded like laughter to Arick, and he didn't enjoy having a monkey laugh at him.   

Alf was not liking this cold weather. Not a single, tiny bit. He’d just spent the last month in the Arabian desert, only returning just today. Normally when the curse-breaker returned home from an expedition he went straight to Gringotts to turn in whatever he’d found, then to his flat to change and refresh his handy-dandy and ever-present flask of fine Caribbean rum. This time he’d skipped both of those places and headed straight to Hogsmeade, where he had planned to catch up with some of the other members of his admittedly extensive family. Still dressed in full field gear, Alf was certainly a sight to behold half-walking, half-stumbling down the streets of the wizarding village with his various assortment of belts and pouches strung around his body. Thankfully the same coat he’d been using to keep the sand at bay in Arabia did well enough against the cold weather, though not nearly as much as Alf would have liked.

Taking a quick sip of his flask, Alf cast about with a slightly confused look on his face, as if something were missing. The former Gryffindor came to a complete stop, eyebrows drawn together in confusion, his brain working hard through the liquor-induced buzz. Idly, Alf patted both of his shoulders, which felt curiously light. His eyes shot open wide as he realized just what, or rather who, he was missing. That damn bloody ape, where’s he gone off to now? Alf thought to himself, quickly taking a second swig of rum. Jack did have a habit of running off on him, but Alf was somewhat concerned with the chaos that trouble-making primate could make in a village full of students and shopkeepers. As he stoppered the flask once more, Alf began to set off in search of his companion, when his ears were distracted by the sound of someone running very fast from directly behind him, followed shortly by a feminine cry of “Uncle Alf!”

“Oh bugger,” the man muttered slightly as he deduced what was about to happen and braced for impact. Even with this preparation, Freya’s leap onto his back nearly sent him sprawling. Alf hadn’t gotten any bigger over the years (to his recollection he was still the shortest adult male in the family), while his young niece had seemingly shot up like a weed, though she was still a bit shorter than him. His flask was knocked from his hands as the curse-breaker fought to recover his balance with a sixteen-year old girl attached to his back. Alf spun about for a moment, hands waving wildly in the air as he tried to at least keep his tri-corner atop his head. Bad enough to lose the flask, but to lose his hat as well would just be unspeakable!

When he’d finally recovered, Alf turned to face Freya, his grin turning into a full-blown smile. “Good to see you too, love,” he said before raising a hand to her shoulder, his eyes looking into his niece’s for a moment. “My, my, you’ve grown quite a bit since I was last here. I’ll have to put a brick on your head! Bad enough everyone else in this family is taller than me.” Alf gestured into the air to add emphasis to his statement, just as he heard another voice calling his name. Turning to greet his nephew, the next-youngest of Alberich’s clan, Alf raised a hand in a mock salute. “Bloody hell, it’s like you’re all coming out of the woodwork. Next thing you know I’ll have Geri dropping out of the sky onto my head!” Alf paused for a moment, his eyes registering mock shock as he quickly looked up into the air to ascertain that his oldest nephew was not actually poised to strike in thin air above him.

Assuring himself that he was in no imminent danger, Alf turned back to his niece and nephew, opening his mouth to speak before he was interrupted by a flurry of clicks and chattering, and the distinct feeling of small hands and feet crawling up his back and onto his shoulder. Jack had returned, and he’d even recovered Alf’s flask! Retrieving that item from his companion, Alf grinned and stroked the monkey’s head. “There’s a good lad, always getting papa what he needs, aye?” Turning once more to his younger family members, Alf spread his arms wide, in a ‘what can you do’ gesture before quickly stashing the flask into his pocket. “It’s lucky you’re both here, actually. I’ve just returned from Arabia, and you’ll never guess what I brought back with me.” He gave a sly wink before leaning back, waiting for the inevitable responses. It had been too long since they’d had a good family gathering, this could turn out to be great fun. The gifts he'd brought should be entertaining at least, though he had hoped he'd make it to Geri's bakery before running into any other Tricketts, to at least attempt to set things up beforehand. Ah well, he'd just have to make do.

The blonde laughed out loud when she made contact with her uncle. The impact almost sent him to the ground, and his flailing arms were funny to watch. She finally dropped to the ground, waiting for him to say hello. Freya straightened up and beamed at her uncle when he started talking about how she’d grown. “All the girls are still taller than me!” she pointed out matter-of-factly, but it was obvious that she was pleased with herself. The girl laughed a light, tinkly laugh, but stopped when another voice called out. Arick?! She was already smiling, but she hadn’t seen her brother for ages, and the sight of him walking towards them drew a grin that really lit up her features.

“Arick,” she said quietly. The girl watched him coming closer, feeling that familiar swelling of joy in her chest. Family was the best. The best. Freya really had no idea how people from families that weren’t close coped. How did that work? How could families possibly not have a lot of love for each other? What kind of absurd family didn’t have this. This devotion and awesomeness? Freya knew that her family was a bit of an oddity, especially when it came to numbers, and she wasn’t naïve enough to think that all families were so tight-knit or reliant on each other. She wouldn’t want it any other way though, and the blonde couldn’t fathom people who were happy like that.

She laughed at her uncle as he looked straight up at the sky, and then turned back to her brother and closed the gap between them. “I missed you,” she said, wrapping her arms around his chest and giving him a tight squeeze before stepping back. “Come on!” she said excitedly, tugging on her brother’s sleeve. She wanted to get to Geri’s as soon as possible! It was true that she saw Geri a fair bit now that he lived in Hogsmeade, but having a whole lot of Tricketts together was an event, wherever it was. Christmas hadn’t been that long ago, but Freya still missed her family. The girl bounded ahead of the two men, turning back to face them and urge them forward as she walked backwards.

Her uncle’s words almost made her trip over. Hmmm? Brought back? She grinned again. “Birthday presents!” she declared with a childish mixture of humour and excitement. Freya loved surprises.

Like every other Trickett, Leifr had gotten the memo that they were all to meet up at Crust and Crumbs. Though unlike he usually did, the man had come alone, rather than with another Trickett, as was his usual style. The man knew his way around Hogsmeade well, often coming by to visit Geri and Lyall on his own time, most often to spend some quality time with them, and his youngest cousin,Sorley. But today he was taking his time, enjoying the crisp freshness of the air and browsing and people watching as he went. It wasn’t like the man didn’t get out often enough, he did, but leisure time where he wasn’t in a hurry to get something done was a rarity in itself. This was how the wizard managed to watch Freya ambush their Uncle Alf, a scene that was hilarious in itself. But then, out of nowhere Arick had made an appearance. How he’d missed where the boy had come from, he wasn’t sure,either way, he’d found a few of his relatives to sneak up on. Leifr was determined to show Freya a thing or two about surprising someone,or multiple someones. Pulling his jacket about him a little tighter, Leifr set off on his mission.

Slipping into the crowd of people headed their way, Leifr made sure to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. Keeping his face turned from the group, only watching them out of the corner of his eye, they were busy greeting one another, a perfect time to simply appear. Though his good fortune looked to be getting better, Freya was excitedly ushering Arick and Uncle Alf in the direction of Geri’s bakery, even better! Keeping with the crowd that was still moving in their direction, Leifr couldn’t help but notice how happy the three of them looked. Alf, with his easy going manner,and almost drunk, but not quite swagger, Arick with his youthful enthusiasm,and big grin, and of course then there was Freya.  There was never any hiding how she was feeling, her body language and facial expressions always gave her away. And as he got closer, Leifr could practically see the happiness and excitement radiating from her. Had he not been careful he would have forgotten that he was trying to sneak up on his family.

As he closed in on the group, he made sure to slip easily to the edge of the crowd he’d been blending into and simply fall in behind the two men. Though he knew he didn’t have long before Freya would see him, because he was taller than Alf, Leifr didn’t waste any time. He quickly tapped Alf on his opposite shoulder, before swinging over to Arick’s side to give him a noogie. Was this the most mature way to greet his family members? Absolutely not, but it was the most fun. Grinning from ear to ear the man finally got to proper greetings “Uncle Alf!, Arick! What a surprise to see you here....and Uncle Alf,didn’t I hear you say something about gifts?” He said feigning surprise. He quickly wrapped each of them up in a hug, before turning his grin to Freya, bracing himself for the energetic charge that was about to ensue. If there ever was a member of their family that was an enthusiastic hugger, it was her. Half embracing and half catching the sixteen year old,Leifr fell into step with Arick and Alf, following Freya towards the bakery. It was always good to be with family, no matter what time of year,or how many of them there were, though there were usually quite a few.

"And don't forget this time, the yellow copy goes upstairs, to Law Enforcement. The pink copy stays here. And if I find another person attempting to use a self writing quill, heads will roll. You remember last time that happened and we were stuck cleaning up the mess for weeks." Ingrid gave a stern glare to her subordinates before starting her return home. Well, something like home. A small smile ghosted over her lips at the thought of what would be happening today. It was the day that the family was getting together. They were meeting at Geri's bakery, and while she loved to give him trouble about it, Ingrid was glad it was there. She could joke about his baking all she wanted, but they really were good. And having family there to share would just make it even better, no matter how they acted.

As she walked, Ingrid took the time to think on things. Her life had been a flurry of ups and downs for the last year, which had been exhausting. There had been the battle, which she was thankful not only ended this whole conflict, but that none of her family had been hurt. But, of course, there had been the falling out with Marcus and while she hadn't said anything (she'd been quite adamant about not saying anything actually), the knowledge of her split with him trickled down anyway. She knew it was only a matter of time really, and frankly, she wasn't happy about it. It wasn't anyone's business but her own. The smile on her face soured at the thought, and she scowled at thin air. The whole thing was stupid, and just as much a lack of privacy as when she'd been living with them. Then again, she was still living with one of them. Sure, Ingrid tried her best not to bother Hal, but they were sharing a place. It was inevitable that they would at least bump into each other. I should really look into moving back to my apartment. The thought fled her mind as quickly as it came when she finally stumbled upon her family though.

Ingrid did everything she could to resist sighing or shaking her head disapprovingly. Was it really too hard to ask grown men to act their age? At least Freya's actions were to be expected; the girl was young and had more energy than she any of the girls at that age really. But the boys were all older, and as she watched Leifr pull Arick into a noogie, she finally allowed herself to at least bring her hand up to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. It only took a few more steps for her to catch up. "Leifr, if you even think about doing to me what you did Arick, I will make sure you never make it to Geri's place." It was meant to be a joke, but her delivery was deadpan, the same sort of humor that she always pulled. After a second, though, she smiled warmly at her family. "Well, it seems like some of the gang is already here. Hello everyone."

Alf couldn’t help but grin as his antics brought a smile to his niece’s face. For all his eccentric exterior, Alf genuinely loved every member of his family. They were always there to support him, even the youngest members of the clan like Vali or little Sorley. During his divorce with Jacqueline, it had been his numerous siblings, nieces and nephews that kept him together and subsequently shown him how much he could love an individual and be willing to change for them. As he and Arick followed Freya down the street to his oldest nephew’s bakery, Alf made a conscious effort to keep the sway out of his gait. While it was true that his rum habit was an endearing feature to some members of his family, subconsciously Alf knew that he had to set a good example for the younger members like Freya, impressionable as she could be. Arick and the others he wasn’t so worried about, by now they were old enough to make their own decisions, but Freya had always been a people pleaser and was probably the most susceptible to negative influences, even with the vast support network she had in the rest of her family.

As the trio walked, Alf had a niggling sensation between his shoulders that told him he was being watched. When he looked back, however, all he could see was the usual crowd of people, no one out of the ordinary, and certainly no one that looked as if they meant any harm. While Alf may not have been a hit wizard like Geri, curse breaking was a dangerous vocation, and one tended to pick up an almost supernatural sense for when danger was around the corner. Some of the former residents of the sites Alf broke into tended to leave very nasty surprises for people like him, after all. Alf tried to convince himself that he was simply being paranoid, but then he felt a tap on his right shoulder. Spinning around abruptly and nearly falling over as he did so, Alf cast about wildly, only to see yet another member of their family pull Arick into a nice solid noogie.

Alf couldn’t help but laugh at his nephew’s antics. Of all the members of his family, Alf felt Leifr was most similar to him in terms of personality, though thankfully he hadn’t picked up on Alf’s drinking habit. Stepping into the man’s embrace, Alf smiled at the man. “Leifr, so good to see you lad. How many hearts have you broken since the last time I saw you, eh?” Giving another chuckle, Alf turned to see the next arrival, his eldest niece Ingrid. About as opposite from Alf as it was possible to get, he and Ingrid didn’t always see eye to eye, but they were still family and thus he tried his hardest to look past their differences. “Ingrid, darling, how have you been? Still cracking heads at the Ministry?” He smiled, moving to give her a hug as well, but just as he got close enough Jack leapt from his shoulder to Ingrid’s and began picking through her hair.

The curse breaker could barely contain his laughter. “Why, I think Jack’s missed you,” he remarked as he turned back to Freya and Leifr, leaving Jack to his own devices with his niece. “Well, I don’t know about birthday presents, but you know me, I always try and bring a souvenir back for you lot. After all, we can’t all have exciting and adventurous lives like your dear old uncle,” he grinned, shooting a sly glance to Ingrid. It was a common point of contention between the two of them that she desperately needed to loosen up, and he’d even offered to take her on an expedition from time to time, though he had yet to be taken up on the offer. “But, as I said, we’ll need to get to Geri’s first before you see even a single piece of treasure, savvy? Now come along, we should be nearly there.”

(OOC: Permission from Vannah to break posting order a bit to keep this moving)

"Hey..." Nudge...nudge... tug... tuuuuug! Sunny proceeded to peat and repeat the previously mentioned in hyperactive movements against the hem of the nearest adult figure. She had only been waiting for the rest of the troops for the last ten minutes! She was the look-out! And boy, oh boy, these people sure liked to tip-toe their way around! They better not have gotten lost! But Sunny knew they didn't, nope nope nope! Why? Because they were right there!

The tip of her index finger pressed itself into the glass of the window she had been people-watching out of since she arrived at Crusts and Crumbs. All the people walking by had failed to look like anyone from her family, save the group of a billion that literally were her family! Sillies! Sunny got a vibration of giddiness that worked it's way throughout her entire body! Even in her hair! It gave her goosebumps! She decided, of course, to take matters in to her own hands. They were still walking too slow for her liking, and her tiny feet were itching to help the others close the distance. Instead of bouncing on the balls of her feet behind the window as she was currently doing, Sunny suddenly took off out of the shoppe and made a bee-line straight for Freya! Nevermind that her jacket was left on the hanger inside.

Her little leggies pumped themselves as fast as they could go! But it just didn't seem fast enough! Her blonde hair whipping around behind her, headband hardly doing it's job in keeping her locks out of her eyes. It just wasn't fair! Skye had put her in cheetah print stretch pants and there was no way ho-zay that they were working right! She wasn't nearly as fast as that kitty!

After a fair amount of time and no stealth-mode activated, small arms wrapped themselves around Freya's legs and she nuzzled her head into the older girl's hip. Sunny slowly looked up, her head still pressed against Freya's legs and her hair now attracting bits of static electricity, the little girl blinked innocently and produced the biggest smile she could manage, her baby blues turning into half-circles of eyelashes in the act. "I found you!" She let out a small gigglefit and glanced around to all of the others happily.


ooc: obviously no tutu... today mwahaha

 “Leifr!” Freya called, her whole expression lighting up. She noticed him brace himself for her enthusiasm, and decided that it would be a terrible shame to disappoint. It was kind of a thing. Freya was by no means the youngest Trickett anymore, but she’d probably spent longer than any of them being the youngest. Why no one in their family had had a child after her for years astounded the girl, she had no idea. She was, however, used to playing that role now. Maybe that was why they all treated her like a little kid, she mused. In a way, Freya was a very spoilt girl. Sure, she didn’t get everything she wanted in terms of material possessions, but she also didn’t think any of her friends had a family like hers. If there was anything in her life that she was proud of, it was her family.

The girl threw herself at her cousin, letting his wrap her up in his arms just like he had when she was a kid. She wondered if he noticed that she’d grown a little since last time they’d seen each other. He took a couple of steps before dropping her. She bounced back up and suddenly her sister was there too. Freya felt a little surge of guilt. She hadn’t worked things out with her sister after they’d had a fight and she’d stormed off and allowed Sarah to get her drunk. Of course she’d seen Ingrid since then, but Ingrid was weird and emotionally distant. Freya had always felt like she’d been able to creep under Ingrid’s harsh exterior, purely because she was the youngest. She adored and idolised her sister to death, but sometimes she did wish she was easier to talk to.

The blonde cuddled her sister around the waist tightly, mumbling, “It’s good to see you. Why are you so tall?” Freya hoped she’d grow as tall as her sister. She pulled back and bounded ahead, way too impatient when it came to getting to their destination. It seemed that she wasn’t the only eager one there today, however. Little Sunnifer was racing out to meet them. “Sunny!” Freya exclaimed as the child wrapped her little arms around Freya’s leg and gave her the biggest smile she’d ever seen. The blonde scooped her cousin (second cousin, technically) up in her arms, balancing the girl on her hip. “You get bigger every time I see you,” she told the girl, going between snuggling and tickling her. “And you know what? I think you look more like me than ever. You’re prettier than me, though.”

Freya cuddled her cousin tightly and didn’t put her down as she moved into the store. “Sorleeeyyyyy!” she called. “Vaaaaliii!” the curly haired girl always focussed on the little kids. They seemed to flock to her, and she loved it. The Gryffindor couldn’t wait until next year, when four of her cousins were coming to join her at school. Four! She knew that she’d be the one setting the examples, and secretly hoped they were all in Gryffindor.

Today was an exciting day.

All of the Tricketts, young and old, were meeting up in his Bakery as a family get together. Just for Freya's birthday party. Geri had a big surprise for his baby sister, one that he was sure she would really love. A Firebolt. It is capable of going from nought to one hundred and fifty miles per hour in ten seconds. The Firebolt boasts an unbreakable Braking Charm, superb balance and precision, and hovers at reasonable mounting height when let go. It was also expensive and took a lot of Galleons to purchase. Which was no problem as Geri had plenty of money left over after using most of his savings on opening Crust and Crumbs. Plus the Bakery was brining in a good amount of profit and even with his left over Hit Wizard money, Geri could easily afford this. He hasn't told anyone else about the gift, except Lyall of course. Since it would be pretty hard to hide a Firebolt from someone he shared a flat with.

The Firebolt was wrapped and placed in a box. The man didn't want his sister to even guess what it was by looking at it. Placing the Firebolt on top of the counter, Geri looked over to where young Sunny was looking out the window. Smiling at the girl, Geri remembered what it was like to be so young and excited to see family members. It was hard to be patient at seven years old, time seemed to take forever to catch up with a young person's mind on wanting things right away. Geri understood and remembered that, unlike most older folks who seemed to have forgotten what's it like to be young. Glancing at the clock, the twenty-nine year old knew they would've been a bit late. After all they had to meet up with each other, talk a bit about how each person was doing, and then walk towards the Bakery in the snow.

Which was fine with him as it gave Geri time to get everything set up. Even though he had closed his shop for the day, Geri had been baking since six in the morning. Knowing his family, most of them would probably be hungry by the time they get here. So he baked everything from cakes to cookies and everything in between. All the tables in the Bakery had been pushed together in a tight circle with the middle table containing a pile of the baked goods he had made. There was just a few minute last touches (and keeping an eye out on Lyall from stealing a sweet) before he was actually done. Putting the magical stars on the birthday cake, Geri waved his wand and did a charm that caused the stars to twinkle and words went over them to spell out "Happy Birthday Freya! Sweet 16!" on them. Carefully he waved his wand and did an levitation charm to float the cake over to the middle of the table. Carefully he sat it down and then put a charm on it so the little ones wouldn't take a piece before they were allowed to.

Seeing Sunny run out of the shop, Geri walked over to the window and looked out. There was his wonderful family walking towards him. Freya, Arick, Alf, Leifr, Ingrid (which was a surprise), and now Sunny had joined them as they walked towards the store. Geri went to go stand by the counter where his gift to Freya sat. A smile lit his face as his baby sister walked into the store and called out for the little ones. "There's the Birthday girl!" Walking over to her, the man picked up Freya quite easily into a bear hug and swung her around in a circle. It was something he enjoyed doing a lot with the young ones and he was still use to thinking of Freya as the baby of the family. Putting her down, Geri waited till everyone had walked into the store before motioning to the sweets table. "Eat anything except the cake, that's for when Freya will blow out the candles." A stern look at all of them should tell them that he meant business.

Turning back to Freya, the stern look was replaced by a warm smile. "I got you a gift. Want to open it now or after you blow out the candles?"

Lyall heard the jingle of the the bells that signaled someone entering the bakery and glanced up with an expectant smile. Making eye contact with his five year old son, they both turned and started for the door. The father and son team had been at work for most of the morning, just like Geri, making a little surprise of their own for the birthday girl and the rest of the Trickett clan. Of course, Lyall and Sorley's baked goodness was nothing compared to the five tiered, sparkly, pink, bedazzled creation that Geri claimed was a cake (but Lyall considered it a work of art and couldn't believe it was actually edible). Yet Sorley could not have been happier or more excited to show one of his favorite cousins what he had made just for her!

Squealing with delight, the five year old hopped off the stool he had been on just beside Lyall and ran out of the kitchen and into the main shop area, his little feet stomping the whole day. "Freeeeeyyyyyyyaaaaa!" he shouted, the hood of the green dinosaur costume he was always wearing these days bouncing along with him. The little boy latched onto his cousin's leg as he hooped and hollered his delight. Sorley, like his father, very much enjoyed being around his family and today was no different. The Charms Professor, dressed comfortably in dark wash jeans and a forest green sweater, emerged from the kitchen in a much more calm manner than his son had, but still just as warm and excited to see his family. Lyall greeted each one with a hug and kiss on the cheek as they entered the bakery and then grinned as he watched Sorley and Freya together.

He watched as his son dashed away for a moment, disappearing into the kitchen, before returning with his hands cupped together, lifting his arms to Freya when he returned to her side. 'Look what I made youu! can you guess what it is? Can you?!" Sorley asked excitedly as he held up what he had made that morning for his cousin. It was... basically a blob of a cookie, but a colorful one with sparkly sprinkles and brightly colored frosting. It was obvious that Lyall had let Sorley shape and decorate the cookies to his heart's content, and Sorley had certainly gone to town with the pink and green and yellow frosting.

Lyall grinned and made eye contact with Freya, mouthing It's a dinosaur to his niece to give her a hint just in case she couldn't distinguish the blob into any recognizable shape. Lyall wouldn't have been able to either if Sorley hadn't been explaining all morning exactly what each shape was and telling his father what he had named all of his misshapen dinosaur cookies.

He leaned against one of the display cases easily as he glanced around the room, happily surrounded by family. Lyall rolled his eyes at Geri's warning not to eat the cake, but didn't hesitate when his cousin said he could eat anything else in the shop. Grabbing a cookie from a nearby basket, he grinned as he devoured it, the delicious little treat melting in his mouth. The professor couldn't wait for the real festivities to begin. Freya was certainly in for a very nice birthday surprise from Geri!

Grinning from ear to ear, Leifr made his way into his uncle Geri’s bakery, calling back over his shoulder with a laugh to Alf as he made his entrance “Plenty, uncle, plenty of hearts. Though I do try to let them down gently.” It was the truth, though how many hearts he’d actually broken recently, he wasn’t sure. Most of the women he saw more often than not, already knew the score. But that was a thought for another time and place, now it was time for family, his wonderful, crazy family. Scooping Sunny up he gave her a hug and playfully booped her on the nose. Not one to typically have all that much patience, Leifr’s soft spot was most certainly with the youngsters of the Trickett clan. They were so young, and full of happiness, that it was infectious.

They were all in the same place today, just for Freya. Little Freya wasn’t so little anymore, she was turning sixteen today, and she’d grown since he’d last seen her. These were facts that made Leifr feel old, very old. Nonetheless, he was proud of his cousin, who was more like his sister, though most of the cousins were like siblings to one another. He had gotten the girl several small little things that he thought she’d get a kick out of. He was no expert on buying things for sixteen year old girls, but he had sure as hell tried to get something she’d like, it was Freya after all. Leifr’s first gift was a snitch charm charmed to change between the Gryffindor colors and crest. And if she wanted it to, it would keep track of her stats from Quidditch. His second, and last gift was a book on various old wizarding tales and stories. He’d found it one day while looking through some old books in the crawlspace of his flat, and thought of his cousin instantly.

The man hoped his cousin liked her gifts, but would understand if she didn’t as well, he sucked at buying gifts for teenaged girls, and he knew it. But the important thing was that he had tried to get it right, it was only a matter of time before he found out if he’d done well or not. Sending a nod and a smile to Geri, to let him know that he wasn’t forgotten, Leifr picked up one of his uncles delicious creations, and took at bite. Humming in appreciation Leifr chewed happily, his satisfaction apparent on his face. Spotting his uncle Lyall, the wizard made the man his next target. Giving the man a smile, and clapping him on the shoulder affectionately, Leifr watched as his youngest cousin presented Freya with his rendition of a present, and couldn’t help but looking at Lyall with an amused smirk on his face, his son was a riot. Nodding as he watched the scene unfold, Leifr leant over and quietly inquired to his uncles well being “How have you been Lyall, all right I hope?” It was true, Leifr cared for all of his family immensely, but he was closer to Lyall and Sorley in some ways, and he wanted to let Lyall know he hadn’t forgotten about him in lieu of only Sorley.

As soon as Sorley had finished giving Freya his gift, Leifr did two things, he walked over to Freya and hugged her again, sincerely and told her “Happy Birthday, Freya. I’m proud of you.” There was no hiding the fact that the man could be sentimental when the mood struck him and this was one of those moments, but the man didn’t really care, he was with family, and that was a part of what family did. The second thing Leifr did was bend down and turn his attention to Sorley, open his arms and call out “Sorley, buddy! How’s my favorite little dinosaur been?!” Had it been a quieter day, the wizard might have thrown a roar in there just to lighten things up, but it was already quite loud in the bakery. Leifr didn’t want to disrupt anyone or take any of the attention away from Freya, it was her day. She had earned it, all of it.   

Before Alf could so much as take another step, he witnessed his niece attacked by a blur of cheetah-print and pink, also known as one of the youngest Tricketts, little Sunny. While Alf normally disliked small children, Sunny had recently attained the age when children went from being noisy, smelly and annoying to being noisy, adorable and fun. The curse breaker couldn’t keep the smile off his face as the enthusiastic little girl led their merry little band into the bakery, where his jaw promptly dropped at the sight of what was inside. “Geri, you magnificent bastard!” the older man exclaimed as he caught sight of the cake and pulling his oldest nephew into a hug. “You’ve bloody well outdone yourself this time!” Not long after greeting his nephew, Alf caught sight of yet another ickle Trickett, his brother’s only son Sorley, dressed in some sort of dinosaur getup.

Kneeling down to face level with his youngest nephew, Alf mussed his hair through the costume. “Sorley, little lad, did I tell you what your Uncle Alf found just a week ago? A real live dinosaur! He looked just like you, strange enough. Very friendly fellow.” Winking at the little boy, Alf neglected to let on that the dinosaur was actually quite dead, and had been that way for a very long time. Still, if there was one thing Alf was good at, it was putting on a show and entertaining. Standing up once more, Alf turned a warm smile towards his own brother. “Lyall, can’t believe they actually trust you to teach here. Are your students learning anything other than how to pack on the pounds?” He jokingly gestured to his brother’s stomach. The youngest of Alf’s generation of Tricketts, his brother had a well-known habit of constant eating, which Alf thought was nearly as funny as his own well-known habit of constant drinking. Okay, so maybe his habit wasn’t quite as endearing, but it should still count for something!

With all the suitable pleasantries exchanged, the focus turned once more to the whole reason for this gathering. His little niece, for so long the youngest member of their clan until his other brothers and sisters had begun popping out kids of their own, was turning sixteen. In one more year she’d be a full-grown adult wizard. The thought of that nearly brought a tear to the normally emotionally reserved curse breaker. When Geri and the others had had their turn, Alf wrapped Freya in an unusually somber embrace. “Congratulations love, and happy birthday. Here, see what Uncle Alf’s brought back for you.” Stepping back, Alf reached into his long coat and produced his own package: a rather large jar of dirt.

Of course, the dirt wasn’t the present. Inside the jar was a book, charmed against dirt invasion of course, of the most famous Quidditch players around the globe, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Pre-empting the others’ certain incredulous reactions, Alf simply spread his arms in a gesture that seemed to say ’what did you expect?’ “Out in the field, I don’t have the luxury of fancy wrapping paper and such. Present’s inside, love, although you can keep the dirt too if you like.” Grinning, Alf restrained himself from reaching from his flask. He was already swaying slightly from the sips he’d taken earlier, and his niece’s birthday party was no place to be getting completely drunk. Perhaps Leifr and I can pay a visit to the Hog’s Head after this is all said and done.

It was early. Too damn early. Hal Trickett loathed mornings, which he made clear by the way he traipsed into his home office. He was hunched over like he'd hurt his back, purple circles rested beneath his eyes, and his fists were clenched tightly. The man seated himself at his desk and glared at the large amount of paper that was scattered about. Like every other day for the last few months, he was going to be busy. He thought about his coffee and how he hadn't even bothered to make it, but it was too late. Now that he was in the office, he had to start  working. It was a rule of his that he'd never broken. And so he began.

Hours later Hal glanced down at his watch, more out of habit than out of necessity. The man had barely noticed the time because of this, the realization of it finally hitting him minutes later. A swear slid out of his mouth before his eyes found his wrist again. Uncharacteristically, he'd forgotten. Forgotten one of the most important events of the day: family time.

Looking at Hal, a clean-cut individual whose lips seemed to forever be curved downwards in a perpetual scowl, one might not peg the Slytherin alumnus as a family man. Anyone who really knew him, however, could vouch that it was actually the opposite. Like every other Trickett, Hal valued all of his relatives - even, he supposed, that insufferable Melina. And while it was unusual for him to forget anything at all, it was especially strange and very unlike the man to have allowed a meeting with the clan to slip his mind.

He got up from his seat, pushing the neat stack of papers on his desk aside as he stood and adjusted his tie. There was no mirror in front of him but Hal knew that he looked nothing short of disheveled. He brought a hand to his slightly stubbled chin and sighed, then convinced himself to move. There was no doubt that after getting ready he'd be late, but if he hesitated and contemplated and sulked and took another look at the paperwork on his desk before taking a shower, he probably would arrive right when everyone else was leaving. Removing his hand from his chin and bringing it to his forehead, Hal dragged himself away from his desk and headed towards the bathroom.

Time ticked by and once he was completely ready, the man headed to Geri's bakery, Crust and Crumbs, assuming that, by now, everyone would be there. Upon arrival, he greeted his family members with a warm genuine smile that was only ever reserved for them and close companions, and also ruffled Sorley's hair. He then sought out Freya, the reason why they were all here, and pulled his youngest sibling into a hug before wishing her a Happy Birthday.

Freya bounced into the bakery and let little Sunnifer down to the ground gently. She was sure that the girl would be scooped up again by another family member in no time. How any of the Trickett children actually learned how to walk unaided, Freya wasn’t entirely sure. The blonde couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face as her gaze did a swift sweep of the bakery. Geri was amazing. It was a good thing that she wasn’t claustrophobic, because it was packed to the rafters in here with Tricketts. Geri appeared in front of her, and she shot her oldest brother a huge grin, jumping forward to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug. She was able to see him more often than most of the others, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t excited to see him now. She had a positively sunny disposition, and today she felt like it was radiating from her. She squeaked as he picked her up with ease and spun her around. The girl curled into him, afraid that she was going to knock someone out with her spinning legs.

“Geri!” she exclaimed, “You’re amazing!” Freya’s little heart beat quickly in her chest as she bounced back onto the floor. She was full to the brim with excitement. He asked her a question, and she barely had time to tell him that she’d be happy with whatever he chose, before a tiny dinosaur boy crashed into her legs. The blonde couldn’t help but laugh as she slid her hands under the little dinosaur’s arms and picked him up too. After planting a swift kiss on his forehead and giving him a quick snuggle, she plopped him back on the ground, where he proceeded to bolt. All of the little ones were getting so big now… she was so excited that Kelda was going to have her baby soon. “It’s up to you, Ger,” She told her oldest brother. Freya really, really loved giving and receiving gifts, but right at this moment she was just overwhelmed by the fact that they were all here. The summer holidays felt like ages ago.

Váli called her name, and her attention snapped to the young boy. He was one of the ones that would be starting school next term, and it was so strange. “What, what, what?!” she called back enthusiastically, but he was already distracted. She turned her attention back to the rest of the room with a faint smile playing across her lips.

Freya waved to her youngest uncle, and considered making her way over to him, before she was accosted yet again by Sorley. “Oh!” she exclaimed, leaning down to see what he’d brought her. “Wow!” the blonde had to glance up at the boy’s father for a moment, searching for a hint. She grinned in response and turned back to Sorley before he could notice. “That is the most amazing dinosaur I have ever, ever ever seen!” she declared, “You’re amazing, Sorley. Thank you so much!” She took the messy blob from the boy and shot Lyall a thankful smile again. Everyone was inside now, and it was busy and loud with people greeting each other.

Leifr appeared beside her, and Freya realised that some of the room’s attention had been turned to her. Freya loved hugs, and the physical contact was very common within her family. She was thankful when Leifr snuggled her again. “Proud of what?” she teased, smiling up at him, “Aging?” the girl bounced from foot to foot, unaware that she might bump into someone. She couldn’t hold in her excitement. She took one of the cupcakes from the table and took a huge bite. Alf stopped her in her tracks, however, and pressed something cold and glass into her hands before she even had time to swallow. The blonde, her cheeks full with food, stared at the thing in surprise. Trust her most eccentric uncle to give her something totally random! She looked back up at him in surprise, reminded uneasily of the weird present Ramsey had given her a couple of weeks earlier.

Swallowing finally, Freya smiled. “Uncle Alf!” she whined jokingly. The expression on some of the others’ faces was hilarious though. After he explained that the present was inside, Freya put her cupcake down and opened the thing. She knew he was joking about the dirt thing, but Freya was a sentimental girl. She’d probably keep the dirt. “Where’s the dirt from?” she asked curiously, reaching in to find her actual present. “Wow, uncle Alf!” The blonde bounced up again and into yet another hug. The man swayed slightly, but she didn’t even notice. She was rapt with her present. Freya being co-captain of the Quidditch team had been quite a big deal at the beginning of the school term, and even though she was terrified that she’d screw everything up once out on the field, her family had, expectedly, supported her completely. The blonde felt a wave of sentimentality hit her and she realised that she would probably be crying by the end of this! She thanked her uncle.

Freya didn’t know where she was supposed to be looking. She wanted to open her book up and have a glance through it, but there obviously wasn’t time. Her gaze sought Geri out again, but she only found him for a moment before she was being hugged again. “Hal!” she managed to squeak. That was almost everyone from her branch of the family, then. Geri, Ingrid, Hal, Arick… They were only missing Valda and Tate. “I’m so happy you’re all here,” she breathed to the busy room.


Poke me if I missed anything!! XD I am keen to keep this thread going, and then perhaps have another group thread somewhere in the future... Haha.