When Lip woke up this morning and sprung from the lumpy sofa he called a bed and out of the ramshackle hut that barely passed as a home he had been greeted with a beautiful sunrise. The big ball of energy in the sky had cast a golden glow over the lush Aberdeen forest that surrounded Keithcairn on all sides. The estate was decaying and lost to time but the forest was as alive as ever. The trees rustled in the wind, the shadows of their large healthy trunks casting strips on the forest floor with a delicate symmetry. The birds were chirping, he could hear the babble of a small brook that led to a bog not far off, and a cool breeze made its way through the trees. If it wasn't for the dilapidated mansion in the background it wouldn't be hard for this setting to fit into a story book fairy tale. Unfortunately the cool and calming scenery did not transfer well to London and when Lip arrived at Diagon Alley he felt like he might suffocate. He barely made it out of the first shop before the smog and heavy air had his irritability on the rise. It had been raining for two days now and some how it was still abhorrently muggy in Diagon Alley. It was that sticky kind of humidity that clung to the back of your neck, made your forehead sweat, and your clothes not fit quite right anymore. Another shop later and Lip had successfully lost his uncle Angus in the crowds. It was always busy at Diagon Alley, one of the forefront wizarding shopping districts, but it was especially so in the weeks before a new term at Hogwarts. Many students were bustling about trying to remember all of the things they had to purchase for the coming year.
Dressed simply in the lightest wizarding robes he could find Pilib was already considering leaving them behind and just sporting his short sleeved "142 Staircases" wrock band shirt and a pair of tattered slacks instead. His tennis shoes were filthy, covered in mud and dust from the estate and his hair was a mess. The humidity making it stick up on all ends and his hand running through it, pushing it back, only making matters worse. He'd managed to dodge his uncle and slip out of sight and soon he was headed down the narrowing alley toward where it cut off and became what seemed like an entirely other world. Diagon Alley was light and cheerful, with witches singing on second floor windows, cats chasing mice, and wizards peddling all kinds of interesting little snacks. Knockturn Alley was something else entirely and although Pilib had been there once before that didn't make him any less nervous about this afternoons trip. He moved through a group of chatting students who looked around his age but he didn't bother to look at their faces. Even if he recognized someone he wouldn't stop, he wasn't really interested in talking to them. Unfortunately he didn't always get that chance as he heard someone saying his name from behind him. They used his real name instead of his preferred one and he grimaced, Pilib was the name his parents gave him and served only as a reminder. "Go away". He tossed back at them over his shoulder, barely bothering to look to see who it was as he trudged on.
"I'm busy" He said as they called out again. Ducking into a small alley way between two rundown shops just before the entrance to Knockturn Lip didn't much put effort into actually hiding. As the rain continued to get heavier he pulled up the hood of his cloak and tried to sink into the darkness of it. Slinking back out of the other end of the alley and back into the bustling streets of Diagon Alley he looked behind him quickly, gauging whether or not he had lost the person he really wasn't looking to speak with. Bumping into someone as he looked over his shoulder Lip became disheveled by the jostling. His hood fell down and his hair stuck up in an unattractive direction as he scowled. "Scuse me..." He trailed, barely meaning it.
