[THD] Wait....What? [Pilib]

Things were nice at the summer academy overall and Amelia was having quite a blast. She was learning so many new things and the activities were quite enjoyable though some were better than others. Still despite her enjoyment she was beginning to feel homesick. Sure her relationship with certain family members were never the best, but the idea of being away from her family did torment her so. Then there were the few people she met while at the French Wizarding School and how much her short period there changed her. It felt almost like a dream to be in a school where people seemed to be a bit more accepting of her, but she figured that was because they felt sorry for her. Amelia still missed that school though and was dreading returning the Hogwarts again.

She walked along the beach in silence listening to the waves ebb and flow gliding across the sand sometimes leaving leaves or shells in its wake. It was early in the morning so not a lot of students in the academy were up right now and Amelia was here just to clear her mind. It was always pleasant to just let nature take you where you wanted at times, but there was no way nature could do what she wanted now. After walking a few minutes she noticed something odd in the distance. Something was littering the beach causing the almost perfect landscape to seem cluttered. As she got closer the item in question turned out to be a lone sandal. Maybe someone had forgotten it so Amelia instinctively grabbed the item in question in an attempt to return it to its owner, only to not be able to let go and suddenly thrust up into the air.

After what felt like an eternity of confusion and some panic she found herself on the ground again, but something was off. The soft and course feeling sand that existed before was now replaced with the grainy hard surface of cobble. “Where am I?” Amelia said to herself realizing she had taken an illegal portkey to this dark alley. She could hear the hustle and bustle of people on the other side of the alley where the light shone and she tentatively made her way over towards it. Covering her eyes from the bright light as she walked she found herself on the streets of a place she knew quite well actually. She was in Diagon Alley! She was back in London, but why was there even a portkey leading to this place even on the beach of spider island? Amelia felt so out of place still in her beach wear in comparison to the wizards in their robes. She quickly went into a near-by café and took a seat in an empty table to process what was going on and what her next action would be.

@Pilib Donnelly

"Just don't...." Pilib said with a groan and a roll of his eyes as the peppy barista behind the counter tried to tell him some nonsense about the joys of life. She frowned at him as he dropped a few sickles onto the counter, grabbed the caffeine he probably shouldn't be drinking, and turned to leave. With a stack of books tied together with twine under one arm and his hot drink in the other the teenage wizard grumbled a little, pushed his way out through the line that formed behind him, and tried to find a place to sit. Moving through the crowd he bumped into a tall wizard and spilled a little bit of the beverage. The hot liquid trickled down the side of his hand, burning just a little and he swore under his breath. Lip was not a typical teenager, he wasn't off buying trading cards or chasing girls with pink lip stick, instead he was buying coffee and doing research until his eyes burned.

Pilib was supposed to go to the summer school but with no way to pay for it and his grades squarely in the middle between 'needing help' and 'not advanced' he hadn't had much luck applying for scholarships. Instead he had spent his summer planning out the next moves that he and Winifred would make in the ongoing search for his family. Normally the low spirited Ravenclaw avoided social situations, sometimes at all cost, but when he saw a girl he thought might have died during the dome fires it had him stopping in his tracks. Seeing ghosts wasn't a new thing, especially not in the wizarding world, but he was pretty sure if she had died that night she probably wasn't wearing flip flops and a bathing suit at the time. Grimacing at the coffee sticking to his fingers Lip moved through the rest of the crowd to the seating areas of cafe only to be stopped in his tracks. "Amelia?" He said looking at her with his head tilted to the side. "I thought you died?" He asked her, never one to pull punches. Going straight for the truth and taking a seat across from her without asking the books he was carrying plummeted to the top of the table with a loud clud.

"Glad you didn't though..."

He might of been brutally honest, but he wasn't the worst ever.

She looked around at her surroundings trying to figure out what was she to do. She was now back in familiar territory which was a positive, but she probably stuck out like a sore thumb in her attire it. Though she didn’t know if people were paying her any mind or even giving the tiny child any attention she felt as if a thousand eyes were glued on her. She felt almost naked as if she was having a terrible nightmare. She closed her eyes and prayed to herself that this was in fact a dream and that any minute now she would wake up back in her bed back on the island.

Then she heard her name from a familiar voice. She relaxed a little bit as she opened her eyes expecting to be back on the island maybe sitting with a book on her face having fallen asleep while reading. Though when she opened her eyes she saw the hustle and bustle of the people working in a café and the people chatting amongst themselves rang in her ears. This wasn’t a nightmare after all in fact she was living it. ”Oh no,” Amelia said to herself in fear. Why did this type of thing have to happen to her? She only wanted to enjoy the vacation and schooling. She had enough torment from the fires and other events that have happened in her life. Can’t she just get one day of quiet? Wait did she hear the boy correctly? Did he say she died? Amelia looked confused at the boy whom she began to recognize as her year-mate and house mate. What was his name again? Pilib right? Well at least he was a somewhat friendly face so Amelia was able to calm down a little.

Nervously Amelia responded, “at this point I wish I had,” She looked around at the café and caught one man staring at her and quickly moving his gaze as she met his. She covered her face as it began to turn red at the shame of wearing something so inappropriate for where she was located. Speaking through her hands Amelia asked, “So how are things?” She was trying to keep the conversation going hoping maybe if she was lucky they could find a topic that would keep her mind of herself.

He smirked when she said that she wished she had died, strange that the talk of death was one of the few things that brought a smile to the dark Ravenclaw's face. "Why are you wearing a bathing suit in London?" He questioned, taking a sip of his hot coffee and ignoring the burning feeling on his tongue as he swallowed. After a while Lip had realized he actually preferred to burn his tongue on the coffee than to taste it. After all it was just a means to an end, he wanted the caffeine, not to enjoy the aroma and robust flavor. He leaned back in his chair casually, feet spread out and the hood of his jacket flopping over the back before shrugging.

"Things are things." He said dryly, hating small talk with a passion and then he frowned at her. He didn't bother to return the niceties, he didn't really care how things were, only the fact that she was kind of covered in sand and he was pretty sure there wasn't any sand in Diagon Alley. Maybe she had been at the summer school like the others. If she was he was jealous. It reminded him that he needed to write to Wini and update her on things.

"Did you apparate here? Illegally?" The idea intrigued him. She was entirely too young to be aparating but he had no doubt she was smart enough to figure it out. She was a Ravenclaw after all.

Leaning forward, now suddenly interested in the conversation, he ducked his head and stared at her before whispering.

"How'd you do it?"

A waitress walked by and asked if Amelia would like something to drink and not paying attention to what the woman suggested she agreed. Her mind was in another place right now so she hadn’t realized she ordered herself some toad punch. “I didn’t do anything,” Amelia said quickly, “I merely picked up some garbage from the beach and suddenly I was here.” She ran through her thoughts about the item and how it felt to ride a port key and gave a slight shudder. “I never much cared for port key transport, but why would someone do something like that? Was I pranked?” Amelia began to chew on her nails in fear thinking about what would happen if someone found out she had traveled illegally. How much trouble would she be in for doing that even if it was unintentional?

“Am I going to be in trouble,” she asked him. She couldn’t even imagine the trouble she would cause her family for doing such a thing it would be a travesty. She would get arrested and put on trial and then what? Would she get sent to Azkaban? She was so on edge when the waitress came by with her drink she jumped and accidentally sent the drink falling upon herself. She was now drenched. “Just my luck,” Amelia said pathetically as she took the cup, which was now still half empty, and moved it to the side. The waitress gave an apology despite it not being her fault and hurried away for a replacement drink. “Well at least I’m dressed for this I guess,” Amelia said trying to defuse herself from the situation and looking at the drink is some slight disgust. She took a drink from the glass anyways though as she was still feeling quite parched.

Amelia gave a sigh before continuing, “What do you think are the odds of me getting.” Amelia was stopped midsentence as she attempted to surprise a burp. Taking a breath she went on, “in trouble *burp* excuse me. Trouble fo-*burp*Oh my, for usi-*burp*” Amelia’s eyes widened in fear. What was going on? She burped again. She looked at her drink and said, “Oh-*burp*-no!” Her face became red again and she stood up. “I-*burp*’m so-*burp*rry,” She said as she ran out of the place to hide still burping as she left the café.

[[out]]

He listened intently to the story she was telling him and sat back against his chair when he realized she hadn't done anything illegal. It was still an interesting story, just less interesting. He saw the concern on her face however and wondered if she really thought she could get into trouble for simply accidentally grabbing hold of a portkey. It wasn't like she had made the key or anything. She was a victim and if nothing else Lip wouldn't stand for her to get into trouble when it wasn't her fault. He was so firmly against that even the idea of it had his fists rolling into balls. When she got her drink and dumped it all over herself he watched her, unable to avoid the teenage brain as it over took him for a second. She was a sticky mess in a swim suit, he had to at least acknowledge it before the academic side of him pushed those hormonal thoughts away.

"You alright?" He asked as she began to burp uncontrollably and his eyebrows raised at her. He sniffed his own coffee, wondering what had been slipped into hers and then witnessed her running away. Maybe he'd catch up with her and make sure she was alright. Maybe he wouldn't.

But one thing was for sure.

He wanted to know what was in her drink so the naturally curious and daring wizard grabbed for it and took a sip before falling under the same burping spell she had. He clicked his tongue a few times, realizing it was just a badly made batch of toad juice, nothing psychotropic or fun. It seemed today would be chock full of disappointments. Tossing some coins on the table (for his drink and hers) he watched as they fell and bounced on the hard surface before picking up his books and making his way out of the door, shoulder checking a seventh year as he did and not even bothering to turn around to look after.

[[out]]