we grow happy as a new dawn

“It was pretty good – smelled better than it tasted though,” she answered with a soft smile. She felt the full weight of Wini’s attention focussed on her, but tried to stay serene underneath it. She could make polite conversation, she thought. That was something she could do. Wini was the kind of person she’d rather hang back around for a while, get a sense of her properly before actually going and talking to her. But this was okay too. She was learning.

I like you already.

Billie smiled, pleased that she was achieving her goal of making a good first impression. Despite only exchanging a few sentences with her, Billie was just starting to get a feel for who Wini was, and how she might try to appeal to the older girl. “What’s in caramel blondie, aside from caramel?” Billie asked curiously, glancing at the menu from where she was.

Billie raised her eyebrows, half turning to Phillip as he leaned down a little but not wanting to turn her back on the others. “Oh, Phillip, I…” She met his eye and the corners of her mouth tugged up just a bit automatically. Merlin, it made her feel like an idiot, but just seeing him – she couldn’t help it. “I… are you sure? I have money?” She gave him a small smile. For a moment, she wished that they were alone; she felt butterflies with him just there, and she wanted to know what he was really feeling, really thinking. She didn’t think that she’d be able to find out in a group situation like this, even if it was with his friends.

Phillip wanted to make sure he was paying attention to what Wini was saying and to what Marin wasn't saying but it was hard to do standing so close to Billie. He tried to keep his eyes off of her, and failed, even as Wini had threatened to put sprinkles in his perfectly fine plain vanilla ice cream he barely even registered. He stood next to her as they spoke about flavors and he waited for Wini to consider all two hundred and seventy two varieties. He frowned when he looked at the board, the neon lights so bright and the moving pictures of the different flavors nearly insulting. Did they really need that many? It was like a box of Bertie Botts had horrible, sugar filled, babies.

When he'd nudged Billie and offered to pay for her treat he sort of figured she'd hesitate. It was nice that she did, because then he felt like it meant more. "Yeah, I've got it." He replied softly, the little smile he saved just for her playing on his lips. The line moved forward and the teenagers all shuffled along with it. He caught Winifred's look out of the corner of his eye as he stood back up straight. He'd of offered to pay for her ice cream too, if nothing else than as a thanks for being a good friend this summer. She was letting him stay with her and William and she had set this whole day up. He certainly had reasons to appreciate her but he kind of assumed Marin was going to pay for hers. Even though she'd told him a hundred and half times that they weren't thing sometimes he wondered. Phillip had been distracted by the look he was getting from Wini, and trying not to fear it, and hadn't noticed he took one step too many.

Bumping into Billie softly his hand grazed her's and he froze. Phillip mumbled a quick "Sorry" as he shifted his weight. Even though he hadn't wanted to he moved his hand back to his side and away from hers.

They were up next and Phillip took a steadying breath.

Marin exchanged glances with Wini as they observed the other two together. I know, his eyes said as they met Wini’s. Phillip wasn’t even trying to hide it, how scandalous. Well, the Ravenclaw had been holding out on them, it turned out. Without cracking into his secret diary, it seemed that the Hufflepuff detective duo weren’t so amazing at sleuthing after all. He didn’t know why he – or Wini – was so surprised, though. Phillip and Billie spent an awful lot of time together. He and Wini spent a lot of time together, but that was different.

By now, Marin had decided he liked Billie’s face. Quite symmetrical, dreamy – in the sense that she was a dreamer, not in the sense that he thought she was dreamy, at least not to him – unusual eyes. Actually, now that he was paying attention, her eyes were a very similar shade of pale green to Lip’s, though about forty times the size. Both blonde, too, hmm. Marin flicked his eyes from one face to the other, thinking that despite their deceptive height difference (nine inches, he guessed?), they looked quite similar. Marin disapproved; wasn’t it weird to make out with someone who looked like your sibling?

He glanced down at Wini, remembering that they’d accidentally dressed in matching clothes. Well, that wasn’t the same at all, was it? It was fine to match with your friends. He looked up as the line in front of him cleared, and he stepped forward. He hadn’t even noticed the fact that Winifred was giving him her puppy eyes. “One scoop of vanilla please… no, in a cup,” he corrected, “And…” Marin trailed off, glancing at Winifred, waiting for her to order as he pulled out his wallet. He gave Winifred a look when Billie called their friend Phillip. A part of him approved; he wasn't the biggest fan of nicknames, as was evidenced by his six-year-long friendship with Winifred, rather than Wini. But it was still strange to hear her use a name that he didn't associate with Lip Donnelly.

Wini smiled back at Billie, thinking this was progress already. No wonder Lip liked her. She was nice and pretty and kind of reminded her of flowers after a spring rain. The Hufflepuff had no clue how she had turned Lip from a frowny grump into this flustered, willing to please guy, but she loved that for him. She couldn't wait to talk to Lip alll about it once there were back at William's flat. He would probably regret staying with her this summer for more than one reason, but Wini didn't mind at all. She glanced up at the menu at Billie's question and shrugged. "Hmm.. it says 'sweet cream ice cream with.. blonde brownies and a salted caramel swirl'? Sounds really good to me! What do you think I should get? Cotton Candy or the Salted Caramel Blondie one?" she asked with a glance at Billie. She didn't even bother looking at the boys who would probably just mutter 'plain vanilla' at her again.

She shuffled up to stand next to Marin as he ordered, giving him an exaggerated eye roll before smiling kindly at the cute guy behind the counter with swoopy dark hair over his forehead. He looked bored but had smiled politely. "Can I get one scoop of cotton candy and one scoop of salted caramel blondie? With lots of the rainbow sprinkles? Oh and whip cream on top. Please?" she smiled proudly and looked at Marin with perked brows. That's how ice cream was done. But she smiled happily at him anyway because he was offering to buy her ice cream and that felt nice even though she could pay for it herself. It always felt more special when a boy bought you something.

Glancing behind her at the two whispering Ravenclaws, she grinned, saying, "Your turn!" What she had wanted to say was 'it's the two lovebirds turn' but she didn't want to spook them. This spying game was so fun. She couldn't wait to dissect everything with Marin later, which would mostly consist of her chatting and Marin nodding, but she was used to that.

Marin responded to Wini’s look with a tight-lipped smile of his own, then proceeded to pay the person behind the counter. He double checked his change upon its arrival into his palm. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the man behind the counter – it was just a habit. After being instructed to do so, he and Winifred moved away from the place they’d just ordered to wait at the end of the counter. The ice cream display was long, full of many strange and unusual flavours, so when they got to the end, Marin felt like he had a second to speak to Winifred alone.

“Phillip?” he said under his breath, doing a couple of wide-eyed Billie-like blinks for Winifred’s amusement. He glanced back at the other two, who looked a bit… Well, Lip looked unusually flustered and he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off of the younger Ravenclaw, even as they ordered their ice creams. Marin hadn’t spent enough time observing Billie to know what her “usual” expressions were, but she looked flustered too. Pleased, but a bit nervous, maybe? He wasn’t sure, he wasn’t that good at reading people he didn’t know well.

“Thoughts?” he asked, looking back at Winifred. Marin was sure she had a lot of thoughts, and there was a part of him that needed to know.

Phillip tried to pay attention to what Marin and Wini were talking about, he even got as far as hearing Winis ridiculous order and finding himself shaking his head with a tiny playful smirk at it, but he was so distracted. He'd spent the entire night thinking about the time he'd spent with Billie in Ireland and now that she was standing right next to him he was nearly impossible not to think about. He stepped forward after the Hufflepuffs had made their order and looked through the glass and into the cooler to see so many different colors of ice cream sitting in the tubs. He considered getting something else, trying something new, but decided against it.

Not everything was amazing when it changed.

"A scoop of vanilla please.." he said as he half turned his head to look at Wini and then back to the wizard behind the counter. "And I don't want any sprinkles, no matter what she might of told you." He looked at the whispering badgers again and wondered what they were talking about. He'd known Marin a long time now, being in the same year and all, but he didn't actually know anything about him other than he was Wini's best friend. In that moment Phillip wondered just how much Winifred had told him and how much he had cared.

He scooted to the side a little, but not far, to let Billie make her order before he paid for the two of them silently.

Wini shuffled over as they waited for their orders and gave Marin a look, a little smile curving up on her lips. She leaned up on her tiptoes to whisper to him. "Aren't they so cute? Look at Lip being all smiley around her!' she said lowly, flicking her eyes over to Billie and Phillip. It seemed like they couldn't keep their eyes off each other and Wini had never ever seen Lip smile so much as he had in the last ten minutes. And she had known him for years.

She giggled at bit as Marin mentioned the 'Phillip' difference. She wasn't sure where the whole 'Lip' nickname had come around, but he was exclusively Lip and never Phillip to her. "I knowwwww," she whispered, her brows wiggling, as she smiled up at Marin. "It's so cute. Think he has a pet name for her though?" she asked.

Lip gave her a look as he ordered, being firm in his no sprinkle policy, and Wini tried to give an innocent, 'we're not talking about you at allll' look before sending him an exaggerated eye roll. She nudged Marin a little with her elbow. "Think they're like... official yet?!"

Marin glanced back at the others, reminded again of the conversation he and Wini had had in his room a few weeks ago. It was true that Phillip did seem more… smiley. Marin wasn’t sure he’d ever felt the kind of nervous energy that seemed to buzz around the other two right now, but he’d definitely had periods of time when he felt like he couldn’t stop looking at someone, like the pair seemed to be doing right now.

She mentioned a pet name and Marin frowned a little. “Bill…?” he said, unable to come up with anything more creative in the moment. The idea of someone calling him honey or babe or cupcake (why were so many of them food related??) made him want to crawl out of his skin. Marin shied away from her as she nudged him with her elbow. “I don’t know, wouldn’t he have said if they were?” Marin looked back at Wini, “this is my girlfriend Billie, you know?”

Their ice cream came just then, and Marin took them both, then passed Wini her monstrosity, tryin to repress the grimace that wanted so badly to come out. He started on his own ice cream straight away, not bothering to wait for the others.

She snorted and gave Marin a patronizing look as he tried to come up with a pet name for her. "If Lip calls her 'Bill,' I bet they won't even make it to dating," she whispered with a giggle. Although now that she thought of it, she looked at her friend speculatively. "What would I call you? Mare? Riny? Maybe M&M because of your middle name?" her smile grew wider as each idea popped into her head and she knew before she had even started that he would veto all of them.

Wini scooted closer as Marin shied away, continuing to bump him lightly with her elbow as she glanced at Lip and Billie. She was just so excited for him. Well, them. Plus she was getting a front row seat to the cutest flirting little sesh of the year. "Nooo," she told Marin with a emphatic shake of her head. "Lip is like you. Refuses to tell me anything. I have to drag the details out of him. He probably wouldn't even tell me if he proposed to her or something," Wini threw an unamused look at Marin, expressing just how unhappy she was with the fact that her friends were so tight-lipped.

But then her ice cream came and her brown eyes went wide as saucers as her lips parted with delight. "Wow! This looks so good!" she cooed as she took her ice cream cone in both hands, really thankful that bored but cute guy had gone heavy on the rainbow sprinkles. She licked her way around the cone and then tasted the cotton candy and salted caramel flavors mixing together. "Mmmm, this is delicious," she murmured before she glanced over at Marin and his plain vanilla in a cup. "How's yours?" she asked, looking doubtful.

Marin snorted, amused at Wini’s assertion despite himself. She was right that “Bill” was a bit odd, and definitely didn’t suit the blonde. In Marin’s opinion, “Billie” didn’t quite suit her either. She needed something prettier, more floaty. His amusement faded as Winifred started trying out nicknames for him, however. “Marin’s fine,” he replied flatly, eyebrows raised slightly in mild disapproval.

“Oh really?” he asked. He and Phillip didn’t really talk. Ever. When they had prefect duty-type things together, they tended to just both sit in silence. Sometimes they read books Marin had assumed that he and Winifred were speaking a bit more than that.

“I’d tell you if I proposed to someone,” Marin said matter-of-factly, a little offended, taking another bite of his ice-cream. “Don’t get too excited,” he added, holding his little pink plastic ice-cream spoon at her as he caught a look, “it’s never going to happen.”

“Great, thanks,” Marin said, meaning it but sounding sarcastic because he knew she’d roll her eyes anyway. “Oh,” he said as the other two appeared, manoeuvring himself so that the four could stand in a square shape and no one was being blocked off. “Shall we eat inside or outside, or walk?” he asked no one in particular.

“Er, both?” Billie suggested helpfully. She had a feeling that the question had a rhetorical edge to it though, and that Wini was going to get whatever she wanted.

Billie hesitated a moment, letting Phillip order first. A part of her wanted to reach out now and touch his arm again, but it felt too awkward and unnatural. Her gaze lingered there on his arm for a moment before she followed where he was looking to the other two, catching the tail end of an eyeroll from Wini. The older Hufflepuff looked so cool, she thought. Very fashionable. Billie kind of regretted wearing robes, wishing she’d opted for some of the muggle-style dresses she had at home instead – maybe something that showed off her legs a little more, like Wini. Her thoughts were interrupted as it was her turn to order.

She moved in, stepping just a touch too close so that her arm brushed against Phillip’s chest. She felt goosebumps on the back of her neck (ridiculous). “One scoop of lavender, please,” she asked, getting close to the glass but not quite touching it as she read the labels of the ice-creams. Her usual tact for ice cream was to get one scoop of something she was familiar with and one scoop of something new, but Phillip was paying and she really didn’t want to make a fool of herself if it melted all over her or something, so today she was just getting the one. “Oh, and some sprinkles for me, thank you,” she added, smiling at the young man behind the counter.

The whole time she was placing her order, all she could think about was the way his hands had felt on her lower back a few days ago. All she wanted was to touch him. But she didn’t let herself daydream down that thought path very long; she had a goal today, and that was to make his friends like her.

She glanced up at him with a small smile, hesitating when their eyes met. Oh. Handsome. Okay, she thought to herself, tearing her eyes away and pretending to look at the ice cream again while he paid pull it together!

Anyone who knew Phillip would know how much he disliked social outings, group settings, and is expected to be polite in general. He didn't care for small talk or making conversation and he went out of his way to avoid these things. Today... was different... but he was still Phillip. As they continued through the line and finally up to the counter he tried to not be annoyed by the fact that he could tell Marin and Wini were whispering, and he assumed it was about them. Even though realistically he knew they probably weren't saying mean things, well he didn; 't think Wini would anyway, it didn't matter. Phillip still hated the group dynamic. He would have rather been hanging out one on one or not at all.

Moving out of the way for Billie to make her order he tried not to stare at her too blatantly. He kept stealing glances and smiled slightly when she ordered sprinkles. Somehow, it was cute when she did, of course. Phillip waited for her before he moved down the counter to where Marin and Wini were standing. When they collected their ice creams he shrugged his shoulders at Marin. "I don't care," he said quietly, it was crowded inside and it was warm outside so either way he'd hate it.

Or maybe not, because either way, Billie would be there too. It was becoming impossible not to think about her standing so close, about what she was thinking, how she was feeling, and especially about trying to figure out some way to kiss her again without it being weird. Just another thing he didn't like about group outings.

"What about Clarebear?" Wini tacked on even after Marin's flat reply. Her brown eyes were filled with amusement, but she was really starting to like this Clarebear nickname. She knew he would probably hate it, but her brows perked up. Maybe she could convince him. Maybe it would grow on him. "You would?" Wini gasped with a big smile, but then he doused her excitement with his little added reality check. Still, the thought made her happy. She grinned up at him. "As long as I'm your best man, I'll wait," she told him.

The blonde shuffled closer to Marin as the other two joined their little circle and Wini smiled brightly at the two of them, glancing between them. Merlin, why didn't she think of doing this sooner? This was the best possible opportunity for recon! At Marin's question, she glanced at Lip and Billie and then piped up, "Let's walk. I hear Blotts might have the new Rupert Hartwood biography!"

She led the way towards the door, a tinkle of a bell sounding overhead as they excited, and Wini fell into step beside Billie as she continued to eat her cone, rushing before it melted over the sides too much and made a mess. Maybe the boys had been right about getting it in a cup, not that she would admit that to them now. Smiling at Billie, she said, "How has your summer been going, Billie? Are you planning to go to that summer camp thing in America at all?" She knew a lot of the Hogwarts students had planned to attend since the buzz had been all around the school before they left, but she was glad Lip and Marin had decided not to go since she wasn't either. She would have missed them too much.

Billie wondered how Rupert Hartwood could have another biography when he was barely twenty-two. She nodded politely anyway, meeting Phillip's eye and wondering if he'd rather be inside because it was a bit warm outside. Those were her thoughts, anyway.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Billie said. She glanced at Phillip; they hadn’t really talked about it, but she wasn’t planning on going if he wasn’t. And she didn’t think he was. She looked back at Wini quickly, realising how silly it might look to her for Billie to be non-verbally checking in with the other Ravenclaw. “My summer…” She didn’t look at Phillip this time, knowing that she’d probably really embarrass herself if she did. Blush too much or something.

“It’s been really nice,” she said. “I’ve been doing lots of baking, a little shopping, seeing some friends.” She wondered once more if Wini knew about her trip to Northern Ireland with Phillip, if the Hufflepuff was the kind of friend who Phillip opened up to about things like that. She couldn’t imagine it, but then she probably wouldn’t have imagined Wini to be the kind of person Phillip spent a lot of time with, anyway. Did she know they’d kissed? That they’d cried together? Billie felt a little self-conscious.

Diplomatically, though, she turned the same question back on Wini. “How about you, Wini? You’re spending the summer near here, aren’t you? How is summer Diagon Alley?” She couldn’t imagine it was a quiet place to be.

Wini saw the check in glance that Billie gave to Lip and she smiled and piped up. "Oh, Lip's not going. Marin isn't either," she supplied helpfully, assuming that that's what Billie's glance was for. The blonde glanced back at the boys, but it wasn't like she was expecting them to contest that point. She would have known already.

"That does sound nice," Wini said, giving a little smile just to Billie. "What do you like to bake? My sisters and I always use to bake currant cookies. Have you had them before? They're delicious. I sent some to Marin's mum last summer and she said that she liked them." At this, she gave Marin a narrowed glance. At least, someone was appreciative of her baking.

She licked around ring around her cone, trying to get all the melty bits before they dripped onto her fingers, nodding at Billie's question with a little smile as she finished swallowing her bite of ice cream. "Yes, I'm spending time with William.. he's.. family," she summed up, unsure of whether she wanted to go through the whole 'bonus da' explanation right then. She didn't know Billie that well yet and she wanted to be friends with her if Lip was going to spend so much time with her and she didn't want to get into all the nitty gritty details about her weird family situation just yet. Although.. she wondered if Lip would have told her already. She glanced back at Lip with a questioning gaze before hurrying on to answer.

"It's been great spending the summer in London though. Normally, I'm always on my family farm for the summers so city life is so much different. Where do you live again?" she asked, not recalling if Lip had ever mentioned it. On second thought, she probably shouldn't have offered the info about her family farm because she didn't really want to talk about it. Not with the letter her mum had sent her recently, saying it would be better if Wini didn't come to stay this summer. It made her feel bad just thinking about it so she pushed that thought right out of her mind and focused on her ice cream and Billie and the new Rupert book she wanted to buy.