[mp] a million to one [harlan]

"No, no, it's fine. We can keep ourselves entertained while you go interview the Chinese dignitaries," Wini assured her father William with a smile and a flap of her hand as she tucked her wand in to the small white bag she had slung crossbody over her pale blue summer dress. "Right, Harlan?" she asked, sending him a glance, as the three of them stood in a wide walkway amidst a crowd of witches and wizards from what seemed like every corner of the world.

It was late June and the World's Fair was still thriving in Sydney as it had been for the past few weeks. William and Harlan were apparently related somehow. Wini guessed that made her related too, but William was so oblivious that he hadn't even mentioned that the distant nephew who came over to borrow books and things from time to time was in fact that Harlan, the famous Quidditch player who had won the Cup two seasons in a row. Wini had been shocked when she had first recognized him, smiled and waved goodbye as Harlan left William's flat in London, just before she had rounded on her father for the full inquisition. William was lovable and a wicked smart writer and interviewer, but he was a real dolt when it came to telling Wini info she already ought to know, like a famous uncle!

Despite the lure of the fame, Wini had actually liked Harlan when he had come to dinner (after she had nagged William to invite him, of course) and then he had gotten them really nice seats for the final championship game, which had been really sweet of him. But as William hurried away to do his interview, Wini worrying he had forgotten his favorite quill or that stack of notes he had been hunching over for the past week, she realized this was her first time 'hanging out' with her sort of uncle. She slid her gaze back to him and gave him a tentative smile, touching the scarf she had tied around her ponytail with her fingertips. Well, at least he seemed less grumpy than Marin or Lip would be if they were here.

"Actually, I did have a favor to ask," she started as she nodded toward the wide walkway that would pass through all of the booths where artisans sold all varieties of crafts that fit into the "Nature's Wisdom" theme of the Fair. Felt flowers in bright yellows and blues, handmade wallets made of hemp, wood crafts of all kind in such abundance that she smelled the woody scent from booths away, and handpainted ornaments that caught the sunlight and sent sparkles across fairgoers. "William's birthday is coming up and last year I got him a book I thought he would like and he did say he loved it, but you know how he's such a bad liar. Even I could tell he hated it so maybe you could help me pick a book he would like?" Wini went on as she folded and then refolded the Fair map they had been given when they had arrived by portkey. "There's supposed to be a books section here somewhere..."

She stretched up on to her tippy toes as if that would help her spot it. It didn't considering she was only a few inches above five foot, but still, she was determined to give a better gift this year than before and she didn't mind recruiting the help.


@Harlan Bellamy

Harlan nodded unconvincingly in agreement— sure he could play babysitter for any hour or two. Anything beyond that and Wini would need to fend for herself, of course. Surely she had friends at the world fair that she was much more inclined to want to spend time with. "Right," He belatedly spoke. William shot one last look at his nephew and he could have sworn he saw a glimmer of sympathy in his kind eyes, a quiet gesture of thanks. And that was all he needed to remind himself why he was there.

"I might have guessed that," She had a favor to ask. Harlan immediately figured that she needed a alibi while she snuck off.

But, that wasn't the case. Much to his surprise (he only had his own past to go off at that age), Wini really didn't need his help. A gift for her father. The man was impossibly smart, and he had great taste; there wasn't a book that he hadn't read it seemed. Harlan felt sympathetic in some way that she had arbitrability picked up a book for him and hoped it worked. "I know the look well..." He commiserated in what he hoped came across as genuine.

He remembered the first time that he tried to impress his uncle on that front, to no avail.

Harlan dropped a hand into his coat as they made their way, glancing at the map as she folded it twice. "I thought you were going to say you needed me as alibi to sneak off with your friends," He commented with a subtle grin, following where she stretched up to try and find the book section. The fair was massive, there was no way they were just going to stumble upon it. "Can I see that?" Harlan nodded to the folded up map, not pressed to have to address it to find their way.

Anything to not get caught in too many crowds.

I know the look well. "Right?" she agreed with a rueful smile. William was great at many things, but not at keeping his honest feelings off his face. Maybe Wini had gotten that from him. "I thought it was going to go over well, but then it was just like the new set of dress robes I had gotten him last year all over again. I just wanted to help him look smart, you know when he has all those fancy meetings and interviews, but he's only worn it once and had this face the whole time--" She made a grimace that was a spectacular impression of her father. "--So I know he didn't like it even though he won't say anything." Wini sighed a little at the memory, but it only served as fuel to get an even better gift this year.

"What?" she asked automatically as she looked at Harlan. An alibi? Oh. It clicked a second later and Wini rolled her eyes heavenward as she shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. "No, nothing like that," she told him easily with a wave of her hand. "First, Marin and Lip aren't here," she said naming the friends she would have 'snuck off' with. "And second, William is too oblivious so I don't really need to do any of that teenage rebel trickery stuff." Wini shifted the strap of her bag on her shoulder as she thought of the parenting dynamic with William. It was still new and different and at times, perplexing. Half the time she thought she was parenting him, not the other way around.

"And," she added as an afterthought because the idea of it was still even new to her. "I'm of age now so no need to sneak anyway." Not that she would do that to her sort-of uncle after he had been so nice lately with the tickets and the coming to dinner and all that. It occurred to her that their dynamic was still new too so maybe the little mission she had tasked them with would help. She ran her fingertips across the folded edge of the map before she nodded and passed it to him. "Did you see where it was?" she asked, taking a half-step closer to peer at the map in his hands.

Harlan, by nature, was skeptical.

He turned to look at Wini over the shoulder of his coat (bloody Australian winter) to say as much. She'd gone all the way to the other side of the world to not at least indulge in the slightest; and there was how he found himself perpetually in trouble. "Marin and Lip?" He cocked his chin. What kind of a name— "Your friends," It was less of a question and more of a realization. Those had to be her closest friends. He was still learning the ropes of the whole pseudo-uncle thing.

"Ha," He masked the overt laugh with a cough. It was neither the time nor the place to regal stories of her father.

"I know that," Harlan added subtly. He'd sent a card, hadn't he? "Suppose you aren't like me when I was your age," Harlan breathed out the thought as he scanned the crowd, taking the map into his palm. His other hand worked to open up where Wini had so methodically pressed it together, glancing down, then up again. "No," He replied to the question as to if he'd seen where it was. How in the bloody hell was he meant to in that crowd, he wondered. "—oh,".

He ran his thumb over the lines as he studied the parchment. "We're going the wrong way," He nearly scoffed but stopped short, turning on his heels.

He repeated her friends’ names and she gave him an encouraging nod, hearing how the names seems strange on his tongue. Wini smiled as she touched the ends of her blonde hair. “Yeah Marin, he’s quiet and really tall and he’s Head Boy.. or at least he was,” she said correcting herself with a downturn of her lips. She had forgotten for a second that they had graduated so did they still have claim on those titles? Hmm. She went on after a second. “And, yes Lip. It’s short for Phillip but my pygmy puff is also named Phillip so it was confusing so I gave Phillip ---the boy, not the pygmy puff, see? Confusing-- the nickname Lip.” There, that explained everything but she glanced up at him, ready for follow up questions.

Her curiosity was peaked and she gave him a perspective look and a little shrug. “Maybe?” she offered kindly, not wanting to disagree outright. “What were you like when you were my age?” William had told her a bit about Harlan (after she had badgered him for more information of course), but she still didn’t know much about him other than he was obviously a great Quidditch player, was a book nerd like William, and that he was also one of the only family members Wini had ever seen William talk to or invite over. She knew there was some family tension on the Reavley side, but William had (not so surprisingly) not wanted to talk about it. And all things considered, Wini had enough family drama with her own side so she was a little reluctant herself to dive into more.

She peered over at the map in his hands and frowned when he decided they were going the wrong way. How was she supposed to know? Usually Marin was the navigator in situations like these and she was just the organizer, the ideas decider. “Alrighty,” she said easily as she pivoted and followed, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Think we’ll be able to find something he likes?”

Wini, unprompted, had begun to divulge about her friends. Hadn't the rhetorical nature of his statement been obvious? Harlan was torn in feigning interest and he figured that the look on his face said as much. "I do," He commented distractedly as he studied the map. On the other hand, those kinds of trivial concerns such as your pygmy sharing a name with a friend brought forth nostalgia. There was a foreign sense of something like protectiveness that surged in his chest.

Wini was his second cousin and might as well have been twice removed given the circumstance of William— he had no right to be any semblance of protective over her. But he knew how teenagers were— how he had been.

"Let's just say I'd have been half way to the middle of the city twice by now," He grinned, glancing up at her belatedly. She was on the other side of the planet with hundreds of witches and wizards from every corner; why on earth would she have wanted to stick with him?

They turned on their heels and Harlan avoided the eyes of a family who had obviously spotted him. It was a learned strength that he'd developed over the years, he spotted it from a distance. "We will," Harlan was sure of himself, but he knew that they had been faced with a challenge in gifting for her father. "Just a bit further then we head in, away from the harbor," He explained, somewhat to himself. Just as they passed the family, the little boy shrieked excitedly, yelling something about it's really him!

Wini nodded as she watched him study the map. She wondered what Marin or Lip might think of Harlan and other than knowing it would be funny to see which of them was taller, Harlan or Marin, she wasn't actually sure. Neither of the boys were particularly interested in Quidditch so the fame and game weren't really a factor. She wondered if she could somehow get all of them together for a dinner or something just so she could find out. She began planning quietly as she took out her little tube of cherry chapstick and reapplied before sliding it back into her bag.

"Really?" she asked, glancing up at him and squinting a bit as the sun shone in her eyes. She shifted where she stood so Harlan's head blocked most of it as she shook her head. "Yeah, but there's so much to do here. That's the whole point of coming. I think there's a giant mushroom maze, oh and the baking challenge, I heard there was a cupcake decorating contest or something, and the art mural that you can help with. And the performances. You could check out the city anytime, but the festival's only on for another week or so, sooo.." Wini gave him a shrug and a little smile. "What would you even be doing in the city?" she asked a second later. Maybe he was the kind of person who liked to sight see?

She gave him another nod as he was so confident in the answer. Hey, she would take it. Wini did not want to keep fretting over what would be a good gift for William this year. She was starting to get on her own nerves. "Okay, good," she answered easily as she followed his lead, quickening her steps to keep up. She was distracted by the different stalls and booths, selling colorful wares of all kinds, but she kept up, not wanting to get lost in the crowd. Her steps slowed as she saw a little boy with eyes as big as saucers looking up at Harlan. "Hey, look," she said, alerting him since he seemed to stroll right by. "I think he's a fan of yours," Wini said with a light touch on his arm before she turned toward the kid with a big smile, waiting for Harlan to do the same.

Except his reaction wasn't exactly what she expected...