Euphemia, it was certainly a pretty name. Something original and different, Wilma had surely never heard anything like it before. Then again most of the names she had been hearing recently she had never heard of before. She could only assume that the child was a pureblood, by her manners, way of dressing, the company she was obviously keeping - not to mention the name. Wilma was fairly positive that Eirene tended to keep pureblooded company and this was why the other children had been so rotten. She herself was not wont to keep any company at all. Then again, being a pureblooded child with parents who couldn't afford tutors had certainly made life different for her than for these girls.

This was turning out to be an interesting encounter as so many things began to happen at once, Keegan was giving her advice then sneezing on the other girls because he was... allergic? She watched as another boy came up to them and started talking to Keegan, offering a handkerchief and claiming that he was allergic to the girls too. She made a mental note to write the Quibbler, asking if there was any way to cure an allergy like that. This way she could give the boys something to help them when they were all in classes together.

She gulped slightly as she watched Keegan begin to act the way he had the last time she had seen him at Magical Menagerie. "I think we should all just try and be friends." The words were barely out of her mouth before Euphemia was launching herself at Keegan fists first, making Wilma clutch her kitten closer, eyes wide as she backed away. She bumped into someone and turned around to face a boy roughly her age whom she quickly shied behind, pushing him a little bit forward and peeping over his shoulder. She clutched one of his shoulders tightly and held the cat with the other. This would not end well, she presumed. Why couldn't everyone just get along?

This was what Oliver was afraid of.  The argument finally escalated into violence when the Euphemia girl threw the first punch towards the boy.  She was obviously hot-headed, and didn’t take to this boy’s teasing kindly.  He stood where he was, wondering if there was a way to break up the fight, when all of a sudden, the dark-haired girl he’d seen earlier backed right into him.  He was about to move out of her way so she could leave the menagerie if she wished, but to his surprise, she moved behind him and used him as a protective shield.  He didn’t mind; she was, no doubt, worried that she would become the prime target of the girl’s aggression.  However, by the looks of things, Euphemia’s only concern was the other boy.

He’d never expected anything like this to happen.  He’d already picked out a water bowl for Arown; all he needed now was a box of owl treats.  This sudden outburst of commotion, though, was probably going to attract the attention of the menagerie’s owner or another adult in the room.  Euphemia and the boy looked far too young to use magic outside of Hogwarts, so the chances of there being stray curses and hexes flying about was unlikely.  Still, he didn’t want to take any chances.  He held his arms out to his sides and backed up a bit to further distance himself and the girl behind him from the fight. 

Where was an adult when you needed one?

Letting Eirene's protests fall on deaf ears, lest he actually go deaf from arguing with her insufferable, whiny logic, the smaller boy merely glazed over her and continued to analyze the scene with a cold blue stare and slight smirk. Adley, for all of his dislike of Euphemia, lived and breathed for these moments of being able to assert his obvious superiority over the spoiled brat and her little army. Furthermore, he was sure, given the upcoming shift to Hogwarts, that he too would have his own gang of friends, and that they would be better than the Euphemias or Eirenes of the world. Had he a bit more compassion, he might have felt bad for the other little girl, who seemed as harmless as Eirene but thrice as tolerable and infinitely more pleasant. As it were, Adley found her strange in a way that Mairead and this new boy, in all of their muggle glory, were not. And she was too nice to the enemy.　

"I have been allergic to you long before you were to me Adley."　

"Ouch," said Adley, sounding vastly bored. His blankest face was set in stone.

"What's that?" His eyes moved to the kitten, taking in its appearance. She would go for the only black one in the shop, the little... "Animal cruelty is illegal, Euphemia. I think you should give it back to the shopkeeper." Though he didn't move, something in his gaze looked for a moment as if he were going to grab the kitten and run, but then...

Antonopoulos tried to touch his handkerchief. His handkerchief. Forget mudbloods and all the things Effie was prone to shouting, and the taunts this stranger so readily and delightedly voiced. Eirene's germs were trying to worm their way through Adley's property. The dark-haired boy made a face (scrunched eyes, wrinkled nose, down-turned mouth, a look of pain and blatant disgust and more emotion than he'd bother to show in ages) and drew his wand, but it was unnecessary... and perhaps, unfortunately, useless. The tall boy got there first.

In any other situation, Adley would surely have been quietly disgruntled or else revenge-seeking, even if it were only a handkerchief. But he reveled in the boy marking the bit of cloth as his own, because he knew Eirene wouldn't touch it now. He hoped it would enrage Effie, that her little friend had been defeated, and he was not disappointed in the least.

Except for the fact, of course, that Effie had to act like a gorilla and not a prissy little girl. Adley should have counted on such barbarism, but he hadn't. He had thought she would leave the dirty plays in public places to his own new ally.

As much rage as the Dolohov girl exerted, Adley felt creeping into his bloodstream. It was chilly and off-putting, and threatened his self-control, but Adley could hardly stand watching this. He lifted his wand again, this time hissing a word he'd heard Calix use on an elf. "Locomotor Mortis!" Sparks shot from his wand, most likely only because he was angry. They fizzled and died. Adley looked angrily to the wand's tip, frowning. He gave it another flourish, but to no avail. Staring at Effie, he felt himself going warm and not in the fuzzy way. The cage of kittens behind them began to rattle, and Adley was tempted to turn incredulously to the weird girl, who was now suggesting everyone should be friends. It was akin to telling Adley he should host a pastel pink tea party and invite Euphemia as the guest of honor. The third boy was as useless as Eirene.

Restraining himself from saying anything to either of the onlooking children, Adley swiftly darted at Eirene, grabbing the black kitten by the scruff of the neck, and pointing his wand warily at her with the opposite hand. "Animals shouldn't have animals," he hissed at Effie, already carrying the thing in the direction of an aisle of reptiles, hoping to round the corner before she could hide her claws again. With luck, the tall boy would fend her off and play along. The only vial creature around for miles was Effie.

Eirene clutched the kitten close to her, marveling for a moment that it was in her arms, and so warm, soft, and sweet! Her joy vanished, however, when Effie lunged at Keegan with her fists flying.

“Effie! Don’t!” She cried, tempted to step in-between the two of them, or to attempt to pull Effie away. The kitten in her arms made her hesitate. She felt protective of the animal, so she didn’t want to risk hurting him. This was, perhaps, the first time Effie had done something that made Eirene’s insides turn and her doubts rush to the forefront of her mind.

Eyes transfixed on Keegan and Effie, she didn’t notice Adley glaring at her, or Wilma running to hide behind another boy. She took a step back in shock and glanced worriedly at Keegan. He was much bigger than her best friend! What was Effie thinking?

The group of children received plenty of stares and tut-tuts, but no one seemed willing to stop the madness yet. Eirene glanced all around, trying to make eye contact with someone in charge.

“Adult! Tutor! Nanny!” She shrieked, instantly regretting her decision to explore Diagon Alley without Johanna today.

Eirene finally noticed Wilma behind another boy, which was a very tempting option, but she decided not to follow suit. Effie could get hurt! As much as she disagreed with her choice to attack Keegan, she couldn’t just do nothing. So, as the cages shook all around her and Adley hissed something that sounded like a spell, she cradled the kitten in one arm and fished around in her purse with the other. She drew out the long, wooden box, fumbled to unlock it with one hand, and then dug through the silk lining until her fingers grasped her wand. There! Straightening, Eirene-

Looked up to find Adley’s wand in her face.

“Eeeiiiieeeeeeeee!!!” She screamed, making the kitten flinch. Adley snatched up the kitten by the scruff of his neck and told her animals didn’t deserve animals. Her eyes bugged out at him as the insult sunk in. Most of the time Adley ignored her, which Eirene hated, but his disgust hurt even more. Adley began to walk away and Eirene panicked, pointing her wand at his back.

“Adley, stop!” she called after him, voice rising to a squeak. “You have no right… give me back the kitten! Right now!” Eirene’s fingers curled into fists and her cheeks flushed in anger.

“Or… or, I’ll hex you!” She lowered her wand for a moment and then pointed it directly at him again. She was bluffing, of course. The only spell she knew was Scourgify, so unless Adley was opposed to shiny shoes he had nothing to fear. Even if she did know hexes, Eirene wasn’t so sure she would actually resort to magic, anyway, because it was Against The Rules.

But she kept her wand in the air and her chin raised, trying to appear determined and resolute.

“YOU VIAL CREATURE! DO NOT CALL ME THAT!”

Effie's response was not what Keegan expected. He assumed that, like the few rich brats he knew back home, she would just whine and cry to an adult in an attempt to get him grounded/kicked out/beaten. Like Eirene did in Ollivanders. But what he didn't expect was for her to become an animal and punch him in the face.

Her sudden transformation from stuck up twit to vicious cornered cat was so quick that her punch caught him by surprise. Even though the force was  too weak to normally knock him down, since he had endured a lot worse from older neighborhood boys before, Keegan found himself falling backwards into a large tank of hissing cockroaches in sheer shock at the stinging blow she dealt across his cheek. The tank slid back and teetered dangerously on the edge of the counter as he tried to push himself to his feet against Effie's enraged figure.

"G'off!" He managed, pushing her back with one arm, trying to survive the frantic swings of her bony fist. It didn't even dawn on him that the wetness on his unharmed cheek was spit. He was too focused in getting the crazy cat girl away from him before she started scratching. Thankfully, the hankercheif boy, Adley, took actions into his own hands by kidnapping a useful hostage. Namely Effie's future kitten.

“Eeeiiiieeeeeeeee!!!”

Eirene's screen brought the fight to a halt as he turned to see Adley backtracking towards the reptiles, terrified ball of fur in one hand and his wand in the other. Eirene had her own wand out and ready in a moments notice, training it on him with a surprisingly firm expression. Keegan didn't think she would be able to actually hex him, but her confident stance made him fear that his new found friend would soon be joining the toads at his side. He simply couldn't stand back and allow it.

Pushing forcibly past Effie, Keegan made his way to where the pair was standing off. Dipping his hand into the first tank he came across, Keegan pulled out a large round frog like thing. Had he not been so intent on getting Eirene away from Adley, he might have found the odd looking creature entertaining. "Hey Eirene, your prince is here to save you!" He said, walking up to her and sliding between her wand and Adley, shoving the large frog close to her face in the process "Give me a kiss..." He grunted before literally shoving the frog against her lips.

Effie wanted to continue to pound this boy to a pulp since it was the only pain she could inflict upon him without the use of her wand. If this boy was unlucky he would find her when she could probably hex him and inflict great pain upon him.  It was strangely satisfying to have hit him in the face, but now she was being pushed back with ease, as she was not a strong or larger girl. It was just in time to hear Eirene and to turn her focus to see Aldey with her kitten in his hands. “Eirene!” She screamed loudly stalking after them but not before Keegan pushed her out of the way, causing her to stumble backwards. If she had her wand she would have it drawn but her mother did not let the cherished family heirloom out of the house until she was headed to Hogwarts. Gathering her balance she continued to stalk after them. “Eirene how could you let him take my cat!” She called loudly at her but just as she got there she saw the horror that was before her, Eirene was kissing a toad.

Keegan was becoming more vial and disgusting as time went on. If she could hurt him she would but she stood watching this before her focus turned to Adley with her cat in his grasp. “Give me my cat back,” she said sternly as she pushed past Eirene and Keegan. Effie didn’t care about Eirene right now because it was her fault she had to go claim her kitten back from Adley. This was the kitten she wanted and it was the one she was going to have.

Effie wished she could solve this problem on her own, but this was far beyond her ability to control without magic. There was no way she could get her kitten back without a fight, an adult would have to step in. Effie would not care if she was kicked out as long as she had her kitten.