Although she did not have much (any) business experience, Zia hoped it was as fun as it seemed! Packing up her crocheting supplies gleefully, Zia also brought along her book of knitting and crocheting spells. If she could do this magically, that would make things so much easier. If Hoop Loops ended up being a success, that would be... well, that would be really great! It would be exciting to see everyone wearing her (and Lua's) designs.

Zia carefully picked up the purple bunny she'd gotten in Transfiguration class, who was transfigured from a ball of yarn. She'd decided to name him Bobble, which was a stitch she had recently learned how to do. It would be a good one for the scarves. It looked like pom pom balls... maybe she could make them look like the balls used in quidditch! Zia felt like she had a new idea for the biz every day, which was a good sign, right?

She went to an empty classroom on the first floor to meet Lua, figuring this might be a good place to get started. Zia pulled out the little knit owl she'd made over winter break and also put Bobble on the ground, casting a spell so he wouldn't leave her line of vision, putting the owl inside the barrier so Bobble would have a friend.

Lua Taylor’s hair bounced over her backpack as she flew down the stairs, sometimes skipping one or two, throwing grins at classmates instead of holding on to the railing or looking straight ahead all times. She teetered just above a shifting step, leapt past it onto a narrowly-missed bit of floor, rounded the corner, and took the last flight into the Entrance Hall— this time throwing a salute at a painting of a witch with a purple hat who had once helped her find a dropped string of beads (which had gone everywhere).

This time no beads fell as Lua rushed through the Entrance Hall to the empty classroom where she was supposed to meet Zia. As soon as she threw the door open and spotted her friend… she was distracted. The bunny was the exact color as the portrait witch’s hat. The greeting that she had drawn breath to give was momentarily silenced, before it came out in a gush of love for the bunny.

“It’s adorable, is it yours? He? She? Does it have a name?” The words tumbled out as she jangled forward, eyes finally finding Zia. They were full of friendly brightness. Lua sank down to hold a hand out to the bunny. “Sorry I’m a bit late,” she added, looking up at the Ravenclaw from the ground. She did not sound nervous; slight lateness wasn’t entirely abnormal for a Taylor. “Someone got their essay stuck the common room ceiling. It was darting around, trying not to be caught, some of us jumped on brooms.” Lua wasn’t the best flier in the world, but it had certainly been fun.

“I brought lots of charms and beads and things, and some books with cool ideas for charms!” Magic ones, not the ones pooled in little baggies in Lua’s backpack.

Unsurprisingly, Zia's new friend was first seduced by her precious bunny. That was completely understandable -- he was the cutest thing ever. Zia had found herself staring in awe of him many a time, distracting herself from her homework. It was worth it every time, though. He was so cute that every little move he made was extra adorable. She could just watch him hop around for hours!

"That's Bobble. Say hello, little boy," Zia answered, putting on a baby voice for Bobble's instructions. The bunny did not begin speaking but instead took a small, reluctant hop towards Lua's hand, giving it a preliminary sniff. Apparently having decided that Lua was safe territory, he took a few more hops into Lua's hand and settled himself in. Zia was pleased with how friendly her rabbit was -- he was almost as social as Zia herself.

As Lua divulged the supplies she'd brought, Zia began pulling her own belongings out to show them to Lua. "That's great!" Zia exclaimed. Designing the scarves would be the best part, Zia believed, and she couldn't wait to get started. "We should make our own first," Zia said innocently, adding the defense, "So people will start to see them!" It wasn't selfish, it was marketing!

“Bobble!” She echoed excited. “That’s a brilliant name. Bobble.” She giggled appreciatively as she continued to coo over the bunny. She was soft, patient as she waited for it to sniff her. If Lua did not have patience for everything (mostly the more boring homework assignments), animals were something she could still and shut up for for an impressive length of time. Animals and yoga. “Oh, goodness, how do you leave him to go to class?” She asked, already in love with the creature who had hopped into her hand. “I’d sneak him in my pocket,” she laughed. “Not that I plan to steal your bunny.” Her eyes went wide, in a smile-y way, as they landed on Zia again.

They pooled their things and Lua looked over the collection approvingly. “That’s a good point. That’s the best sort of advertising.” Kids usually gave her compliments on her homemade jewelry. If Lua was not hyper stylish in a trendy way, she was bright, sometimes hard to miss. She did not quite have Zia’s brilliant shade of hair, but she thought together they could spread the word. “Just in time for the cup, too,” she hummed.

“So obviously I’ll go with red and gold, and sparkles and roaring like we talked about, and—” So many options! Of course, they’d come up with plans already, but the customization was the best part… and liable to change a half-dozen times. “Actually, that might be a good start,” she laughed. She flipped through one of the various books to the page on charming objects to make noise. “Do you have the colors you need for Ravenclaw? Is it going to be too much crocheting before exams if we start getting lots of orders?” She hadn’t really thought about that.

Lua asked a very logical answer which Zia had avoided answering to most people. Almost in the same breath, she provided her own answer. "I usually do that," Zia said in a hushed tone, looking around to ensure no one was listening. It was an empty classroom - they weren't. "During Charms once he almost made an appearance during class - I caught him just in time." Shooting Bobble a disappointed look, she couldn't help but let her heart melt a little.

He made a few hops forward towards the pile of fun arty supplies the girls would be using for their scarves. Zia nodded along with Lua's ideas for her own. Sparkles and roaring -- that was a great idea! Zia wasn't so sure what she could do for hers, besides some feathers maybe. She definitely wouldn't have any squawking -- that wasn't nearly as good as the roaring.

Zia had a rainbow array of colors and so she already had (most of) what they needed already. There was the sparkly yarn, but she could make all of the yarn sparkly with a quick spell. "I have all the colors we need -- if we need any custom stuff, we might need to look a little harder," Zia responded. "If I work out this spell I should have enough time to do this during finals." She handed Lua the book. "Any particular stitch you think would be good?"

Lua already found Zia admirable without her quiet admission that she kept the rabbit with her in class. But that bit of information solidified the Gryffindor’s respect and keenness to be good friends. They seemed like kindred spirits. She giggled. “At least it wasn’t Defense,” she said reasonably. “Not that Professor Storm wouldn’t secretly adore a bunny…” How could anyone not?

With their supplies set, they could discuss charms and stitches, which only made Lua more excited. “I love this one,” she said almost admittedly, pointing to an embroidered leaf pattern that could double as feathers. “Is it too autumn-y?” She wasn’t too discouraged the idea. People would need their scarves year-round, for the impending school year. Maybe the pair of them could even meet up in the summer and work on their project. “This is cool too. It would go nice with the uniforms.” By which she meant it would pop just a little, the right amount to make it stand out. “But it looks really hard.” Her eyes moved back to Zia, whom she gauged for a reaction. She didn’t want to overwork the poor girl.

“We could just start with classic broad stripes, and I can add a few trinkets or make matching bracelets to sell for the games. Then we could charm them to the things we want.” Maybe that was a more level-headed starting point, but Lua had big ideas.

Zia's eyes followed along with Lua's assessment of the book's stitches. The leaf pattern was one Zia had also really liked, but had felt the same concern about it being seasonal. "I'm not too worried... this area of Europe is cold, like, all the time," Zia reasoned, only barely meaning this as a complaint. "Besides, depending on what colors we use, we could always make them look like peacocks... or turkeys!" It would be cool to have festive scarves! No matter how ugly they might be, Zia still loved a good Christmas sweater.

The other stitch that Lua pointed out looked much warmer. "It wouldn't be too hard," Zia said, analyzing the picture. "It looks pretty much like a single stitch. I think you're right, maybe keeping the stitch simpler would make it easier to add accessories." She wondered if the professors would allow the scarves to be worn as part of the uniform. The only thing that had ever caused Zia any grief from her professors was that she didn't like to follow the dress code. Wearing the same colors over and over again was just too boring! Why did everoyne have to look the same?!

"Maybe we can make some for the Quidditch teams, too," Zia brainstormed. They'd have to keep those scarves on the simple side -- the players probably wouldn't want roaring and sparkles distracting them from the game. "It might be good advertising," she added as a potential point of logic.

“Especially compared to Italy, I bet,” Lua said dreamily. She could easily envision hoards of people on the coast clad in their bathing suits— dining, shopping, even working that way.

“Yeah, I think with the colors, you could turn patterns into anything. One man’s leaf is another man’s chicken wing.” Even if Lua was a vegetarian.

She didn’t know what made one stitch fit a certain category, but she had heaps of confidence in Zia, whether they ended up with something easy or elaborate. If they went with a simple pattern, it just meant more time to apply their little signatures in the forms of charms and add-ons.

“That sounds great to me. I bet it would really boost their confidence to know all of the people cheering them on are supporting them with scarves, too,” she said warmly. If Lua didn’t understand the aggressive side of sports culture, she could appreciate the team spirit and togetherness the games inspired. She liked that idea that their little business might be of the same energy.

As they settled on the first stitch, for one of their own scarves, Lua began to rifle through her own things and pull out little beads, sparkly knickknacks and other things they could attach to individualize them. “We should probably do the charmwork last,” she advised. “Sometimes I’ll charm a little bead and it'll start hopping or hollering when you pick it up... and it can be tricky to attach. I feel a little guilty, sometimes, like I’m trapping it. But it usually likes its new home!”

"Yeah, I think with the colors, you could turn patterns into anything. One man's leaf is another man's chicken wing."

To be fair, English was not Zia's first language, but her family had moved to England when Zia had been a baby. Either way, Zia wasn't familiar with the idiom that Lua used but she nodded along anyway. Lua was right about the colors -- that was the key to this whole thing. "I have an idea!" Zia had learned a handy spell a while back, one that really helped with her indecisiveness. Or enabled it. Zia picked up her wand and cast a spell on a ball of red yarn to make the string shades of red, yellow, gold, and scarlet. All colors Gryffindor. She did the same thing to the blue ball of yarn for her own scarf.

If there was one thing Zia was handy with, it was spells that involved colors. She had been coloring her hair bubble-gum pink since her third or fourth year, at this point she couldn't remember which since she'd been doing it for so long. Coloring yarn was no sweat for. "What do you think?" she asked Lua, hoping she thought the tye-dye looking yarn was as cool as Zia thought it was.

“We should probably do the charmwork last,” she advised. “Sometimes I’ll charm a little bead and it'll start hopping or hollering when you pick it up... and it can be tricky to attach. I feel a little guilty, sometimes, like I’m trapping it. But it usually likes its new home!”

Yet again, Zia agreed with Lua's assessment. She laughed at Lua's description of her experiences charming beads onto things. "I didn't realize beads had such personality!" Zia laughed. Although she had grown up amongst a large family filled with witches and wizards, the magical world never ceased to amaze her. She picked up the book on crocheting charms and flipped to the page on the single stitch, the easy one that Lua had suggested. "Let's see if we can do this!"

If her strange phrase was confusing, Lua did not seem to notice. Sometimes the words just babbled out, and she assumed that others were following. Zia was a sweet, engaging girl, either way, and so the Gryffindor persisted. Her ears perked up, too, when the Ravenclaw mentioned another idea. Together, they seemed full of them. If only it were so easy to fit them all into a neat exam paper!

Lua’s lips formed an impressed shape as the girl’s wand went to work. The colors unraveled across the yarn, creating colorful house spirit in no time at all. Zia was a genius. “You’ll have to teach me that one,” Lua chirped, springing on her heels and reaching out to touch the charmed yarn. “It’s amazing.” She ran her hand over the soft texture, adoring the trail of colors that changed beneath her finger tips. “We’ll be able to get loads done in no time! Think of all the baby creatures we can save,” she said, as much to herself as to Zia. There was a swooning in her voice. “You could make little sweaters for Bobble.” Because that was what rabbits needed.

“Oh, beads are as diverse as we are,” she promised. And without the sorting hat, they were always a mystery. But then so were humans. Lua wasn’t so sure you could categorize someone with one sentence just because a hat said so. “I have some for meditation, if you want a few,” she added randomly.

Waiting for her older friend to start the crocheting, Lua watched carefully. As Zia began, she tried to mimic the pattern herself, ghosting along in the air with her wand. She didn’t attempt to practice with yarn just yet— she thought they might end up with more than just a cocoon if that were the case. “Like this?” She asked, demonstrating.

Lua reacted positively to the color change Zia made to her yarn and Zia perked up. This was going so well! So far, Lua was making a fantastic business partner. They seemed to be on the same page about everything. She practically teared up at the thought of Bobble with a little sweater -- Zia was definitely going to do that. Bunnies could get cold, right? She didn't want her bunny to catch the sniffles. "That would be so cute," Zia responded, eyes glistening. That was a project for another day, though. It was time to focus on the project at hand. Scarves!

Lua went on to discuss the elusive nature of beads. It was pretty amazing, really. Zia was intrigued. "I had no idea you could use beads for meditation," she said, "But to be honest, I've never really meditated before either." Zia could probably use a little meditation, really. She was a very hyper person who could use a little relaxation.

Zia watched Lua's hand movements out of the corner of her eye as she worked on her own scarf. "Looks good!" Zia remarked. She pulled her eyes away from her yarn for a moment and adjusted Lua's wrist so that the stitches would be a bit tighter. Then she returned her focus to her own scarf, which had gone a bit askew. "Oh Merlin," Zia became flustered and undid a few stitches. She'd have to get a few going at once -- would this require all of her attention, or would she be able to eventually be able to do it in the back of her mind like she did with some other spells? "How's it going for you?" Zia asked after a few minutes of decent progress on her own scarf.

Lua went on to discuss the elusive nature of beads. It was pretty amazing, really. Zia was intrigued. "I had no idea you could use beads for meditation," she said, "But to be honest, I've never really meditated before either." Zia could probably use a little meditation, really. She was a very hyper person who could use a little relaxation.

“Oh, yes, lots of beads means lots of different things! The colors, the patterns, who made them,” she chattered on. “There are lucky ones, too. And then there’s this great shop in Hogsmeade that sells color-changing ones that actually do reflect your mood. You know the mood-changing ones muggles sell can be hit or miss,” she admitted, a little sadly. She didn’t like to think that of people, that they were making money off of a bad product. Her parents, on the other hand, were quick to jump to that point. “Although I guess temperature and mood can be correlated.”

But that was a tangent.

“If you ever want to mediate— or do yoga— let me know!” That was one thing Lua Taylor had patience for.

Both of their efforts were going brilliantly, now. Lua could already envision the mountains of scarves that would make up Hoop Loops. She grinned as Zia undid and redid her stitches; it didn’t bother her at all. She was impressed that the other girl had gotten that far. “Oh, pretty good I think. These colors are really perfect!” She held up a bit of her own, where she was attaching a random bead. “You know, we could also give out biscuits when we sell them. And hugs— only if people want,” she laughed. “I always revisit anyone who gives out free biscuits.”

The theory that beads could be just as unique as humans was especially appealing to Zia, who prided herself on her originality. Growing up in a giant family of beautiful Italian brunettes didn't really allow for someone to stick out -- but Zia believed that her pink hair and her bubbly personality helped set her apart. She wondered what type of bead best represented her. "Which one am I?" she inquired. She wondered if this was how it worked -- maybe there was a bead she'd be particularly attracted to. That one would definitely go on her scarf -- it would bring good luck or something, right?

"I'd definitely give it a shot!" Zia smiled in response to Lua's yoga invitation. Zia was always interested in trying new things, and the whole relaxation thing -- that would come in handy. Zia glanced at the scarf she was making and was happy to see that it was crocheting along much faster than she would have been able to do manually. She wondered how many she could get going at once, but didn't want to get Lua wrapped up in yarn as she had once done to her brother.

"Biscuits-- that would be great" As the thought of biscuits entered her mind, Zia craved a snack. If she was a bit wiser, she would have brought along some food! "Hugs -- well, we'd have to save those for our best customers only," Zia laughed. They'd also have to save their embraces for their least odorous patrons.

“How about this one?” She picked up a presently-apple-green bead. "It’s like a chameleon, you just cast this little charm—” Lua rifled around for a bit of paper that had come with the packet of beads). There was already a default charm on it, but it could be easily tinkered with the simple little spell. “And specify what you want it to blend in and change with, like your hair.” Since Zia seemed to have such brilliant hair, and Lua had no doubt she was brave enough to dye it all sorts of colors, it was a potential match. If one made a bracelet of them, it could be matched to anything and everything. Scarves dotted with them would work much the same way… sort of like matching nail polish, but quicker. “And this one,” she continued, picking up a pastel bead with a tiny, metallic set of white-and-lilac rabbit ears. “The ears move around and do different things, like a bunny’s!” It, too, was like a mood bead.

“Or these…” She picked up two beads, one in the shape of a 1 and the other a 3. “You said you have twelve older siblings, right? Here.” She set the pair down on table so they formed 13. They glinted in the light filtering into the room. “They have runic magic in them.” Lua didn’t know, exactly, what each number stood for.

The promise of another potential yoga recruit made Lua even cheerier, despite the mountain of work realistically ahead. If it was something they enjoyed, it didn’t really feel like work to the Gryffindor. Unlike certain assignments…

Lua could agree to the biscuits-and-hugs policy. She grinned. “I guess our arms will be tired, anyway,” she laughed.

As they continued to discuss the endless combinations of beads, patterns, and colors, the first couple of scarves materialized. Soon enough, she was picking hers up, looping it around her neck and looking around for any sort of reflective surface. “How does it look?” She asked, posing a bit for Zia. Suddenly, the scarf roared.