Today was going to be a beautiful day. Eirene could feel it! After begging her parents for a week, she was finally allowed to spend the afternoon with her best friend, Effie. Even better, she wasn’t just hanging around the neighborhood or inviting herself over to Effie’s house, like she normally did when she had free time. No, she and Effie were exploring Diagon Alley, with very, very little supervision! Eirene’s nanny was almost two whole blocks away!

The bounce in her step came from her sense of adventure as she walked down the cobblestone streets and smiled at all the new things she saw. The breeze ruffled her pinned back hair and caused a few flyaways, which Eirene desperately tried to pat down while staring at her reflection in a shop window, only to be pulled away by an impatient Effie. Eirene prattled on to her friend about very important things during their walk, like how she’d bought a special case for her new wand, a brand new trunk for the fall, and how she’d already started packing and got scolded by her mother for it. Effie didn’t say a whole lot, smile much, or bounce around and skip like she did, but Eirene was used to that, and happy as can be that her friend hadn’t yet told her to be quiet.

Just up ahead, Eirene saw something that made her stop in her tracks and let out a squeal. She promptly clapped her hand over her mouth as Effie gave her a bored look. Eirene pointed a shaky finger at the store ahead of them, patted her friend on the arm, and rushed over to peer in the window. Unlike other children who stuck their faces up against the glass, Eirene kept the tip of her nose a few safe inches away. She didn’t want to catch something, after all.

There were crups in the window! Crups!  Little wriggling balls of cuteness! Eirene giggled and talked to them through the pane of glass as they yipped and shook their tiny butts at her in greeting. They were almost as excited to see Eirene, as she was to see them!

Her parents had told her she could buy one thing, and one thing only today. Eirene, who could be very indecisive, made a quick decision. She was going to get her familiar today. It would be lovable and adorable and expensive, it would never snub her or ignore her, and it would be as loyal to Eirene as she was to her best friend.

She glanced at Effie, who nodded her reluctant assent, and then the two girls walked into the Magical Menagerie together. They were as different in temperament as two girls could be, but they were both there for the same reason: to spend money!


(God-modding approved by Dana)

After weeks of Eriene needing to beg her parents for the privilege her parents so easily gave Effie they were finally out and about in Diagon Alley together. The pairs nannies were behind them but leaving the girls to their own devices. This probably had to do with neither wanting to annoy Effie enough to land themselves in the position of being fired. The last one had been fired for merely mention to Effie’s mother that Effie had been in a fight and alluded to the fact Effie was the one to start it. Effie had not been the one to get her fired her mother did it of her own accord. The new one was apparently a bit for mindful of how she treaded around Effie; perhaps she would be the one to actually make it a few months.

Effie was not exactly listening to her friend, just nodding and making appropriate sounds where she felt the need. Effie often did this as her dear friend often prattled on about things that really were of no concern to Effie. Like the fact she had started packing in her new trunk, or had even bought as case for her wand. Effie did not care, but she of course nodded and reacted as if she did but to an Effie extent. In fact Effie was not even stunned or surprised as her friend let out a squeal of excitement, her expression bored and not at all as intrigued as Eirene. She barely took a step towards the glass just observing the animals from afar.

Effie nodded to choosing this shop to be the one they entered, after all Effie had every intention of getting a cat like her mother promised so why not now? She walked towards the door yanking it open hearing the bell above the door that sent the owls squawking. “Guh,” rolling her eyes as she walked in and headed for the kittens. Effie knew exactly what she wanted and she was going to be very particular about what she chose. She peered into the area that help a few kittens, biting her lower lip as she tried to chose which one she wanted.

“I’m getting a kitten,” she said matter of factly but it was more for Eirene to know she intended not to spend hours wandering the store and trying to chose, she knew what she wanted to have. This was also to say that Eirene best chose quickly because her patience would not last for long once her own kitten choice had been chosen.

Eirene looked all around the shop, eyes wide with excitement and hands clasped together in glee. Her head turned every which way as she stared at the wide variety of fascinating creatures. She’d seen many of them before, naturally, but it was so different now that she knew one lucky animal would be hers! There was only one problem- how to decide? There weren’t enough hours in the day and her choice just had to be perfect.

Eirene’s mind began buzzing, trying to think of the best strategy to go about this, because plans and checklists always made her feel more grounded. Perhaps she could look at the owls first, she thought, starting with the species at the beginning of the alphabet and working her way up to the end. Maybe- Merlin no, rats and toads wouldn’t do. Everyone knew they were for boys! Cats were an option, but oh, how she wanted to look at the puffskeins and the crups! Eirene knew it was against the rules to bring crups to Hogwarts and thought that was very unfair. One crup, with a black patch over his eye, put his front paws over the bin and just looked at her! She grinned at the animal and his tail started wiggling madly.

Feeling overwhelmed, Eirene noticed Effie seemed to know exactly where she was going. Her friend marched over to the cat cages and peered inside them. Eirene automatically hovered closer to her, all the while thinking that maybe what she really needed to do was ask an employee to help. Otherwise, there was no way she could pick-

“I’m getting a kitten,” her friend announced.

“Me too!” Eirene gushed, completely forgetting about the choices she’d been agonizing over moments ago. She stood next to Effie and subconsciously mimicked her stance, glancing at all the little kittens with an appraising eye. Eirene’s heart melted at the angelic adorableness of them all. The kittens looked like large puffskeins, yawning, mewling and purring delicately, some staring at the girls with curiosity while others were more concerned with cleaning their fur.

“Awwww,” Eirene breathed, watching as one cat in the corner rose and arched her back. The cat was tiny, with fuzzy black fur and bright, intelligent eyes. When she was finished stretching she turned her head to gaze lazily at Eirene.

Eirene looked at her friend and pointed towards the black cat. “Look at that one,” she said, voice full of awe. “Isn’t she beautiful?”  

Of course the cat was a girl, because no boy could be that pretty, and Eirene was already trying to think of a name for her. She was the only black kitten in the cage and looked like the cutest one of the lot, too!

There was a din in Diagon Alley that day, as ever. Yet the majority of it was utterly ignorable as it was simply other people walking around and their own excitement showing in their lilting voices when they paused to speak to friends or walked past speaking with their companions. Wilma walked serenely down the Alley, having escaped her mother’s preparations for Wilfred’s return home and staring at her own feet every now and again as though wondering where they were taking her.

She hummed softly under her breath and looked around the Alley, wanting to do anything but prepare for her brother to come back from Hogwarts. She loved Wilfred, certainly she did, but it didn’t mean that she had to be particularly happy to see him. As much as she did love him, there was no denying that Wilfred could be mean at times and Wilma was always loathe to retaliate. It was not her style to be mean back. He usually got over it soon enough and apologized but there were some comments she made that he could not stand.

She continued down the Alley absentmindedly when she suddenly bumped into a large crowd. She blinked her wide eyes and paused to apologize to the person she had hit and to see what they were looking at. It seemed that a new shipment of Crups had come in at the Magical Menagerie and everyone was wanting to watch them play with each other. They were cute, she couldn’t deny that. Her eyes moved up and into the window and she noticed someone she knew was inside.

She carefully picked her way through the crowd and went into the shop, the bells ringing as she did. It was fairly small on the inside and it did not take her long to make her way over to the other girl that she had met just the previous month. “Hello.” She came up behind them and spoke softly, looking at the kittens as well. They were even cuter than the Crups if that was at all possible. They were also quieter. Wilma liked that in an animal.

She peered over at them, her eyes settling on a fluffy white one that looked like he had been cross-bred with an owl before letting her eyes wander to the one Eirene had pointed at. It was cute she supposed, and very cat-like. She much preferred the silly looking one.

Me too echoed behind her words and she was not at all surprised. Of course Eirene wanted to copy Effie she always did and that was made her such an easy mind to sway. That was the benefit of having Eirene as a friend and under her thumb because she could easily make her see what Effie wanted her to see. Effie had been eying the black kitten it was exactly what she had been looking for. It looked stunning and perfect for her. No sooner had Eirene pointed the kitten out did another girl join them. Her eyes darted over the girl carefully sizing her up. Was she really the type of girl just to walk up to someone and talk to them or did she know Eirene? If she knew Eirene then how did Effie not know her? Perhaps this was one of those people her dear friend met when she purchased her wand? Still could the girl not see they were in the middle of an important picking process?

Effie reached forward and picked the black kitten up, it started to squirm a bit in her hold. “He is beautiful and he is mine.” She held up the kitten and did a quick inspection, “Yes it is a he Eirene.” She laughed in that cool heartless laugh of hers, but it was not meant to be in anger towards her friend. Effie began to stroke the kitten’s black fur as she looked at Eirene and barely glanced at the new arrival.

“Pick out your kitten Eirene.” Effie had made her selection and because she had her patience on the matter would begin to dwindle. It appeared her kitten felt somewhat the same as he was still squirming a little. Effie rolled her eyes at the kitten and shifted the way he was held in her arms. “You are a little squirmier aren’t you,” she laughed a slightly warmer laugh. Effie began to run through ideas of what she might name her new pet.

Keegan had found his way to Diagon Alley, again, this time through the use of something called "Flew" or whatever it was. Tulo had gotten his hopes up when she suggested it, making him think he was going to get to ride a broom right off the bat, and then dashed it by handing him a bag of green dust and pointing to the fireplace. She even made him practice going back and forth so his thick accent didn't land him in some random location. It paid off, since he landed safetly (albeit a bit dusty) in the Leaky Cauldron.

Stepping out from the fireplace, sneezing as he did so, Keegan looked around breifly before ruffling his hair. Dustmotes surrounded him in a cloud of pale green and he sneezed again. Deciding against dusting off his clothes, since the sneezes left his head reeling, Keegan decided that they were all right covered in dust. It wasn't like he cared. Besides, he was on a mission to find a 'familiar' so he didn't think it would matter. Unlike humans, animals could care less what you looked like, which was refreshing to say the least.

Jingling the money in his pocket that Tulo had loaned him, Keegan eyed the list of foodstuffs the Cauldron had to offer. They all looked quite appetizing and it took all he had not to just blow his entire allowance on one of each of them. Maybe after he got his familiar, if there was any money left. Maybe he could get a cheap one, like a mouse or something. He pondered the possibilities, drooling a little in the process, as he made his way towards the Menagerie.

When he arrived, he ignored the gaggle of girls giggling at the dog like things in the window and promptly went inside, a bell signaling his arrival. After his eyes got used to the dim light of the shop, they settled on a trio of girls at the counter, two of which he instantly recognized. The spit-haired girl was there and Keegan recalled her being at fault for him getting banned from Ollivanders. This meant they had unfinished business.

He walked up to the trio just as the dark haired girl he didn't recognize told Spithair to pick her pet. Pushing between spits and Wilma, Keegan said loudly "Move over... there are other customers here too you know..." Glancing at Wilma, he followed her gaze to a fluffy white kitten with huge eyes. Reaching over he picked it up and studied it for a moment before shoving it at Wilma "'It looks like you... You should get it..."

Glancing at Spits and the dour looking brunette, he added with a grin, "and that one looks like you Spitz..." as he pointed at a large ugly toad in a nearby tank. "I bet it smells like you too... Though you aren't as slimy today as usual..." He made a move to spit in his hand "Want me to fix your hair?"

Eirene turned at the familiar voice. “Wilma!” She exclaimed with a smile. This was the girl who had been brave enough to hug her after the icky children spat on her in the wand shop a few weeks ago. Eirene had already told the whole story to Effie, making elaborate plans in her head for Wilma to become her second-best friend at Hogwarts. She got second-best, because there was no way anyone could replace Effie. To Eirene, second-best was still a great position, and anyone should be happy to be her friend! She didn’t like to think about the kids in her neighborhood who avoided her, anyway. The only reason she didn’t have many friends was because she simply didn’t have time- or so she liked to believe.

“How are you? Are you getting a kitten too? It’s the smartest choice, you know-“ Eirene gasped suddenly.

“The three of us,” she looked between Effie and Wilma. “Can all have kittens! Together!”

The thrill of this realization faded fast when Eirene saw what Effie had done while she'd been distracted. Effie had picked up the cute black kitten. Her kitten! Her friend studied the cat and Eirene opened her mouth to say something, anything, afraid of what was going to happen next.

“He is beautiful and he is mine.”

Immediately wounded and shocked, Eirene’s mouth popped open, closed, and then opened again. She wanted to protest, to list all the reasons why she deserved the kitty! She’d seen it first! Eirene counted “firsts” to be ever so important. Effie may not have even noticed the cat if she hadn’t pointed her finger at it!

Eirene squeaked, “But!”

Only years of habit and loyalty caused her to leave it at that. Once Effie made up her mind there was little she could do about it.

Eirene kept glancing at Effie, jealousy growing as her friend teased the animal about his squirming and came close to cuddling him. As far as Eirene could remember, the only thing Effie liked to cuddle were her dolls! Maybe this was the perfect cat for Effie, though that didn’t make her feel much better.

What made her feel even worse was the awful boy heading her way. Her eyes went very wide and her nostrils flared as if she was preparing for battle. Eirene reached up to smooth her hair as Keegan approached, unwilling to let him ruin everything again.

He rudely pushed between her and grabbed a sweet white kitten, and then shoved it at Wilma like the brute he was.

Eirene gave a fierce shake of her head when he grinned at her and Effie. As if they were friends!

The cruel things he said next made Eirene step back and try to cover her hair with her hands. She peered over his head, searching for an adult. Where was that nice squib lady when she needed her?

When no suitable adult could be found, Eirene stared down her nose at him and took a deep breath.

“Excuse me, but we were here first. There’s no need for you to butt in.” A part of her wanted to giggle at the word ‘butt’, though she resisted. It would ruin the effect she was going for.

“And don’t you dare touch me. If you can remember, I bought my wand, unlike some people, who were banned from Ollivander’s. Gosh, I wonder who!”

It was an empty threat, but Eirene couldn’t resist rubbing it in his face that she had a wand and he, likely, still did not. Even if he did, Keegan’s wand was inferior because it wasn’t from Ollivander’s!

Plastering on a cheerful smile for Wilma’s benefit, she tried to remember what she’d forgotten to do earlier. Oh yes, introducing the important people.

“Wilma, this is my best friend Effie. Effie, meet Wilma. She’s the nice one from the wand shop." Eirene shot another glare at Keegan and then tried to ignore his smelly presence.

"I think so," Wilma said quietly, but by the time she answered, Eirene had already moved on to her plans for the three of them having kittens together and her excitement at that fact. Eirene's bubbliness was interesting to Wilma, perhaps that was why she sought her out. She had never been around someone so energetic so much of the time. In fact, the majority of the time she spent in silence. Reading, daydreaming and ensuring that she was prepared in case any of the monsters being bred by the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Mysteries tried to take over the Wizarding World.

No matter how much her father tried to persuade her that there were no monsters being bred in the Department of Mysteries, Wilma would not believe him. After all, what else could all that space be used for? Not to mention the fact that the Ministry had already been practicing cross-breeding to create Hippogriffs. Oh yes, she was positive about that. This was why she loved The Quibbler so much. There was no other publication that really told the truth.

Wilma watched as the girl that wasn't Eirene picked her kitten, a lovely little black one. He was very cute, Eirene was not exactly pleased with the girl's choice it seemed, but she wasn't doing anything about it. Did Eirene get treated like that often? Then again, not everyone could have their way all of the time. If this was the case, then there certainly would have been more happy people in the world. There were other kittens, though, a lovely caramel colored one and the grey one with black stripes that was sleeping in the corner was adorable! Perhaps Eirene would choose one of those.

Wilma was jostled to the side slightly as someone pushed through them. She peered at the boy that had pushed between them, noticing that it was the original boy from the wand shop, Keegan. She did hope that he wouldn't cause any trouble today. Poor Eirene had already had to clean all of that spit out of her hair. Wilma didn't like it when boys caused trouble. He seemed to be okay at first, pushing the kitten into her hands that she had been looking at. It did have very large eyes.

She stared into them briefly, wondering if maybe it would tell her something. Cats are highly intelligent, you know. Perhaps she would try and see if she could teach this one how to talk, or maybe she would learn how to speak cat! A small squeak escaped her as she thought of that idea. The idea of speaking cat pleased her, she would have to see if anyone knew how. She was sure someone must have. It was a series of meows, mewls and purrs. To be able to talk to her kitten, well that would be useful, then she could have another friend. She snuggled it to her chest lovingly before settling on holding it with her arms crossed across her chest, his little legs hanging down just barely under her arms.

She had been so busy thinking about how one might learn to speak cat that she had missed whatever Keegan had said to Eirene and only caught the bit about Eirene speaking of how she had her wand. Had she learned to use it already? Was Wilma so far behind? It was a daunting thought, but Wilma was unsure about what else to think. Why else would she mention having it? That had to mean she knew something. Wilma sighed softly and before long was being introduced to Eirene's friend, the dark-haired girl. "Hello. I'm Wilma."

The kitten had stopped squirming and she grinned with pleasure of the fact she had managed to control yet another thing. She looked down at it as she gently stroked the fur of the kitten in a way she hoped to hide this show of affection. She had found her kitten, she had wanted a black kitten and Eirene was just going to have to deal. It would just not do for her to have some tabby cat or a less than elegant kitten. Effie was not listening to Eirene as she tried to despite Eirene, if she had heard the ‘but’ then an angry glare would have been sent her best friends way. When Effie decided she wanted something she was going to get her way and perhaps Eriene was used to that. Effie figured she had trained her friend well.

She was observing her little kitten once more, trying to come up with a strong name for her kitten when another young face appeared in their crowd. First there was the strange girl that Eirene knew, and now there was this dusty boy. He was covered in soot this caused Effie’s nose to wrinkle as she consciously took a step back from him. Apparently someone did not know how to floo and clean themselves up afterwards.

The boys rudeness amused Effie, but only if Eirene had not been in the midst of it as he tried to push her aside to get in. “Other customers? Wow I though you to be for sale, some new sort of hideous animal. Though I see on closer inspection you are just some hideous form of boy.” A disgusted look was still planted on her face as he picked up the fluffy white kitten that was strange in appearance and thrust it into the other girl’s arms. She tried to hold back a laugh at the cruel comment; the thing was weird looking and might resemble the other girl. Effie didn’t feel a true need to defend Eirene’s friend but she would defend Eirene.

A horrified gasp came from her lips as the boy spit in his hand and made actions towards putting it in Eirene’s hair. That was vial disgraceful action. Holding her kitten in one arm she took her steps forward to the boy. “Aren’t you disgusting, I think the toad is more like you. Or perhaps that slimy slug over there.” Effie sneered as she looked him up and down. “Or even worse you are another mudblood.” Even if he wasn’t it would be an insult to a wizard and if he was one then so be it she just called him what he was.

With an annoyed look she turned her attention to Eirene and the other girl apparently named Wilma. “Pleasure to meet you Wilma, I am Euphemia.” Her eyes darting to the boy carefully watching him for retaliation, she did not want to be punched again. To bad she could not use her wand, darn age restrictions. Maybe she would have to resort to throwing a punch like that vial turkey.

“Excuse me, but we were here first. There’s no need for you to butt in. And don’t you dare touch me. If you can remember, I bought my wand, unlike some people, who were banned from Ollivander’s. Gosh, I wonder who!”

Keegan rolled his eyes at Eirenes attempt to taunt him. "Yer sucha scanger... Ya can't use magic yet and ya know it... Tulo told me." He said the last part with pride, pulling to his full height so he towered over the two girls. He would have gone on to tell her that he DID have a wand now, thanks to his mentors connections, and that if she wanted to fight he would show her an awesome levitating spell she had taught him. Unfortunately, before he could go on, the dark haired girl stepped forward and snapped at him, her face twisted up in an ugly expression.

“Aren’t you disgusting, I think the toad is more like you. Or perhaps that slimy slug over there. Or even worse you are another mudblood."

"Eh and so what if I am? Proud of it meself..." He quipped back, a slight frown on his lips. Tulo had explained what a mudblood was to him after the Ollivanders incident and why people like this little scanger said them. His lip curled back in a superb sneer as he added quickly "... Only weak plonkers think words hurt people... No wonder ya friends with 'er" He glanced at Eirene to see her reaction, which he was sure would be dramatic and hilarious, only to be ignored as she pointedly introduced the other girl to Wilma.

“Wilma, this is my best friend Effie. Effie, meet Wilma. She’s the nice one from the wand shop."

“Pleasure to meet you Wilma, I am Euphemia.”

"Euphemia?" Keegan butt in, laughing "... Isn't that that illness ya get when you go out with wet hair? Yer parents musta hated ya to name ya after sumthin like that..." Turning to Wilma, he grinned, shoving his thumb at the two girls derisively "Ya better watch out fer these two Willie... Spitz and Ewwwfie over here might make ya sick if ya are around em much...I am feelin a bit feverish meself already... I might... might.... mi--" And with this, he sneezed violently in their direction, not bothering to cover his mouth at all. It was their germs anyways... what did it matter?

Adley had really only been there to collect Lumi, whose wing had been injured during a particularly stormy flight to Calix. The older Rothwell son had been in Portugal for nearly three weeks now, and Adley had taken it upon himself to inform his brother all about the new wand in his possession. He had wisely and very carefully left out the encounter with the muggle child Mairead, Miss Rocio, and Euphemia.

Speak of the devil.

Standing in queue behind a rotund old man with a patch of ginger hair missing from the shiny crown of his head, Adley whirled around at the sound of the name. Usually sour on the tongue, and thus to the ear, this time Euphemia’s distinguished title was pronounced with a laugh. The voice belonged to a stranger, but Adley was immediately drawn to it.

The boy who was squeezed between Euphemia Grissom-Dolohov and her second most important doll, Eirene Antonopoulos, had sandy hair and the blunt mouth of an Azkaban prison ferryman. He was taller and arguably more formidable than Adley, and was dressed in the same sort of casual muggle garb that Adley had seen filtering into Diagon Alley as of late, as summer crept in and muggleborn children discovered the cobblestoned world behind a little London pub.

And yet, despite their many physical differences—which were so noticeable that they were almost comical—Adley almost found himself smiling at this stranger, who had probably not even spotted the dark-haired child yet, given his preoccupation with the twin terrors and another girl, who were all looming over a pile kittens. Even so, Adley’s own blue gaze shone bright and interested as he covertly appraised the boy with an otherwise somber stance (ironically not unlike Effie’s bored air). Much like the Mairead girl from the wand shop, this one was the sort whom Adley was often drawn to, not least of all because the boy was presently and most expertly antagonizing Eirene.

When pronounced Ewwwfie, suddenly Euphemia’s petname became the most wonderful word in the wizarding world.

Lifting Lumi’s cage from the menagerie floor, Adley slipped out of line with the stealth of a baby safari predator and silently floated to where his best enemy and her tea party were congregated with the unknown boy. The kittens, who were already as insufferable as his two childhood companions fawning over them, went completely without a glance of regard from Adley. (Or, rather, one was fawning, and the other looking ready to catnap or pounce. It could go either way with Euphemia. Just as it could with most cats.)

After he set the cage down again, the line of Adley’s mouth seemed to debate smiling. In the end, it remained a line, but a cooler and less sober one than usual. He was obviously up to no good. He reached into the pocket of his tailored black trousers and pulled out a crisp white handkerchief with the initial A.R. printed upon it. He handed to the boy, staring at him casually through peripheral vision. He’d known as well as the sneezer himself that it was all a show to enrage the girls. And he highly approved and hoped to contribute.

“I’m allergic to them, too,” he murmured, sounding almost bored, but also humored and purposeful. And understanding. It certainly wasn’t the kittens who were the collective culprit. Animal hair, feathers, and dust were blameless in the presence of Effie.

Finally, Adley’s unsettling gaze landed on the other unfamiliar face, the third girl whom he’d assumed was another of Euphemia’s puppets. She was a holding a cat that seemed oddly befitting her weird aura, though Adley knew nothing about her.

Eirene sniffed at Keegan’s use of strange nicknames and tried in vain to ignore them. Ignoring ‘scanger’ was easy because she had no idea what it meant, but every time he called her ‘spitz’ her lips pursed into a thinner and thinner line until they became nearly invisible.

She knew she wasn’t supposed to use magic and she’d never go against the rules anyway, but the fact remained that she had a wand and he did not! Or at least, she thought he didn’t. Surely he would have mentioned it if he’d somehow managed to procure one. Eirene patted her purse, satisfied that her wand was within reach if she needed it. Of course, her wand was wrapped in silk and locked in a pretty wooden box, but it was right there, in her purse, if she cared to use it!

Her best friend Effie soon came to her defense, making Eirene puff up with pride. As Effie called him all sorts of gross slimy creatures, Eirene’s mouth twitched, until finally she couldn’t hold it back anymore. She started giggling and clapped her hand over her mouth, nodding at each insult her friend slung back at Keegan- hideous boy, toad, slug, mudblood- wait! The smile fell from her face and she turned to shake her head at Effie, eyes large and worried.

“Effie!” she protested weakly, unable to look at the boy now.

Keegan didn’t seem to mind one bit and sneered at Eirene again, delivering an insult that made her cheeks flush scarlet. Unsure what to do now that the ‘bad word’ had been spoken, she tried to pretend everything was normal and introduced the two girls to each other. That seemed to go quite well, Eirene thought, until once again Keegan flapped his big mouth.

Oh goodness, no. He was making fun of Euphemia’s name! Nobody did that and survived to tell the tale. Her eyes narrowed and her shoulders tensed when he warned Wilma to stay away from them, as if they were the ones to avoid! There was no contest, Eirene tried to reassure herself, between a smelly, dusty boy who spoke in riddles and two clean, presentable girls who were just trying to look at the kittens in peace. She glanced at Wilma and opened her mouth, wanting to say something clever and funny, but then Keegan made as if he would-

“Accchooooo!!!”

Spittle and snot rained down on the girls like locusts. Eirene let out a loud wail that startled the owls and caused them to flap around in their cages. She wiped hastily at her face, her hair, and her clothes, squealing whenever her hands touched something wet. Eirene stood, shell shocked, as Adley Rothwell appeared out of thin air- where had he come from?- and handed Keegan a handkerchief. Her eyes bugged out of her head in disbelief.

“Excuse me Adley!” She squeaked, a tremble to her voice. “But he is not, he is most certainly not,” she pointed a shaky finger at Keegan, “allergic.”

Eirene let out a dramatic sigh and pursed her lips in fury. Finally, she glared at Keegan again, the spitting, snot-expelling slug!

“I need that more than you do,” she told him stiffly, reaching to try and pluck the handkerchief out of his hands.

Diagon Alley was, without a doubt, one of Oliver’s most favorite places to visit.  Full of a variety of sights, sounds and the seemingly never-ending bustling commotion, this magical domain provided an abundance of not only goods for sale, but music, laughter, and friendly faces, some of which the young boy recognized from his frequent visits with his parents.  Adults clothed in dark- and bright-colored robes and cloaks crowded the narrow street, making maneuvering around them seem almost impossible.

Oliver was doing a pretty good job of keeping up with his mother, who was only a couple feet ahead of him.  Her soft, peach-colored skin was as flawless as her stride, each step followed by a click of her heels against the stone path, which created a steady head-turning rhythm.  Her curly, silken brunette hair cascaded down around her slender shoulders and framed her face perfectly.  Her bright grey almond-shaped eyes twinkled in light of the late afternoon sun.  Her ruby-colored lips were curved in a settling smile that could make a man's heart flutter.  Despite the obvious wedding band she wore on her left hand, she still received quite a few admirable compliments from a number of passer byers.  She said nothing more than a simple ‘thank you’ in return; she was to utmost loyal to her husband, Robert.  Oliver admired her so, and was happy to be on this outing with her to visit the menagerie for some things for his owl, Arown.

“Oli, I’m going go to visit a friend of mine in Scribbulus’s,” she said after they’d arrived at the entrance of the Magical Menagerie.  “Do you remember what we need?”

He thought for a moment then nodded.

“Yeah.  A bag of Crimbuls’s Owl Treats and a new water bowl,” he replied.  She nodded, then planted a soft kiss atop of his head.

“Yes.  I’ll see you in a little while, alright?”

“Okay.”

With that, she set off again, heading towards her friend’s shop.  Oliver waved goodbye, then stepped into menagerie

He’d taken only one step into the building, and was immediately greeted by a variety of different noises.  From chirping to the voices of the shopkeepers, he could tell that the Magical Menagerie was one of the - if not the - loudest store in Diagon Alley.  Animals of all types, shapes and sizes lined the walls and even a few of the aisles.  Every single one was kept in a confinement of some sort, but from what he could tell, were well-taken care of.  He shot a glance around the room, taking note of the small group of children who seemed to be in the midst of a conflict with another boy.  Under any other circumstances, Oliver would have happily introduced himself to them.  However, by the looks of things, their plight with the boy seemed to have only begun.

The shelf that housed both the feeding bowls and owl food alike was a little less than five feet away from where the assemblage of children stood.  He kept his gaze pasted on the shelf, but remained wary the other boy whom he’d now come to realize was in fact bothering the others.

(( Dana gave me permission to post before her in order to facilitate her next response :3))

Eirenes reaction was classic and Keegan couldn't help but grin as she attempted to wipe away his spit from her face and hair. She really DID earn the nickname spitz now. He would never let her live it down. As he waited for her to come out of her shell shocked coma with some ear splitting whine, someone new appeared by his side and, to his surprise, a hand offered him a handkerchief.

Glancing towards the new boy, Keegan viewed him cautiously for a moment. He was dressed well, and in that weird wizarding fashion that people like Ewwfie and Spitz wore rather then normal clothes, so he had to be the same kind of 'pureblood' as they were. But the mere fact he was offering Keegan and not the spit stained Eirene or Euphemia the handkerchief immediately warmed Keegan towards him. Besides, he was also the first boy he had any real interaction with since he had come to this new world. What cemented it though, and encouraged him to accept the boys offer, was what he said next.

“I’m allergic to them, too,”

At first Keegan thought he was talking about the cats, but it dawned on him a moment later that he was refering to the vile little girls. With a grin, he accepted the cloth and went to wipe his face, saying with a smirk "Yeah... and the smell doesn't help either." Eirene chose that moment to squeal at the newcomer in horror, revealing that his name was Adley, and accused Keegan of definitely not being allergic before turning to him and demanding he give her the handkerchief.

“I need that more than you do,”

Keegan, who was several inches taller then Eirene, held the cloth aloft the moment she swiped her grubby little hands at it. Dangling it just above her reach, he chuckled "Are ya suuuuuure ya want it? It might have my mudblood germs alllll over it..." As if to seal the deal, Keegan brought the hankercheif to his nose and blew into it noisily. It was rude, considering it was that other guys, but he figured he would get him a new one later. Besides, this was a chance too good to be turned down for a lousy peice of cloth.

Squishing the now soiled cloth into a ball, Keegan turned his gaze towards the fuming Effie, his grin wicked "... Looks like she needs it more, don't you..." He said, tossing the snot filled rag at her, adding her drawn out nickname maliciously "...Ewwwwwfie?"

Effie was fuming and this boy was lucky she could not use magic or else she would have hexed him silly. This dust ridden mudblood was insulting her, and that was not something she would stand for. Her eyes snapped to Eirene, “What he is a filthy mudblood, worse than a squib.” Effie had been raised by old standards and it was what she believed but then what would you expect from a Dolohov child. “If I could do more than spew words at you I would!” Darn laws against underage wizardry. Her anger towards the laws and this boy still raged as he went as far as to call her some sort of cold. Her name was not a plague or an illness it was her name a strong name. How are he insult her?

Her mood was not going to get any better by the appearance of that thing referred to Adley made her mood sour. “Rothwell,” she grumbled as she adjusted her hold on her kitten, but her mood was so fuming that she turned to Eirene. “Hold this,” she said in an angered tone as she shoved her kitten into her friends hands. “I have been allergic to you long before you were to me Adley.” She sneered as she looked at him, how dare he insult her in such a way.

The smell! Effie felt her blood begin to boil and her fist clench. Apparently she could learn something from a muggleborn after all. As Keegan blew his nose into the handkerchief she felt her lips purse into anger as she watched it tossed at her. “YOU VIAL CREATURE!” Effie shouted loudly at the boy and acted on animal instinct. Without much thought she lunged at the boy throwing a punch to his face and spitting on him in the process. “DO NOT CALL ME THAT!” She screamed all proper etiquette and training out the door with her temper and anger. Why could she not use her wand and she had to resort to her fists like some common child? If she had her wand she would cause him great pain and harm. Burns or cuts, excruciating pain or something! Effie wanted to inflict all kinds of pain on this vial boy.