Fifteen to Seven

When he had lunch with River and Kia, Frank had gone through a range of emotions while sitting at the small table. It was awkward in bits, which was normal for Frank. He had tried a joke or two, they didn’t work out. The positive that came out of it, the biggest thing, was the planning of a welcoming home dinner party for a Miss Margaret Groust. Frank remembered the younger Hufflepuff, and recalled being lucky enough to not be on her grumpy side. At least not excessively so…

Frank was rather surprised of that, more so looking back on it than then. He was still pretty clumsy, but he was a bit worse then, still growing and getting used to the longer limbs. The important thing was that he recalled Margaret easily and with a smile on his face, so it wasn’t a bad memory. He’d been quick to propose the idea of a dinner where they all got together; a bunch of Hogwart veterans meeting up to welcome back someone to England! Plus, there’d be food…

Once he’d gotten the okay from Kia, and had pestered River to come as well, Frank had thought of a few places he liked to eat at. He finally settled upon ‘Signature,’ a nice place in Hogsmeade. It had a nice atmosphere, at least, and could require a little dress up. Overall, he was more satisfied with the food than what it would entail to get a small get together set up. It was important, to him, that while the atmosphere be nice and relaxed, the food be equally as pleasing. Otherwise, why go to a restaurant to eat?

And he’d made sure he tried it just to ‘double check.’ Once he’d decided on Signature over the other couple of ideas, he’d sent out the information to Kia. As soon as the owl left with his letter, he’d picked up the phone (his parents didn’t like using owls, and were hard pressed to stay as muggle as they had their whole life) and dialed Akiva. After forcing a confirmation that she would come and be there, he’d let her go to make sure all other arrangements were taken care of.

It was rather exciting, oddly enough. It was something different than what he was used to doing, and with work keeping him stuffed in a boring office for now, he was looking for anything to dive into. He booked an area in the restaurant for the small party, and arrived early so that everything was set up just so. A small cake was being kept in the kitchen for later, and Frank set his little gift out. Luckily the restaurant had taken the privilege away from him and set up the area. It was lucky because he probably would have created a mess instead of making it look presentable.

Turning his head towards Akiva, biting his lower lip, his eyes stayed on the tables. “It look all right?” Thinking on that, he looked down at himself, running his hands over his shirt before moving to roll the sleeves up. The silk black collar shirt was a bit stuffy, buttons done up all the way to his neck with a nice black tie with white and dark yellow stripes scattered along it; it was nice and pressed, but Frank was all ready feeling a little anxious about spilling something on it. The dark gray trousers were nice and comfortable, at least, and the silver buckle belt was nice and shiny.

In the midst of undoing his cuff, he realized that perhaps he shouldn’t be so unformal so soon. Biting his lower lip, running a hand over his freshly shaven cheeks, he glanced back at Akiva again, pointing to his sleeves. “Do I have to keep them down?” He’d all ready taken the overcoat off; he was stuffy enough as it was. Moving his hands to his waist, he pulled at his trousers a bit, making sure he felt all right. Once he was comfortable, his hands rested once again on his waist, admiring the location. “Yeah… it looks all right.”

When Frank called her, Akiva did not actually intend to go out with him and his other friends.  She wasn’t part of the Hufflepuff club, and she was a lot older than some of them too, it made her feel like a chaperone sometimes.  But, he asked her and she had tried to decline: no excuse meant she was going.  That meant finding something to wear and helping him with everything else.  Thankfully he seemed to take up the responsibility quite willingly, and she was here for moral support.

Finding something was hard enough, considering most of her clothes were fit for work rather than play, or stained from various trips to edit and revise for a certain mad scientist, so it was a wonder when she found a dress she had worn to a wedding the previous year, and it still fit.  Thankfully it wasn’t an awful bridesmaid dress or anything, and teal actually complimented her skin and blonde hair. 

When she had met Frank for this evening he was looking quite nervous.  He cleaned up well though, and she made sure to make mention of it.  It would put him at ease, and the whole thing was looking good.  He appeared to have it all set up nicely and had told them just the right way to do it.  Casting a sideward glance at him, Akiva smiled, he looked absolutely petrified for some reason.  Perhaps she would ask him afterward: for now she didn’t want to upset his already shaken self.

“It look all right?”

The puppy sort of searching for approval look on his face was enough to just make Akiva chuckle and shake her head a little.  “It looks great, Frank, really,” she reached up to pat his arm in congratulations, “you did a fantastic job here. You look pretty good too,” she smiled, reaching around the front of his body to straighten his tie again – Frank was just a man askew, his clothes followed suit.

She made sure to check there was no one looking before she did, of course, and was satisfied when she was finished, quick like a bunny, so as to not embarrass him.  Something told her that this was very important for him to ask her to come and to put out all of this effort.  Perhaps he had a crush on this girl during Hogwarts and wanted to make a good impression now that she was back?  Interesting theory, she thought, shaking her head as he questioned about his sleeves.

“Please do,” she smiled sympathetically, “maybe after a half hour or so you can roll them up.  Match your perfect scenery,” she giggled and rubbed his shoulder, “look like a stud for now then blind everyone with your muscular forearms when they’re least expecting it.” She winked at him playfully and rubbed her hands together before playing with the grey strand of pearls around her neck.  “So who exactly is going to be here?”


The outfit

"Stop fidgeting, we are almost there..." Kia whispered fiercely at Maggie, clasping her hand as it reached for the blindfold carefully wrapped around her eyes. Returning it to it's previous location on her hips, the two girls did a weird mamba line/duck walk towards the entrance of Signature. Kia had put Maggie behind her, with her hands on her hips, so that there were no worries about tripping or bumping into things and ruining her outfit. After the 2 hour makeover session that Kia just put her friend through, it would be pretty disheartening for her to mess up her look. The fact that the sleek black dress Maggie was wearing was Kia's didn't escape her memory.

Despite attracting many strange looks, and giving out many nasty ones, Kia and Maggie made it to the entrance of the club without any major catastrophes. The sight of the rather plain front end made Kia pause for a moment, concerned. She had trusted Frank with finding the location for the party, with the exact instructions to avoid crowded and smelly pubs. Having never been to Signature before (In fact, she had never heard of the place), Kia was understandably wary of any place in Hogsmeade and with such a common pub facade. Biting her lip, she vowed to kill Frank if he had screwed up such a simple request. "Come on... Let's go in..."

Her opinion changed, however, when they entered. Gone was the simple and small cottage. It had just been a clever facade for a much larger and much much more elegant interior. In fact, Kia felt unworthy to even enter. Her clothes, as well kept and up to date as they were, were cheap next to a lot of the girls she saw on their way to the restaurant. Maybe a pub wouldn't have been so bad.... No, she told herself, this is for Maggie. It has to be nice. Forcing a small smile, Kia looked over her shoulder to make sure her friend was all right and said "We are almost there..."

Thankfully, finding the lanky and somewhat disheveled (despite being nicely dressed) Frank was easy enough. Jutting out her chin, Kia pushed her way through the crowds, dragging the poor Maggie behind her. Once she got to what turned out to be a couple as opposed to just Frank, Kia felt another knot form in her stomach, similar to the one that was there when she first saw the place. She recognized Ms. Katz from the Ministry, but she didn't know her well. She also didn't know why she was there. Obviously Frank invited her, but why? Kia just hoped it wasn't because Akiva was his girlfriend. If she was, Maggie would be hurt and the party would be ruined. Kia may not have been the type to meddle in her friends romantic lives, but she had secretly hoped that Maggie and Frank would hit it off that evening.

Giving Frank a look, as though she were trying to say 'The hell man!' Kia then offered the blond a small smile. She could only hope for the best now. Maybe she would be lucky and they would just be friends. River was also absent she noticed. She did hope he would be coming along soon. Pulling Maggie forward, she said with a rare and excited smile "Presenting the elusive Miss Margaret Groust!". Pushing Maggie in front of her, she pulled the silk scarf from her friends face.


<sub>Godmodding was approved by Elle

Maggie and Kia's outfits</sub>

Margaret felt like a penguin on stilts, stumbling around on the rough, uneven sidewalk, guided only by Kia’s voice and her hands on her hips. She wondered whose idea it had been to blindfold her- oh wait, Kia’s, of course. Just like it had been Kia’s idea to sit her down in the electric chair earlier and give her a makeover. Two hours! Two hours of torture.

Her heel caught on something and she swore. “This better be worth it,” she grit her teeth to hide a sudden nervous smile. Butterflies fluttered- or more accurately, chickens with their heads cut off ran amok in her stomach. Maggie could feel her palms sweating. She would have rubbed them off on her dress, but the dress was very nice and fancy looking, and Kia might just kill her. It was one of the few things in her friend’s closet that fit her well. Snugly, but well. Maggie had refused to use a stretching charm on any of the clothes thrown at her earlier because she didn’t want to ruin anything. Plus, she’d felt like being stubborn and difficult.

The worst part of the makeover hadn’t been the hair, or the makeup, but the evil device called tweezers that Kia had taken to her eyebrows. Maggie, of course, did not lose the battle of wills gracefully, but her best friend was used to her snappish attitude. Otherwise, Kia would have done more than swat at her when Maggie’s first comment upon looking in the mirror had been, ‘I think there’s too much eye shadow.’

“Stop fidgeting, we are almost there…” Kia whispered at her, her voice cutting through the noise on the street easily. Some jerk wolf whistled at them and she gave him the finger before her friend could see.

Finally, Maggie heard that they had arrived, though the note of wariness in Kia’s voice didn’t escape her attention. She frowned and allowed herself to be led in without comment. The moment she stepped inside she felt the air grow a little warmer. Her heels now clicked on solid ground, surprisingly smooth and non-sticky for a bar floor. What kind of place was this? The bodies smashed around her even smelled expensive, and their voices had that ‘I’m so bored’ quality.

Margaret ignored the snickers and focused on staying upright as Kia dragged her to the bar- at least, it sounded like it, with the clinking of glasses. Suddenly, her friend announced her presence and pulled the blindfold off, leaving Maggie to blink around dumbly for a few moments as her eyes adjusted.

The blur in front of her materialized into a very handsome young man- score! He wore a black shirt and a tie with subtle Hufflepuff colors. She looked into his face and found an anxious smile and puppy dog eyes.

“Wow, is he for me?” Maggie chuckled and nudged Kia, commenting loudly enough for him to hear. Frank looked quite nice, to put it mildly. She’d almost been worried that her memory of him wouldn’t live up to the present.

A genuine grin spread across her face. It faltered slightly when she saw the somewhat familiar woman standing close by. Margaret reminded herself to be nice- her friends had clearly gone to a lot of trouble for her. The place was definitely upper class and she tried to ignore the insecure feeling that she didn’t belong.

“Hey, I’m Mags,” she introduced herself to her with a casual nod. “This place is really something. Impressive,” she added and raised her eyebrows- her elegant, sculpted, still-recovering-from-the-pain eyebrows. Maggie smoothed out her hair, which felt funny now that she had no blindfold, and wondered if anyone else planned to arrive. She and Kia had spent so much time gossiping about Frank that she hadn’t bothered to ask.

River couldn’t believe it, he had finished work early. Usually he would stick in front of his desk for three more hours, trying to perfect his reports while Tamis Raynor screams at him. What made him come early was the infamous Homecoming Party for Maggie and River didn’t want to be late. First, River was a geek, he hated parties. He would rather stay at home, cooking or reading. Margaret Groust had been a good friend of his; they had spent a lot of times together. She was the only one he trusted and had told about his ‘cooking talent’ (although accidentally). So, because Maggie was that important, he had agreed.

Wearing a more casual outfit than usual and leaving his eyes without glasses, River exited the ministry building. For once, he thought he looked quite nice. He had a neatly warped present on his right hand. Rather than using fancy colors, he had warped his present for Maggie with a dull brown paper. River had decided to give Maggie a good book to read, because he was that boring.

He then apparated to his destination, ‘Signature’. The place was rather nice and River could see some of his friends from his spot. River took a deep breath; he entered the restaurant and hoped that everything would go smoothly. Kia had talked about getting Frank and Maggie together. Those two people were like a snail and salt, Maggie being the salt of course. There was only slim chance of a romantic relationship between them. Well, it wasn’t his business, so he tried not to think about it.

The first thing he saw was Kia. She looked beautiful as usual and some men had been looking at her as well. River then saw Frank with a hideous tie, a blonde, and an excited looking woman in black boots. He narrowed his eyes at the scene, but came to them anyway.

“Good afternoon.” He greeted in his usual flat tone. 



outfit

“It looks great, Frank, really… you did a fantastic job here. You look pretty good too.”

Grinning at the compliment, he nodded and turned his attention back to the area, very pleased with it. “Yes I did.” Raising an eyebrow at her other compliment, he turned his attention to her a moment before his amused expression turned into slight horror—she was fixing his clothes. Rolling his eyes, he let her straighten it and let out a loud sigh. “Maybe I was going for the disheveled look…” It was more of a grumble than anything, and once she was done, he rolled his shoulders and stood up taller.

“Please do… maybe after a half hour or so you can roll them up. Match your perfect scenery… look like a stud for now then blind everyone with your muscular forearms when they’re least expecting it.”

Another roll of his eyes accompanied him as he redid his cuffs; he’d gotten ahead of himself in undoing them, clearly. “Muscular forearms… you’re just being facetious now.” Crossing his arms over his chest and sighing, he looked over the area once more. It was just about ready, certainly. Was it so bad that he wanted an old friend, and Hufflepuff no less, to have a great welcome back party? He didn’t think so.

“So who exactly is going to be here?’

Blinking and turning back to her, Frank frowned slightly as he thought about it. “You, me, Kianna Ferris. She’s the quiet girl, pretty though. River was pestered into showing up… so he might. And then Maggie!” Grinning at that, Frank undid his arms from across his chest. “The one we’re having a party for! She’s fantastic.” Well, what Frank could remember… He didn’t see any reason why his assessment of the girl was wrong.

A waiter came by and asked if they needed anything else. Glancing over it, he rubbed his chin and shrugged. “A bottle of red wine?” Moving over to the list of them, he was a bit helpless with figuring out which one to pick. Glancing to Akiva, raising an eyebrow, he held out the list. “Go ahead, pick one.” He couldn’t say the line ‘Give me your most expensive bottle on hand, good sir,’ like in the movies… If he could afford that, plus the dinner, he would. Frank had a sinking feeling that the most expensive bottles would cost many times over what he would pay for the dinner, anyway.

Turning around, his eyes happened to gloss over the two heading towards their area, then came back quite quickly. A girl in a blindfold… then he saw the woman guiding her and grinned, waving at her. The look she gave him made his grin stop and his hand fell back to his side. What was that for? Glancing over himself, he didn’t think anything was out of place. Maybe it was the fact he didn’t have his jacket on? Cursing himself silently, he tried to get his grin back on his face for Maggie, though now he was a bit apprehensive she would see the lack of jacket and be irritated as well.

Why couldn’t he have chosen somewhere not so… great? At least then he could have worn a nice shirt and jeans and it would’ve still been a great environment. Resisting the urge to loosen his tie, he could feel the faint blush tingeing his cheeks. A little wine now would be great.

“Presenting the elusive Miss Margaret Groust!”

Frank had been able to admire how nice she looked (minus the blindfold, of course), and couldn’t help but surmise that she had turned into quite the beautiful young woman. She had always had a cute face at Hogwarts, but he had been a bit older than her… anything else that he might have observed hadn’t been because he was a gentleman in many respects.

“Wow, is he for me?”

A laugh escaped from his lips and his cheeks went from just a hint of red to full on. Thankfully the lights were a bit low, right? Rubbing the back of his head, Frank took in a sharp breath and grinned. He took a step forward to give her a hug, welcoming her back, when she seemed to focus on Akiva. Stopping a bit awkwardly, he glanced back at his friend.

“Hey, I’m Mags.”

Suddenly feeling as if he shouldn’t step forward and give her a hug now, wondering if the moment had passed, Frank frowned slightly and stood up straighter, turning his expression back to Margaret. “Ah, this is Akiva Katz. The only woman, aside from my mum, to be able to put up with me.” Winking at his best friend, he was glad to see the waiter brought back the wine. Frank could be such a man and not see what his words could be taken for.

“This place is really something. Impressive.”

Seeing River coming over, Frank lifted a hand and waved at his friend, grinning wide. Perhaps now was when he should get the wine… “It’s a nice getaway.” River looked nice and casual, at last. When he came over, Frank decided to wait until everyone was reacquainted.

“Good afternoon.”

“Hey River.” Grinning warmly, Frank moved over to the table where the waiter was filling up glasses of wine. Taking a couple at a time to the group, he finally kept one for himself and waited until the greeting was over with. Holding up the glass for a toast, he gave Margaret a wide grin. “To having you back to the island… welcome home.” Hopefully the wine would give reason for the blush to go away. Waiting to see if anyone else wanted to add a toast on to it, he held his glass out to clink with everyone when all was said.

Akiva knew that look almost immediately.  This girl really must have been something for him to have to have her help him with this and all the nervousness.  She hoped he was worth his time; after all, Frank was special and deserved that kind of thing.  She was more than happy to help him with all of this.  Rolling her eyes at him, she could only laugh. “I’m serious – all of those heavy books.  You’re looking buff these days,” she winked, glancing at the waiter who approached them.

Frank obviously had no idea what he was doing and Akiva nodded to take the menu.  She felt a bit like an event planner for this.  But, since it was for Frank and he needed the help, she was glad to do it.  “You worry about how it looks for the millionth time and I’ll handle this,” she smiled at him, walking a bit off with the waiter to discuss the different options.  Finally deciding on something in the midrange, she didn’t want to drain Frank’s pockets, but she knew he didn’t want anything super cheap either.

With that in mind, she smiled at the waiter and pointed out what they would like and said they would take two bottles, after that, she would gauge where they were at.  Of course, if they didn’t go through that much, then they wouldn’t have to pay for the second bottle, she was assured, but it was a nice provision.  Turning to explain that to Frank, she was surprised that the others in the party were arriving.  It seemed, by the goofy look on Frank’s face, he was quite excited about it.

She pegged the dark haired girl as Kianna Ferris, she had seen her at the ministry (she didn’t appear thrilled when her eyes set on the blonde), and the woman being led in the blindfold was, no doubt, Miss Groust, the ‘wonderful’ girl.  She seemed pretty, even if her face was covered by the blindfold.  Frank would be goofy over her.  Perhaps Akiva could help!  She liked that idea quite a bit, and she smiled toward him, he looked beside himself. 

She couldn’t help but laugh at her summation of the set up, Akiva covered her mouth with her hand, amused at the whole situation.  Frank seemed to want to get in a hug, but she was surprised by the introduction Frank gave – that didn’t sound very promising!

“Ah, this is Akiva Katz. The only woman, aside from my mum, to be able to put up with me.”

“I’m basically his adopted big sister,” she butted in quickly, a reparative grin taking the place of the look of worry that had just been plaguing her face.  “Someone’s got to keep tabs on him for his mum.  Nice to meet you Maggie, I think we might have met at Hogwarts.  Nice to see you too, Kiana,” she added with a smile, glancing at Frank to see if he realized what an idiot he was: of course he didn’t. 

Thankfully, the wine arrived and Akiva could see to something other than the party.  She didn’t know them all very well, she saw River once and a while and knew of Kiana, though didn’t know her well (she seemed to take an immediate dislike to Akiva and she felt a little uncomfortable), she wanted to see how Frank acted around Maggie anyway.  That interested her the most.  She took her glass and smiled into the group, but standing a bit off to the side (she wasn’t the main focus here), raising it to Maggie.  “Welcome back,” she chirped amongst the din of congratulations, tilting the fine glass inward before taking a sip.

“Wow, is he for me?”

Kia let out a little chuckled, pleased that not only was Maggie happy, but she seemed excited to see Frank. And his blush told Kia that he was just as happy to see her. At least, she thought he was, until he opened his mouth to introduce Akiva.

“Ah, this is Akiva Katz. The only woman, aside from my mum, to be able to put up with me.”

Kia's eyes widened as she stared in horror at Frank, unable to believe that after he had been so excited to see Maggie that he actually had a girlfriend. She couldn't even look at Maggie in fear that her friend now hated her for this. Thankfully, Akiva cut in before Kia melted into her shoes.

“I’m basically his adopted big sister, Someone’s got to keep tabs on him for his mum.  Nice to meet you Maggie, I think we might have met at Hogwarts.  Nice to see you too, Kiana,”

"Yeah you too" Kia said quietly, almost inaudibly, as she offered Akiva a weak smile. She felt pretty stupid for the glare earlier and looked away from the pretty woman awkwardly. She really needed to learn how to not jump to stupid conclusions lest she ruin a situation, much like she had on this one. A moment of silence settled on her and she tried to make herself smaller, looking around for a hole to climb into. Thankfully, River took that moment to appear.

“Good afternoon.”

"River... Thank Merlin" Kia murmured, smiling lightly at him as she gave him a small nod of greeting. Between the two of them, they could keep Akiva busy while Frank and Maggie reconnected. Kia probably could have done it herself, but she had a sneaking suspicion that the blond was wary of her. She probably overdid the glare earlier. It would be awkward after that, so she was thankful River decided to come. This wasn't his sort of thing, hell it wasn't her sort of thing, and she could only imagine what he would be like once he got some wine in him. Speaking of wine, she watched as Frank went and retrieved some glasses, handing them out before raising one in a toast.

“To having you back to the island… welcome home.”

 “Welcome back,”

"To Maggie" Kia said as she raised her glass, tapping it's crystal rim lightly against the others so that a soft melodic chime rang out. Careful not to slosh what was probably expensive wine, Kia took a long sip of it. Wincing slightly against the flavor, since she had never really been much for wine, Kia swallowed quickly before her tastebuds caught up with her. Maybe after she had eaten something it would be better. Setting the glass down on the table next to her, Kia pulled Maggie into a side hug "I dunno about the others, but I got you a little something..." She released the poor girl before pulling out her purse and digging around in it for the small package. Producing a leather box tied with a blue ribbon, Kia presented it to her.

The Gift

It took a moment for River to realize the woman in black boots was indeed Maggie. She had changed a lot. River didn't remember the last time Maggie had put on some make up or dressed formally. "You look nice, Maggie."

"River... Thank Merlin"

"Hi." He greeted and gave Kia a small smile. River sat on one of the seats and greeted everyone in the group with a simple nod. Sitting rather comfortably, his eyes quickly went to the glass of wine in front of him. River eyed it warily; after what he had done to Jason Marren's shirt a couple days ago, he didn't want to deal with alcohol for the rest of his life. He wanted to order something else, but it was too late. They were preparing for toast and River, in doubt, raised his glass as well.

"To Maggie"

River pretended to drink his wine and put the glass down a little bit too fast. He hoped nobody had noticed his awkward behavior. He silently called the waiter and asked for a glass of water instead (in whisper, of course). River then sat back and took some time to see everybody's faces. Frank was grinning as usual, Kia looked more excited than usual, and Maggie seemed to be happy as well. His light brown eyes stopped at the unnamed beautiful blond who was sitting next to Frank. River thought hard to remember her name. Maybe he was thinking a little too hard because he was now glaring at her rather mercilessly, as if she had picked the wrong wine.

"I dunno about the others, but I got you a little something..."

"I got you something as well." He said and then he gave her his gift. River wished the ice would melt soon and they could talk like the had used to be.

Margaret could be a bit dense sometimes. She could have at least hugged Frank when he moved forward, but her attention had completely refocused on his potential date and the introduction that followed. Her facial expression soured quickly, as if someone had just spit in her wine.

Thankfully, Akiva corrected his blunder and then River arrived. She stared at him for a moment, not recognizing him until he spoke.

“Hey River,” she greeted her friend and hugged him lightly. “It’s only because Kia made me dress up,” she teased, in response to his compliment. “Did she give you a makeover too? I bet yours didn’t take two hours.” He had definitely undergone a transformation since she’d seen him last. Despite the lack of glasses and braces, he still seemed like the same old River- geeky, reserved, a bit stiff. She was glad he hadn’t changed too much. Maggie had missed those long, awkward pauses in their conversations.

Margaret, embarrassed but secretly pleased by the toasts and attention, took a sip of wine and hoped her face wouldn’t betray her. She always got splotches on her cheeks when she felt emotional, and alcohol didn’t help. Whoever had picked the wine had done well, though. After being dragged to numerous wine tastings, and even one disaster where she had to ‘help’ make the wine, she’d developed a begrudging respect for it. Of course, Maggie could never tell which wines were expensive or not, and she refused to do the weird smell-swishy thing with the glass, but she didn’t make nearly as many funny faces as she used to. Kia, on the other hand, scowled slightly and River discreetly ordered a glass of water. Maggie hid a smile, happy to be home.

When her best friend hugged her and presented her with a gift, Maggie opened it and gave her a ‘you shouldn’t have!’ kind of look. She held it up to the light, admiring the intricacy of the bracelet and the flower charm.

“Mmhmm, sure… just a little something, my foot.” She bent her head down and took some time to clasp the bracelet around her wrist, hoping that the lump in her throat would go away as she did so. “Thank you,” she told her gruffly, looking up again and giving Kia’s arm a grateful squeeze.

Then River handed her a brown package. “You too?! River!” Maggie exclaimed, shaking her head at them and rolling her eyes dramatically. “Honestly. It’s enough that all of you are here.”

She opened the package and found a book. The title made her chuckle. A Homebody’s Guide- Create all the best travel sites with illusionary magic! Bonus: avoid Floo mishaps, broom burn, and strange foods.

She read the title aloud. “I think he’s trying to tell me something.” Maggie set the book down and took a seat at the table, noticing the elaborately folded napkins and the amount of utensils at each setting. She glanced at her friends and wondered who had taken the time to plan all this, and then crossed her arms when her stomach let out a loud growl.

“I’m serious – all of those heavy books. You’re looking buff these days.”

His eyes rolled and his grin came back to his lips, though it really hadn’t left throughout the exchange. “Who knew carrying books could give you such awesome forearms. Yours are looking pretty nice as well, Akiva.” Sticking his tongue out at her, he fixed his cuffs and made sure his shirt was tucked in nice and neat. He wanted the night to go nicely; if any old friend came back, Frank would want their welcoming back party to be nice and enjoyable.

“You worry about how it looks for the millionth time and I’ll handle this.”

Letting out a grumble, his eyes darted over the set up, suddenly worrying that she’d said that because something was amiss. Surely it was all there… glasses and silverware for when the cake came out… menus for if they wanted to order meals. He was all ready planning on a round of firewhiskey shots for everyone. Grinning at that thought, he rubbed his chin and nodded again. It would be a nice evening, he was sure of it.

“I’m basically his adopted big sister… Someone’s got to keep tabs on him for his mum. Nice to meet you Maggie, I think we might have met at Hogwarts. Nice to see you too, Kiana.”

Frank had thought what he had said was funny and didn’t think anything was wrong with it. He couldn’t be faulted for being a testosterone driven person, could he? Those sort of comments made sense in his head, and he hadn’t thought that it could be taken a different way. At least Akiva was there, a bit smarter than him in awkward social situations he seemed to stumble upon, and helped explain it a bit. He did glance at her and frowned a bit, as if to say she didn’t need to explain. He thought it was just backtracking to what he’d said.

“To Maggie.”

When everyone toasted her, Frank grinned and clinked glasses around, taking a hearty gulp. Holding his glass after, he watched as Kia pulled out a gift, and then River did. Suddenly he had doubts about what he had gotten her. He recalled her writing a lot at school, and had assumed she still did it. The free writing quill had been a spur of the moment thought, something he’d always been curious about more but didn’t find the use of one as pressing as others might. Why get something to write what you want when you don’t write down too much to begin with? That with a pocket sized, leather bound pad of parchment, Frank had thought it would be enough. Then he saw what Kia got her.

“Mmhmm, sure… just a little something, my foot.”

Maybe Frank wasn’t recalling the same Margaret Groust… Or maybe she’d grown up more in the years since he’d last seen her. Rubbing the back of his neck, sipping his wine, he watched as she put the bracelet on, smiling as he glanced towards the others. Then she seemed a bit surprised with River’s gift, and Frank started to wonder if he’d overstepped the line by getting her a gift. Feeling that awkward feeling settling above his gut, he tried to brush it off with more wine.

At this rate, he was going to be the first one dancing out on the floor.

“I think he’s trying to tell me something.”

Grinning at the title, Frank gave River a raised eyebrow look, as if to say ‘nice.’ His glass was empty now, but he decided not to refill it yet. He’d been silly and hadn’t eaten since midday. He didn’t need the alcohol to go straight to his head so quickly… Frank wanted to last a bit. As everyone started to sit down, Frank took a seat near Maggie, feeling silly for having not pushed the gift he’d gotten her forward. Then her stomach grumbled, and he didn’t know if he should make it known, or just give it to her later before they all went home.

However… he couldn’t disagree with the hunger, and he wistfully rubbed his lightly. “I’m a bit hungry myself. What appetizers would you guys like to get?” Leaning back in his chair, the waiter came around and refilled everyone’s glass (except River’s, Frank noticed; he’d have to give him a hard time soon). The man stopped and took a couple of orders before heading off to fill them. “How’s it being back?” He thought he could keep the conversation going. Frank was okay at doing that… most of the time.

No matter what Frank seemed to think, Akiva was glad she spoke up.  It seemed to lighten the atmosphere when she cleared up what he said into something more palatable.  She didn’t want Kiana or anyone else mad at her (it just struck her that Kia might have been more easy to anger than everyone else), and she certainly didn’t want to stand in the way of Frank and possibly Maggie.  But, she was glad to see that things didn't seem quite so tense after it was said.  That was a definite plus. 

The other plus, in Akiva's mind, was the visible way in which Frank seemed to change - and the nervousness he had exhibited before.  He didn't get nervous like this for anyone, and Akiva would know that.  Didn't appear he would be thinking of Melinda at any point this evening.  It seemed, from the way he just looked at her, there might have been something there either at one point.  Kiva would encourage it, as long as she observed some good interaction during the evening, and she needed to be in the background for that to happen.

Gifts were not explained to her by Frank, and as the exchange began, Akiva glanced at him, anxious that she had nothing.  Perhaps she would offer to cover the wine.  Yes, she could do that, or perhaps she could pay for part of the dinner.  Offering that would be best at the end of the dinner and she would only have to fight with Frank, and he would fold, she figured.  After all, she had some sway with him.  That would be the best way to handle it, she thought, and kept quiet during the process. 

She felt very old in comparison to them anyway, and thusly, she felt like a chaperone.  This made her want to sink even further into the background.  As they sat down, she took a chair near Frank, but not too close.  She was just watching everything and sipped her wine.  Thankfully she had a piece of toast before she came or she might have already felt the wine going to her head.  She was, however, still lasting from the light snack, and at the idea of appetizers, Akiva just looked at the menu. 

The waiter was quick to come and take an order; Akiva just got a small bowl of soup and sat back again, listening to the conversation going on.  She was attentive, but removed, at least that’s how she felt, and she brought her hand up to her mouth, nibbling on one of her nails in thought. 

Finn had taken a booking for a party. By the sounds of things it had been a home-coming party, and the man who booked it had asked if it would be possible for him to come down early and decorate the table. Finn had obliged, as he always does in those circumstances. However, when the man had arrived that night, Finn had been busy in his office, which left his on-floor manager to deal with the request. As far as he knew, the manager had done a decent job - being as helpful and willing as he could. Almost as helpful and willing as Finn himself would have been.

He wound his way through the tables in the restaurant, most of which were occupied with couples looking lovingly into each other's eyes, and groups of friends laughing and jesting. Finn knew which table the group in question were seated at, and made his way straight there. He had given them one of the best tables in the restaurant, looking out of the window. He spotted the group, two men and three ladies. Things seemed to be looking a little tense, so Finn decided to hang back for a few moments, until he was sure that it was the right time to step in and greet them. He scanned the table. Ah good. He thought to himself, as he spotted the bottle of wine.

After those few moments of awkwardness, the mood seemed to lift, and the group made a toast to the reason for the party - a young woman wearing a very fitted, sleek black dress. After the toast, Finn decided it was the right time to step in.

"How is everything going?" He smiled at the group, his hands clasped in front of his body. He let his eyes scan the group. The good looking gentleman who had arranged this party, a blonde who looked like she had come with the previous gentleman. Then there was the woman whose party it was, another gentleman who seemed extremely quiet, and a final woman who was possibly one of the most naturally beautiful he had seen in his life.

“Mmhmm, sure… just a little something, my foot. Thank you,”

The emotion in Maggie's voice made the trouble to get the bracelet worth it. Not that it had been much trouble mind you, but even if she had to braid the thing herself, it was worth it. A proud smile, one of the rare few that showed her teeth, spread across Kia's face and she flushed when Maggie hugged her. "It's nothing..." She murmured, embarrassed at the attention.

As River spoke up that he had also brought something, Kia noticed the rather apprehensive looks on Frank and Akiva's face. It was then she realized that she had made a horrible faux paux. She hadn't intended on showing them up or anything like that... she just couldn't wait to give Maggie the bracelet. It hadn't dawned on her that the others didn't bring a gift or that the fact she had would make anyone uncomfortable. It wasn't like Maggie expected it. Even though she laughed along with the others to Maggie's comment about the book River gave her, inwardly Kia was shrinking a bit. Dammit, why couldn't she have waited to give her the bracelet when they were alone?

“I’m a bit hungry myself. What appetizers would you guys like to get?”

Thank Merlin for Frank. Despite his lack of social skills (But then, who aside from Akiva HAD social skills at that table?), Frank turned the uncomfortable situation around and focused on the one thing they all could agree on. Kia felt her stomach, which had been silent up until now, grumble at the mention of food. Picking up the menu, she scanned the dinner choices and was overjoyed to find a non-dessert choice that had strawberries in it. Naturally, that is what she chose. "I'll have the fillet steak with strawberry and black pepper sauce, with rice pilaf on the side..." She said, shutting the menu and handing it to the waiter.

"How is everything going?"

Kia assumed that he was talking to Maggie, so she remained silent, choosing to look around the room at the lavish settings. Frank really outdid himself this time. Who would have imagined such a beautiful place existed in Hogsmeade? Seems like London would have been a better choice. But then, Kia could hardly talk. This was the first time she had been in a club. It wasn't her cup of tea normally.

Lost in thought she failed to notice the handsome young man walking up to them until he spoke. Snapping back to the real world, Kia looked up at the newcomer and for a moment, their eyes met. It took a split second for it to dawn on her that she knew that face. She knew it very well in fact, it haunted her dreams for years and still popped up now and then. Before she could stop herself, a flush spread across her cheeks and Kia looked down at the table. She wished she had her menu still so she could hide her embarrassment at seeing Finn again. The best she could do was pick up her wine glass and take a much longer drink then necessary.

Did he still think she was ugly? Was he going to mock her and call her geeky again? She still felt a twang of pain when she remembered how horribly he had rejected her back in school, when she had made the mistake of thinking that the cutest guy in her year would want to date her, especially when she was pudgy, bespeckled and pimply. It didn't help matters that the years since did little to change him. He was still as handsome and charming as before. Suddenly her stomach turned and Kia felt the need to rush to the restroom before she embarrassed herself more by puking all over the table. Standing quickly, she avoided looking at Finn as she told Maggie "I... I am gonna.. use the restroom... Be right back..."

Without waiting for Maggie or Akiva to offer their company, since that seemed to be a popular thing for women to do, Kia fled from the table. She had no idea where the bathroom was, and was probably going in the wrong direction, but anywhere was better then sitting at that table and having a full on panic attack. Luckily for her, she found a relatively quiet hallway near the coatroom and collapsed on a bench. She would give him a few minutes to schmooze with the others and then she would sneak back once he was gone.

Maggie shot Frank a smile when he sat next to her, though he seemed a bit unsure and she couldn’t figure out why. She glanced around the table. Everyone was suddenly awkward, or acting more so than they had earlier, and it didn’t occur to her to think it was the gifts. She just assumed she’d said something off-putting. A little frown tugged at her lips and she tried not to let it bother her.

When the waiter came by she ordered calamari, which was the closest thing on the menu to good old mozzarella sticks. Tonight, she wanted to make sure she had enough food in her to enjoy the wine.

“How’s it being back?”

She set her wine glass down and glanced at him. He was a cutie, this one, and she was afraid that if she held his gaze for too long her face would break out into a ridiculously dopey smile. There was no way she was letting that happen!

“It’s been strange,” she admitted. “It’s good to see everyone again. Well, maybe not my little siblings,” she said dryly. The little devils had just trashed her room looking for her mysterious diary, and the drama had made her late to Kia’s place tonight. Maggie rolled her eyes. She needed to get out of her parent’s house. “Anyway, a lot has changed. There are new clubs and bars, obviously, nothing to complain about there. But people, people are growing up- they need to stop doing that.” She gave River and Kia both mock glares. Count on them to turn into hotties and leave her average butt in the dust, she thought, smirking to herself.

Margaret glanced at Akiva and noticed she was nibbling on a fingernail. She raised her eyebrows. Either the woman was famished or she felt uncomfortable. Maggie didn’t want to make Frank’s friend and so-called big sister nervous this soon- that was for later, when she knew her better. She looked at River, and then at Kia beseechingly, but who was she kidding? There was no hope for conversation from their corner, so it all rested on her shoulders. They were doomed.

“So…” She racked her brain. “I hear you’ve been book hunting lately, Frank.” Maggie paused. Now he knew she and Kia had babbled about him for hours. Smooth one. “Do you two know each other from work?” She looked at Akiva again. This was her best effort to involve her in conversation, and she hoped it was good enough. Now she had to worry about River, who would remain silent unless she nudged him with a hot poker. Damn. Why did friendly reunions have to be so hard?

When Finn arrived, Maggie thought he might be joining their group, but it turned out he worked there. She didn’t recognize him from school, not yet anyway, and she didn’t realize he actually owned the club.

“It’s going well,” she replied simply, distracted when Kia shot up from the table with an excuse that she had to use the restroom. However, Margaret knew that look. Kia was flustered about something. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

She touched Frank’s arm and leaned towards him. “What am I missing?” she whispered, nodding at Kia’s retreat.