Sophie was not going to mourn or lament the last possible day of the last Hogsmeade weekend of her fifth year. It seemed silly to get emotional just because until they were let out after testing. In just a few months they would be back and repeating the whole process for sixth and seventh year. It was, maybe a little sad, that she'd never wander high street with Chance, or nag at her sisters for tea - but today wasn't about them anyway. A strange part of her was trying to make new things happen in her life. One of those new things was a semi-old thing, she and Lucas had been friends since first year. He was that balance of smart and fun that made spending time with him and not wanting to punch him possible. He wasn't like Emily, his own life wasn't about studying. Actually if one were to go by the his lengths of parchment he was far more interest in Quidditch and broom design.

Sophie didn't have to look at parchment to know that. She knew because he never shut up about it. It was alright, she was used to listening to boys blather on about things that she only found mildly interesting. It was sort of like Figaro and his boy crush on Dennis Creevey; it wasn't that she didn't love 3 Owl Standard, it was just she was so used to seeing people like that she did not understand the inner fanboy that came leaping out of Fig's body whenever he encountered the front man. To Sophie he was just Creevers, just a guy she knew who sometimes played music with her dad, who happened to be married to her favorite former babysitter. In the long run that was what she saw, not the guy with fifty bajillion hit songs. Given her father's status in the wizarding wold, Sophie knew she had a skewed perception.

All of those musing aside she was standing outside the Magcakery, holding a rather small cage decorated with a bow and a card. There might have been some people who thought Pygmy Puffs were not very masculine things to give away. Sophie didn't care, Sophie rarely cared what people considered gender appropriate gifts. She'd given Chance a stuffed lion for Valentine's Day and was  convinced he still slept with it on his bed - because it was from her. Besides all of that, anyway, Lucas liked animals, and he liked fuzzy things. She figured he  could call him Louis and they could be the best of friends. Also... she wanted to make up for his sister both always stealing the limelight with her flaky personality and the fact that Luc had to share the day with her at all. It was sort of the way she felt about people who were born on gift giving holidays. Christmans Babies had it worse than anyone; then twins, she did not want to think about Christmas Twins.

The longer he made her wait the less guilt she felt about the cheeky nature of his card. She wasn't sure if he still collected and traded Famous Wizards' card - it seemed to fade out of style after about the age of fourteen. However, when they had been younger Luc used to brag on the fact he was going to be so famous he'd get his own card. Being the creative person she was, Sophie had decided to take matters into her own hands. She'd stayed up half the night fussing over her little endeavor to make it look as authentic as possible. Of course since he was only going to be sixteen there wasn't much she could write before finally settling on "Lucas Norwood Excellent kisser, Terrible boyfriend. She felt secure in both these facts for reasons that she would never disclose to anyone - though the latter was readily seen if anyone had ever watched one of his relationships fall spectacularly to pieces. She was also going to buy him a cupcake, or something, since Alice seemed to have completely forgotten she wanted a big sixteenth birthday - or at least to tell Luc where big sixteenth birthday was taking place.

However, if he did not show up soon Sophie was going to keep the Puff for herself, eat her own cupcake and pretend she had forgotten his birthday too.

They wouldn't be legal adults in the wizarding world for another year, and although he was looking forward to Apparition training, they wouldn't be eligible for the training for a while. Even if they were at home, in their muggle neighborhood the only new thing meant being able to drive a moped or get their provisional for a car, Uncle Dean taught them and their cousin Odette how to drive last Summer.  For what Alice deemed to be a tremendous experience, waking up on the 24th of May did not feel all that different from waking up on the 23rd of May.  Or any other day since last May 24th to be quite honest.  Besides having less spots, and a few inches on his height, of course.  As it were, Lucas didn't really see the big deal in this whole sixteenth birthday thing.  All in all it felt very anticlimactic to say the least.

This obvious ambivalence not stopped Sophie from demanding the day be celebrate in some fashion.  Lucas had a theory that birthdays were as much about your friends as they were about yourself so he couldn't really deny her either.  The plan for the last day or so been to have some sort of joint affair with Alice at some point.  The details were sort of sketchy at best and Lucas decided not to worry about it too much until such point he needed to.  When it became time, Alice would find him and drag him to whatever festivities she'd been trying to put together for them.  In mean time, Luc always been much better with a few over many and was quite content to spend his time with the youngest Flickwick.

"Oh, come on, quit all that fidgeting," Lucas teased as he caught sight of the petite brunette.  "You've not waited that long," he laughed as he approached. 

Okay, so maybe it was few minutes past the agreed time, but Sophie could be quite impatient experience told him.  It could have been only thirty seconds and the results would likely be the same.  It took effort to stop himself from immediately hugging her.  It become habit over the years, but she was holding an animal cage at the moment. 

"What you got there," he asked, blue eyes dropping to the pink pygmy puff inside the cage.  The fluffy balls of fur were quite popular with girls though what Sophie needed with one was beyond Luc.  Last time he checked the Flickwicks had menagerie of animals living at their house, although the bow on top made him rethink this thought.  He seriously doubted Sophie gotten Alice a gift, so that left one final answer.

"My cat might use him for a chew toy,  you know," he couldn't help but grin and mussed her hair affectionately.   

Sophie was busy checking her watch for the bajillionth time; for someone who was not remotely punctual she sure expected an awful lot of people she often kept waiting. It wasn't as though he'd forget he promised to meet her - and even if he did he wouldn't be hard to find. He frequented three or four shops and usually they had a large population of girls hovering about. She was just getting ready to give up and head to the Three Broomsticks to see if she could find him when she heard his voice and felt his fingers rumple her hair. Normally this would have prompted much flailing and yelling - but she was currently in possession of an animal that did not deserve to be shaken like a Martini.

"You are a right arseface," she stuck her tongue out at him and smoothed down the tousled locks. Sophie wasn't actually that fussy, mostly she couldn't be bothered but like most things with Lucas it was a never ending joke. "Happy Birthday, even though you don't deserve it. Terrible boy," she gave him a one armed hug, stretching her tiny body, standing on one leg tiptoed with the other out stretched for balance. Sophie was basically positive that Lucas was part giant and that was why he was so much bigger than she was. Conveniantly she overlooked the fact that most people were bigger than her (except Professor Tawse, who was not bigger than anyone over the age of 11).

"You can't let your cat eat Louis, you need him to be your back up best friend in case you're ever stupid enough to touch my hair again and end up alone," her expression was very serious as she continued, "And yes, I did name your birthday present for you to keep the poor creature from being called Tits McGee or summat". For all the trouble she gave him, Lucas was actually not a bad guy. He was almost as nice a boy as Henry or Chance - strictly speaking from a friends vantage point. He was a terrible boyfriend, it was like another person took over his brain and he went from being hilarious and charming to sullen and needy and Sophie often wanted to hit him with things.

Thank Merlin he was single for this birthday; it meant they'd get through the whole day with only play fighting. As she handed off the carrier she dug in her pocket for the card in it's Chocolate Frog box. "Alright then, let's go inside and spoil our appetites with a dozen cupcakes," she grinned at him before peeking down at the puffy creature and turning toward the door, "This is where Griffon got my cake that you devoured over lunch the day after my birthday. I thought you might like a repeat treat. I'm hoping if you get rounder you'll start looking shorter, which will make me look taller in comparison".

Lucas had half expected a good smack, if only to make a show about it being his birthday and Sophie should be nicer to him.  On the other hand, Sophie was deceptively harsh in her wee size, and he didn't actually plan on being in pain for his birthday.  Her comment on being terrible did make it worth the effort to mess with her though.  Having Sophie trying to hug him, especially with the one arm must have been funny to watch.  With the large gap between them, Luc would inevitable have to squat, or just pick her up, one or the other.  In this case, he hunch his shoulders some to give her better access. 

"Louis?"  That's what she named the pink ball of fluff?  Yes, animals came in all sizes, shapes, and colors, but it been hard to fight the instinct that his new companion was a female. His large tuxedo cat would think that Luc brought a gift for him and he'd have to stop by the pet store to come up with something to distract.  The last thing he wanted to do was have to tell Sophie that Apollo eaten Louis. 

"What's wrong with Tits McGee," Lucas couldn't help but ask.  Was it smart arse like?  Of course, but Sophie really wouldn't have it any other way.  There was already so much of the last year spent being glum, they might as well get the most out of this weekend, right?  He took the items and let her lead the way.  "I think that's a great name."

He didn't answer right away, instead distracted by trying to pry open the chocolate frog box.  He had a few dozen of these stashed in a box under his bed at home.  At one point, he'd had a goal to collect all of them.  He'd gotten pretty deep into it by them time he discovered a other, more productive passions to take up his time.  "You know, I'm still missing--"  He finally manged to get it open, capturing the frog in his hand before it could get too far.  For a moment Luc wondered if Sophie put a reflective surface on the card to show himself, until he recognized the picture taken a few months back.  "Lucas Norwood," wide blue-gray eyes looked to Sophie, "You made me a card?"

The quote he could maybe do without, after all, he didn't like thinking of himself as a terrible boyfriend.  Who did?  Something just clicked in his head after a certain point, and Lucas had a hard time not seeing every other boy as a potential threat.  It made him become extremely picky about which birds he ended up pursuing in any kind of serious matter.  Now flirting and snogging on the other hand, that was an entirely different thing all together.  And even Sophie admitted, in print no less, he was an excellent kisser.

Luc put the small cage on the table and squeezed Sophie's shoulder, "What am I gonna do with you?"  In part seriousness, but mostly controlled affection and praise.  Luc finally dropped to a seat, still looking at his card every now and again, "You could just grow taller?  Seriously makes me think you're part house elf or goblin or what not.  Bring us some good stuff, yeah?"

"Everything is wrong with Tits McGee. Everything," she looked at him very seriously as if he'd just asked her to wip off her jumper and flash the next person that walked by. Lucas and Figaro tied for the most boy-ish boys she knew; the sort that made boob jokes and seemed preoccupied with all things shaped like a female. They also laughed at fart jokes and bleached - a lot; and thought it made them comedy geniuses. Actually; being friends with Luc had made dating Figaro some what more understandable  - at least in Sophie's mind. She knew not everyone thought that; more than once since the break up she had had the Oh My GAWD; what were you thinking conversation. Sophie didn't know if she should be insulted by the incredulous nature of it all. Was it so hard to believe a boy might actually want to be with her?

She didn't really let herself think about it most of the time; and this particular day was no different. She was too consumed with watching Luc's face as he opened the box, caught the frog, and slid out the card. She was pleased that he seemed to happy about it; and also confused. It had taken her ages to find just the right picture - first of all because she had so many and also because a Wizard card ought to be dignified and most of her pictures of Luc had him making ridiculous faces. On top of picture finding troubles she had debated about what to say; the information on the card needed to be funny - because  sometimes Luc took himself too seriously. All in all she was pleased with the way it had all come together - and judging from the look on his face so was her Ravenclaw counterpart.

Giving his middle a good squeeze once he'd carefully set everything on the table, the hug turned into a light punch to the stomach, "It is not my fault you're a quarter Giant. I am perfectly Sophie sized; you're the one who is almost too big for his broom," she stuck her tongue out at him then before flouncing toward the counter. She was pleased to note (from the corner of her eye) that he seemed really happy about the gift. With all the other changes in her life the one thing that made Sophie happiest was being able to give someone something that mattered - that showed she really did pay attention to the things people said they wanted. It had the added bonus of being a little inside joke between them too, which made it feel more special to her. Now all she had to do was pick the perfect cupcake and there wasn't much chance Alice could spoil the day (which she would never do on purpose but she was kind of silly and flighty).

Picking on girls was a tricky subject.  Somethings you could get away with, others, Luc learned the hard way, not so much.  The idea was to figure it out before you got into too much trouble with said girl.  Back in third year he'd made the mistake of pointing out Penny's mismatched cup size and landed in the hospital wing after being pushed down the stairs.  Needless to say, after a sprained wrist and very bruised ego, he'd never commented on them again.  Her chest had eventually evened out into a very nice pair, but he'd long since decided to keep that bit to himself.  Nothing wrong with admiring them, or any other chests for that matter, in the privacy of his own mind.

"Abuse," Luc grumbled, rubbing his abdomen as if Sophie injured him.  Sophie had smacked him more then once over the years, but it was nice to play fight rather then get wailed for real.  "And you wonder why you can't keep a bloke," he teased.  "Who wants a bird her bites?"

He didn't mean it of course.  Sophie had some problems with boys in the past, and Luc wouldn't much stand for anyone messing about with her.  She was much like his sister in that respect... save the whole snogging thing that happened every now and again.  Sister or not, Luc always been very protective of Sohpie, it was hard not to be.  This only been amplified in the last couple months and Luc couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief that Sophie was back to smiling again.  No matter how temporarily it might be.

"No pink frosting, hear?  Louis has enough to go around for everyone."

It was likely Sophie would do that just to spite him, but he didn't really mind all that much right now.  Sure, it was his birthday, but the only thing separating this from any other time spent with Sophie was his new pink companion.  It wasn't big or lavish, but it was exactly what he needed it to be.  Later he might catch up with the Ravenclaw team for a round of butterbeer, or even see what the cute Slytherin girl was up to.  She was interesting for reasons that were both obvious and hard to distinguish.  The parts he wanted to learn about kept his attention, at least for the time being.

Sophie just grinned; it was the most she could do. Play fighting with Lucas was different than fighting with Figaro had been. With Figaro she was always frustrated with the way he shoved his foot in his mouth and his complete disregard (or perhaps just inability to understand) other people's feelings. Lucas could be a dumb boy like that too, but he wasn't hopeless; and he was almost always really sorry when he hurt her feelings. Figaro had not yet reached the level of maturity to not fire back with all the things she had done wrong and why she was just as awful. Sophie figured, really, Luc had to be more sensitive because of Alice - being a twin made him different.

After picking out half a dozen cupcakes - decked out in various shades of blue with silver sprinkles she waited at the counter bouncing from foot to foot in a little Sophie dance. As the weeks wore on she found herself slipping more comfortably back into some version of her old self. She had to be moving a lot. She had started singing again. At first it was just humming a few notes of some little diddy that stuck in her head; but since her birthday she had found herself progressing from the hum to the ladadida variety - and that very morning as she was tormenting her hair into submission she found herself outright singing a 3OS song as she danced a little in front of her mirror.

Luc was a part of what was bringing her back to herself. As supportive as Chance had been and even as much as Devlin had tried to give her that night in April; Luc had been the one to bring a sense of normalcy back to her world. He teased her and pulled her hair, he glowered at people who needed glowering at, he didn't make her feel guilty that she smiled. It was still hard, it still hurt, but somehow Luc made her life feel like some part of it was still the same - and she didn't have to worry about him abandoning her for Fauna. That, above all else, was perhaps the most comforting thing Luc had given her. He would never care more about Fauna than he cared about her.

Coming back to the table; box of cupcakes  precarious hands she gingerly set them on the table and hugged the boy once again. Now that he was sitting he was more of a Sophie-size creature, "Two of them are a shop specialty. They're called butterbeer cupcakes; then I got two yellow cake, and two chocolate - and if you're nice I might let you have more than one". Resting her cheek against his gave his shoulders a squeeze; some people wouldn't get the sort of relationship they had - the acting together but never being together. Sophie was just glad it happened to work for them. Finally sitting across from him she pushed the wrapped parcel of baked goods in his direction, "I'd have gotten candles but I still don't trust you with fire".

Vulpes hadn't planned on coming to Hogsmeade a second time this week. Especially not after what happened yesterday. But even still, there were times when he couldn't say no to Cytherea begging for sweets. And today was definitely one of those days. He had stopped at Honeydukes first and bought a bit of everything on the list she had given him. Everything minus the Acid Pops, that is, he didn't need to deal with her burning a hole in her tongue again.

But the next item has just left him standing on the street confused. Cupcakes. Where on earth was he going to get a cupcake in Hogsmeade? He didn't even know there was a bakery. He spent a good twenty minutes walking up and down the street looking for anywhere he could get them. Nothing really seemed to be a bakery type place until he came across a man who was carrying a small pink box, they type one would expect cakes to be in.

Quickly Vulpes went over to him and asked where he purchased the cake. The man pointed at a small shop Vulpes had never noticed before. With his thanks, he skipped over to the shop and headed inside. Steeping over the threshold Vulpes immediately could smell baked goods,which implied he was in the right place.

As he headed through to the counter he heard a girl talking about a certain specialty the store had. Curious, Vulpes turned and saw it was none other than Sophie Flickwick who was sitting with Lucas Norwood. She seemed to be familiar with the food here, so with some nerve Vulpes headed over to their table.

"Pardon," he said just loud enough to hear, feeling awfully intrusive. It looked like the two were on a date. "But are those any good?" Vulpes pointed at the cupcakes. "See, my sister wanted me to buy her some, but I don't know which ones are the best."

He smiled warmly, hoping the duo wouldn't tell him off. Though he attended her party, Vulpes hadn't really spoken to Sophie other than to say happy birthday. And he was somewhat sure he had never spoken to Lucas before.

This was the last Hogsmeade weekend until after school let out, and Erin'd meant to spend it with Razzy. And yeah, well, he was meeting him later.... but right now he was running Hannah's errands. The girl was bossy when she had her mind made up, and all year he'd been tasked with bring her back treats since she couldn't go herself. Erin drew the line at spending his pocket change on stuff from Zonko's or an entire box of Madame Puddlfoot's violently colored cakes, but he really didn't mind that much bringing her something little as long as she wasn't a brat about it. Today she'd wanted a cupcake. Just one, but he'd probably buy half a dozen and eat one or two before he gave them to her. Maybe give Razzy one too, if he was nice. He'd get three fluffy and frosted ones for her and then some nice manly chocolate ones for himself and Razzy - yeah, good plan.

He'd accepted that there was no use complaining. Initial grumbling only earned him the bullheaded stubbornness of a true Harper and huffy little sniffs that were all Hannah's own. Recently her favorite line of persuasion was, "Well I guess if you can't stand to do anything without your boyfrie- " which she never got to finish because by that point Erin'd already squawked and agreed. She was a devious little witch. Later after he'd gotten away he'd always think back and be a little proud.

Still, she needed some new quills, too, like they weren't already nearly at the end of the year. Erin'd get her one but she was definitely gonna have to pay him back for that - he knew she was getting owled more money from Mum than he was.

The cupcake place came first, though. Mostly because Erin was hungry.

He went through the door at a determined lope, and found the three current customers were all ones he knew. Mates, even. Well, sort of. So for a second Erin paused, his blue eyes going all round and startled-like. Then he let go of the door, letting it close behind him, and came cautiously in. It wasn't like he had any reason to be wary of little Sophie or Connor or Norwood, but he did wonder how he was gonna buy any frilly girly cakes in front of the lot.

Little did he know that Vulpes was here on an identical mission - not that it'd given him any comfort. They could buy frilly girly cakes for their sisters with their eyes averted, bonded by their big brother duties. As soon as they got Sophie and Lucas to look away.

" 'Lo," he said at last, and gave a nod to each of them. But his next comment he directed to Sophie, the one he knew best of the three - or at least well enough to tease. "On a date, Flickwick?" Butter wouldn't have melted in his innocent mouth.

It was bad enough that Sophie given him a fluffy critter for a gift, but his fondness ended at having to order his own cupcakes in the cheery little shop.  There were some indulgences that just could not be rewarded, no matter how adorable the Flickwick.  She returned soon enough, thankfully setting the box down before giving him another hug.  It wouldn't be so hard to pull her just so that she'd wind up on his lap, but Luc didn't push his luck and Sophie pulled back, taking her seat once more. 

"It was one time," Luc said, quickly jumping to the defensive.  This is what came of long term friends, they had a way of never letting you forget your mistakes.  The patch of grass had recovered just fine in his opinion. It was times like this that Luc forgot the many reasons he didn't pursue Sophie as a girlfriend.  Of course, such idealistic thoughts would need to be put in check before he ended up in a precarious situation.  There were pretty Slytherin girls to consider and what not. 

And an audience as it turned out.

What started out as a party of two quickly ballooned to four.  The double dosage couldn't have been planned, but Lucas couldn't really claim to know the two Slytherin boys all that well either.  Well, aside from an impromptu meeting in the library two days prior with Harper and some shared classes.  They had appeared, one after the other.  His good will towards the blond boy would go a lot further if he didn't go bringing up things Luc been pretending not to be thinking.

"Oi then, it's my birthday, Harper," Luc flicked open the box and plucked one up at random.  "You gonna sit and celebrate or stand and chatter?"  Anything to get the conversation away from dating or not dating Sophie, really.  To answer Connor's question, Luc took a bite, about half of the wee cake disappearing into his mouth.  "Mmm," the buttbeer cupcakes been brilliant.  That tang of butterscotch without being overly sweet.  "I'd say so."

"I don't care if it was one time, my hair still got singed. That is not ok," though she was crying foul the tiny Gryffindor had the good nature to actually laugh. Bonfire nights with Luc were never boring that was for sure. Why she had ever listened any time he used the phrase just trust me was really beyond her at this point. She knew from experience the situation would not end favorably for her. Most of the time he made up for it, and even when things went disastrously wrong... he still managed to make her laugh. That was important to Sophie, she needed that. She was capable of being serious now, it didn't make her skin crawl at least, but when push came to shove she needed people around her that appreiciated her desire to just be.

She might have gotten all sentimental and told Luc this; but then they were joined rapidly by two unexpected (though not unwelcome) guests. She knew Vulpes vaguely from classes and he'd shown up at her birthday earlier in the month. Maybe he was just drawn to birthdays! Then there was Harper, with his silly big mouth and smart assery. She kind of wanted to kick him from under the table but she refrained. She knew it was just part of his personality and the fact that he felt even remotely comfortable enough to approach the three of them meant that he was getting more comfortable with the idea of being her friend - which was good because it wasn't really like she was giving him much choice in the matter.

"They're supposed to be delish-" she was inturrpted by Luc devouring the treat in all of two bites. She wasn't even sure that he bothered to chew. Her face twisted itself into a mix of horror and amazement, nose wrinkled as she hid behind her hand, "I can't take you anywhere, honestly. What are you, a python"? Her voice was both incredulous and amused as she turned her attention to Erin, "A date? With Lucas? Have you been sipping Billywig juice again Erin, or are you just jelly"? Really, the idea of Lucas as a boyfriend was about as appealing as spending an evening in Knockturn with someone named Tawse. Alright, hat might have been a mild exaggeration; but having watched him flame out with basically every girlfriend he'd ever had, well it made her wary of doing anything besides randomly kissing him to affirm the problem was with Figaro and not herself.

Vulpes gave a slight nod to Erin as he joined them, not really sure what to say in return.

"Oh... Happy birthday then, Lucas," he said nodding to the Ravenclaw. A slight smile  crossed his face as Lucas devoured half of the cupcake, and as Sophie teased him for it. It was cute to see the two together really. But Vulpes figured it was better not to comment such. Sophie didn't seem all that keen on the idea of them dating.

"So which one was that?" Vulpes asked, nodding at the cupcake. He figured if it was any good Cytherea would enjoy it. And While he was here, he may as well buy one for Aurora. Giving a slight huff, Vulpes adjusted the bag of sweets he had bought earlier, and pulled out his sisters list, crossing off 'cupcakes'.

He felt rather out of place, standing around three people who he'd never really spoken with. But maybe now was a good time to try and get to know them. "Mind if I hang around for a bit?" Vulpes asked nervously.

Erin gave a thoughtful shrug, then hooked a foot around one of the chairs at Lucas and Sophie's table, tugged it out, and plopped down. He didn't have to meet Razzy for another hour and a half, and, at the very least, there were free cupcakes.

"Happy birthday," he told Lucas, and watched, mildly impressed, as the other boy devoured half a cupcake in one enormous bite. Next his gaze flicked to Sophie, and he let out a breath of air best described as pffft. "You know me," he said easily. "Billywig juice all the way." What was there to be jealous of? Even if he wasn't with Razzy, Erin'd already learned his lesson about unattainable girls back in the fall with Beatrix. Flickwick was cute, but he had no desire to repeat the confidence-whittling experience.

"So what've you got planned for the big day, Norwood?" Not that sitting in shops with pretty girls was a bad way to spend his time.

He didn't care if Connor hung around, but then, this wasn't his celebration. Erin held his tongue and let Lucas give his blessing.

Despite Luc's attempts to change the subject, Sophie gave a definitive reply to Harper's question.  Of course they weren't dating, how could anyone get such an idea?  Luc couldn't really get upset since it was something they both knew as a truth, but it still stung just a wee bit in the back of his head.  Clearly, he wasn't having the best luck with girls lately.  First Livi cursed him to troll out on his History OWL and now Sophie was making a public declaration of just being friends from now unto eternity.  It didn't exactly give a boost to the ego.

"Thanks," he said with a grin to the birthday wishes, then to Connor. "It's butterbeer.  Sure, have a sit."  The party of two's mood been kind of ruined anyway, right?  Whatever mood he'd imagined it up to be anyway.

"Besides this," he asked wiping away excess frosting with his sleeve.  "Um, I dunno, my sister wants a big to do at the Sticks later."

Even now, he wasn't so sold on the idea.  There'd been another plan, one that suited his tastes much better, but that wasn't even worth mentioning at this point.  Harper hadn't been the only one to comment on his designs over the past week, Livi made mention of passing them off to her brother when he visited during the Hogsmead weekend.  There'd even been talk of actually meeting the man, but that all kind of fell apart.  The conversation turned sour, and Luc spent the rest of the week convinced that maybe the rumors were true after all.

"Unless you got a better idea, huh?"