The park that the barbeque was to be held at was only a 5 minute walk from Anna's flat, and so it was simply a matter of carrying a basket the little ways and making sure Malificent had food. She locked her door and headed down the street. They had lucked out with the weather. It was fairly warm out, with only a few clouds in the sky. Not exactly 4th of July weather, but it would have to do.

Anna had invited two of her newest friends to the barbeque, with the instructions for them to invite whomever they wanted. When she reached the park, there was no one there yet, and so Anna set up a table with a tablecloth and set out the potato salad and ice tea she had brought. (She had remembered Archie mentioning he liked ice tea).

Cane in one hand, a small woven basket in the other and the strap of her fabric banjo case slung over her shoulder, Tulojow made her way across the park towards the table where a younger woman was setting up a tablecloth and several dishes, her ever present limp slowing her progress.  Bless Pippy for her little elven help.  Tulojow had enlisted the help of the little Hogwarts elf as a Healer's aid at the start of the year and it was probably one of the best decisions she'd ever made.  Pippy had put a variety of charms on the basket that allowed warm foods to stay warm and cool foods to stay cool.  There'd been an unlimited amount of space in the basket but, even so, it didn't weigh more than a few ounces. 

Which was good because the basket wouldn't have been very light, otherwise.  The warm blackberry cobbler and the large tub of home-churned ice cream accounted from some of the weight.  It was the several racks of hickory-smoked, barbecued beef ribs that would have really weighed the basket down.  Every time Tulojow took a trip back to the reservation, her brother Albert refused to let her leave without enough smoked, aged or fresh beef to feed a small army.  Completely smoked through, the ribs would just need some seasoning, searing and saucing before they'd be ready to eat.  How the elf had managed to secure the two pitchers of strawberry lemonade so they wouldn't tip over, Tulojow would never know. 

"Are you Anna?" Tulojow asked as she finally limped up to the table, propping her cane against the table and setting the basket down to offer the younger woman a embrace in greeting.  "Warm welcomes all around are in order.  Welcome to London, welcome to the UK.  All that good stuff."

Archie was pretty confident in his cornbread and his shoo-fly pie. He'd placed them snugly in a canvas bag and crammed  a box of sparklers in next to them. Spending the summer abroad had been a huge bummer for him so far, no matter how short it had been thus far. He was used to sprawling barbecues with his cousins and his friends. Fireworks displays. Popsicles. Cicadas. Heat so intense it warped the air.

He found the park and almost broke into a run to get to the table faster. He felt a little defeated running back to familiar sorts of people instead of trying to shake things up, but he didn't care. Homesickness had eaten away at him the entire three months he'd lived there.

When he reached the table, he set his bag down and caught his breath. "Hi, Anna!" he grinned widely, waving like a little boy. He then turned a little sheepishly to Tulojow and extended a hand. "I'm Archie," he introduced himself. "I'm sure glad to meet you, ma'am."

Anna heard the sound of something clicking against the pavement and turned to see an elderly woman approaching her, carrying a large basket and using a cane to support herself as she walked. Anna stood up as she reached the bench and propped her cane against it. "Yes, I am. And you must be Tulojow. It's wonderful to meet you." She returned the embrace, not fazed by it in the slightest. She was used to this form of greeting people after her internship.

"Thank you. I'm so glad you could come. My friend should be here any moment now-" As if on cue, Anna heard the sound of feet on the pavement and turned the opposite direction to see Archie running up to them. She grinned when he waved at her and waved a little in return. "

"Hey Archie. Glad you could come. Let's get this food unloaded. No time like the present to enjoy good food. Apparently I let slip about our little get together to someone at the hospital, so we might get a few unexpected guests. But what the heck, the more the merrier." Anna helped the two guests take out items, feeling her stomach grumble at the wonderful sight of the food.

The owl had reached him the morning before, tapping impatiently on his dirtied window in Diagon Alley, where he was renting a single-room apartment for the duration of his unemployment. He had been exchanging letters with his oldest brother back in the United States but the distance was too great for owls, so this was the first he had seen of one in a while. His interest only piqued further when, as he untied the letter from the raptor's leg, he noticed it came from Hogwarts, the legendary castle-school up North.

Then, his heart had jumped a little bit as he read the invitation. Warren had spoken with few real wizards or witches outside of the Leaky Cauldron since his arrival in London and this would be a welcome change of pace. Not to mention a anecdote for the creeping homesickness that caught him in his more pessimistic moments...

Either way, as Warren made his way across the park lawn, dressed in what he hoped was presentable fashion, he couldn't help but feel excited. He had indeed cleaned up a bit - shaved the five o'clock shadow, washed and combed slightly his mess of brown hair. He held in his arms a somewhat large brown paper bag from which a clinking sound could be distinguished with every step. It contained twelve American craft beers, something for which he really had to scour London. But he wasn't going to pretend he himself was a cook, and he knew he had to bring something, so...This is what he got.

As he got close to what appeared to be the only gathering in the park, Warren could make out two women and a man...Now which was Tulojow, the Hogwarts healer? The asian one...obviously. Warren had not gotten used to London's diversity, as the northern Maine woods didn't have much to offer in that department. But there they were, and there he was.

He pulled out a six pack as he arrived at the table, and, placing it carefully on the table as though making an offering, he announced, "Hey all - my name is Warren. Have a beer." He even presented a smile.

They unloaded the rest of the food and Anna waved her wand subtly, beginning to cook the meat. She herself was a vegetarian, but she knew how much other people enjoyed the smoked meat, and she didn't have a problem cooking it as long as she didn't eat it.

"Archie, would you like some tea?" She asked, holding up the pitcher. "I remember you said you liked it.  And-Is this shoe fly pie?! I haven't had that in years, not since I visited my brother one time at school! Archie, you are sent from Merlin." Anna declared, grinning broadly. "Tulojow, would you like some tea?"

A bag was sent down on the table and Anna glanced around to see a man with slightly messy brown hair and very well dressed. He pulled out a six pack of beer, indicating that he was clearly here for the picnic. "Welcome. I'm Anna. My, word of this little get together traveled fast. Oh, thank you." Anna added, taking a beer from the newcomer and extending a hand.

Sissel found himself outside today, fully grounded in the normal passage of time. There had been intelligence that somebody in white faceless robes had been seen flirting in and out of this park. The Cowled Figure? Possibly. This far into muggle London? Who knew why when it came to this time criminal, given his last appearance of blowing up half of the Magical Menagerie. Well, public knowledge was that he predicted it and salamanders caused the explosion. The shop was fixed easily, it being managed by wizards after all.

However it was enough to give Sissel the excuse of staking out the park. Fresh air, nothing like pouring over applications in the dank of the Department of Mysteries. And he promised not to do any needless Time Turning. While wandering the park he caught site of some people gathering around a picnic table, some sort of lunch. Sissel realized he hadn't made any plans to eat during this impromptu stakeout. He recognized Archie Friar, that new guy in the RCMC. So this was a magical gathering? It made sense, giving that he noticed much more food coming out of the baskets then what seemed possible.

Well, it couldn't hurt to pop in. Walking over, Sissel removed his mirrored sunglasses. "Yo Arch. There some kind of cookout? I'm Sissel, by the way," he said, introducing himself to everyone else.

Outfits

"Why are we doing this again?" Kia muttered softly, following closely behind Kale as they neared the small gathering. Sure it wasn't a big crowd, but it was large enough to make her nervous. At least in big crowds she could blend in. "I don't know anyone here..." She added in hopes that it would deter him. But Kale couldn't be detered when he set his mind on something.

"Oh jeez, relax. They are all good people." He chuckled, throwing his arm around her so roughly that she heard the gumbo she had so carefully prepared slosh loudly in the pot. "Besides, Anna has only been here a couple of weeks... She is probably way more nervous then you." He grinned and pointed towards a smiling brunette standing by a grill. Kia looked her over critically and then gave him a scowl "Yeah, she looks real unhappy over there."

"Well suck it up. You need to meet new people." As they got closer his voice got softer until they came into earshot of the group. As usual, Kale perked up almost immediately and grinned like a fool. "Hey Anna... Smells great! Hope you don't mind me dragging my sister along..." Kia turned a vibrant red when he called attention to her. Giving the group a small smile, she elbowed him in the side and pulled away to place the pot on the table. "Eh.. um.. We brought some Gumbo. I hope you like it..." Opening the pot, she smiled a little wider as the familiar scent of spices and shrimp wafted upwards. Just like her mother made.

In the time it had taken Anna to get the meat cooking and pour the ice tea, three more people had shown up. One she knew, Kale Ferris. The other two she'd never met before. Handing the task of grilling over to Archie, Anna wiped her hands on the inside of her robes and once again put it out to shake all of the newcomers hands.

"Anna." She replied to Sissel. "You know Archie? Through work?" She half asked, half stated, looking over Sissel's robes and the papers he was holding.

"Kale, I didn't know you were coming! Can't keep a secret at St. Mungo's, that's for sure." Anna looked over to the young woman standing next to Kale, who he had insinuated was his sister. "Of course I don't mind. Does your sister have a name?" She asked, but the question was directed at Kia. "I think we have enough food to serve half the ministry right here...Aurors excluded." Anna joked.

Of course, Kale was right about her being nervous. Anna was excellent at being polite and well mannered, however she was a mess under her smile. As she always struggled with being in groups, she hoped the day would still end well. What had started out as a small meeting had become large scale and while Anna wasn't upset by any means, her nerves were hyperactive to be certain.

"That's right, Kale mentioned you lived in America for a while. It smells wonderful."

Standing at Tulo's elbow Dilly looked around, hoping for somebody her age to hang out with. She sighed. There were three young men and a couple of pretty ladies. Which probably meant she wouldn't be noticed at all. Still...she supposed it was better than hanging out at the Hospital Hut by herself. Not that Tulo would have left her on her own of course. She would certainly have arranged for a baby sitter...Fauna or somebody like that. Which would have been OK. They could have played Exploding Snap or something.

Still...Dilly hadn't been back to London in a long time, and it was rather exciting. Thinking about it, she realized she hadn't been here since Archer Radley had removed her from the Black Chimaera, and the guardianship...if one could call it that...of Cinead Tawse. Shivering as she recalled the way Cin had looked at her that day, she looked around nervously. As if fearing he might emerge from the shadows under the trees...

Wrinkling her nose in appreciation of the smell of the fragrant smoke, she listened to the conversation, and gnawed her lip in puzzlement. "Erm," she said, speaking up with her usual forthrightness. "What is Shoo-Fly Pie? Do you need somebody to chase the flies away?"

If so...she could use something to do.

Archie was excited to have people who appreciated shoo-fly pie. He'd mentioned it offhandedly to someone his first week there and for his troubles he'd been stared at like he had four heads. For someone to recognize it by sight alone, well... that made Archie want to  dance. And a tall glass of iced tea was just about the closest thing to heaven he could think of.

The fact that there were now more people he hadn't met made him a little nervous, but the promise of real food was far outweighing his shy tendencies. "Oh, yeah," he replied with a grin, "Hey, Sissel, I'm glad you could come out! Yeah, we're having, uh..." he motioned to all the food. "It's.... it's an American barbecue. Y'know, ribs and...  cornbread and Texas tea. You're welcome to stay, um, if you wanna! Just hangin' out, and stuff..."

He always turned into a stuttering moron in situations like this.

Turning to Dilly, he held up his hands to show how great the pie was. "It's molasses pie," he replied. "It's the best pie on the planet. And yeah, it's so sweet that it draws flies. If you've never had it, you should totally try some."

Tulojow took the young man's hand in both of hers before slipping the banjo over her shoulder and propping it up next to her cane.  "Yes, Tulojow," she first offered to Anna and then Archie and to the others in turn as they arrived.  "And, this here's Dilly," she introduced, gesturing towards the youngster at her elbow. 

Quite shortly there after, Tulojow's own invite arrived - another recent transplant from across the pond.  The young man had piqued her interest from the moment she'd caught wind of him through the Ministry.  But, she was curious to develop her own assessment of him.  But, she was content to leave politics to the side. Especially if he brought beer with him.  Accepting one of the craft beers, she took a sip before pouring some lemonade for Dilly. 

"Oh, I admit - I'm a bit of a traditional," Tulojow quickly interjected when she noticed Anna starting to use magic to finish cooking the ribs.  "There really is no substitute for the smoke from a pile of coals."  Yes - magic was faster and, perhaps, more practical but there were somethings Tulojow just felt were still better done by hand.  From the bottom of the expandable basket, Tulojow pulled out a a bag of hickory charcoal.  Dilly could attest for her.  Tulojow almost never cooked with magic.  Not if she could avoid it. 

"Nope.  The flies are in the pie," Tulojow whispered to Dilly before Archie clarified.  By now, Dilly was no stranger to pies.  They were almost a constant presence in the Hospital Hut though, admittedly, shoo-fly pie had yet to make an appearance.  "You liked the pecan pie - you should like this."

Warren looked at the witch who greeted him. He extended a thick forearm towards her for a handshake and responded, "It is a pleasure to meet you Anna. Warren Stuart."

When he got closer, Warren realized his mistake in judgment. This source of his invite - the exotic looking woman - was not Asian. Close in Warren's untrained eyes, but no. There was something much more familiar about her. In fact, he was certain she had something Native American in her. Not like his Indian neighbors - the ones who roamed the Maine woods on occasion were much different - but she was certainly  Native American. Real American. He opened a beer, and then turned briefly to Tulojow, and posed a question that had been on his mind since he received her owl.

"So, Ms. Nagde, how was it again that you decided to invite me?"

"That's right, Kale mentioned you lived in America for a while. It smells wonderful."

Kia considered herself a good reader of character. She could usually deduce when someone was lying or hiding something from her. Anna's face was honest but had a hint of hidden insecurity behind the smile. Kia could appreciate that fear of making a fool of oneself in public, though a part of her also envied the other woman's ability to hide her fear so well. No wonder Kale liked her, they were so much alike. Always smiling.

"Yeah... Only a couple years though..." Kia found herself actually giving this information freely, which was unlike her. Usually she shut down and simply answered with yes or no. Perhaps Anna was wearing off on her. She had a sneaking suspicion that it was Kale's intention. "... We lived with some family in Louisiana, hence the Gumbo..." She smiled slightly as she added "My grandma's recipe..."

Glancing around the table, she wondered if anyone brought a strawberry dish. Her nerves had gotten the best of her and she craved her favorite fruit to sooth them. Though she didn't see anything strawberry flavored, she did see a familiar dish that her mother had made for her long ago. Leaning towards Anna, too shy to ask the cook herself, she pointed to the pie "Is that... Shoo-fly pie? Like... southern style?"

"You know Archie? Through work?" Anna asked. "Sorta," Sissel replied. "Different departments and all, we're the see each other passing in the halls type." The reminder of work made him remember that he had brought along a few documents to work on during the stakeout. Stuff muggles wouldn't understand but now that he realized he had run into a magical gathering...

"Hey, Sissel, Archie greeted. "I'm glad you could come out! Yeah, we're having, uh... It's.... it's an American barbecue. Y'know, ribs and...  cornbread and Texas tea. You're welcome to stay, um, if you wanna! Just hangin' out, and stuff..."

"Sure, thanks Arch. BBQ fare...and you've all brought something. Oh dear, now I feel awkward for butting without so much as a bowl of buffalo wings...hang on a tick."

"Keep an eye out, won't you," he said to Arch and Annie, glancing around to see if he was shielded from view by all the people. With a pop-->

-->Sissel apparated into his flat. Very much the imagine of a single man that isn't home much, and then when home utters devotion to the TV. He filed his office documents away, plus changed into lighter clothes: casual slacks, t-shirt, and shiny metallic looking jacket. Before Sissel left he raided his spice cupbard for buffalo sauce, Tabasco, Firewhiskey Brew Hot BBQ sauce, Bleu Cheese Dressing, etc. and stacked them all in a paper bag before returning-->

--> to the cookout, total time gone around two minutes. "Didn't have time to prep anything," Sissel chuckled to himself over his self imposed Time Turner ban, "but I brought hot sauce if anyone wants to kick their food up a notch! Did you need some help cooking, Anna?"