[Thurs May 1st ~ 9.30am]

Had the blast not gone upwards Nora's new lease of life would have been much shorter than expected. Luckily, for Nora and the population of Hogsmeade, it had. A loud boom sounded,  her little windows, and those of her neighbours, rattled and a cloud of coloured smoke poured up into the sky from the thatched eaves, giving the impression of a bad purple rinse on her small Hogsmeade cottage.

The dramatic display lasted but a few minutes before the energy fizzled on whatever had been fizzed and all settled back to relative normality. All that is, except for a small figure standing in the open door at the heart of the source of the trouble....Nora Dobbins.

Her light brown hair stuck up in angles stranger than normal, her glasses steamed up, and, perhaps more importantly, a purple hue to her face that didn't look healthy.  Clutched in one hand was the ragged remains of a, now rather purple looking, recipe.

"I said not to add the wile berries!"

Came a high pitched voice behind her. A rather bedraggled Miss Price, a fellow resident from the village, stepping out and spluttering into the fresh air.
 

Scirey should have been preparing for the Hogsmeade art exhibition on the third but she wasn't. Instead the young artist was settling her nerves and gathering inspiration. She wanted to paint one last picture before Saturday fell upon her.  Scirey was uncomfortable showing off her artwork because she was afraid of what people would say. She didn't handle criticism well. Many people liked her simple landscapes and sketches but some people, even thought who couldn't draw, had their own opinions on how a flower, or Hogwarts should look like. It was those people who she feared.

Scirey meandered through the village with no real set purpose. She had been severl houses down and across the street when the explosion happened. Scirey jumped at the loud noise. She pulled out her wand as she tried to uncover the source. Large billowing clouds rose above the houses making the point of origin stand out.

Scire could make out to older ladies standing in a yard squabbling. She ran foreward seeing if she could help. One lady looked as if she might be hurt, as she was of course covered in soot. "Are you alright?" She asked the purple lady and her friend.

Nora appeared a little vacant, her eyes slightly unfocused, looking a little like a bewildered blueberry.

"Hmmm?" She answered to Scirey's question.

"Oh, yes..." She continued, looking down to count that all four limbs were indeed still attached.

"I am all present and correct, I think."

"That'll be a first!" Miss Price interjected.

Nora straightened herself up in what would have been a very dignified manner, had she not been swaying slightly......and purple. She proceeded to pretend that she hadn't heard that little comment.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, looking back at her cottage, her eyes widening. The smoke was settling but her thatch roof had quite changed colour.
 
"Its liliac. You know....." She told her companions, looking up, wobbling dangerously.

" I think I like it. " She finished....and then finally lost her balance. She fell backwards with a loud thud into a tub filled with flowers,  her prize snapping snapdragons.