Gathering Alumni

[aaaahhhh]

Wearing a simple light green sweater-dress, skinny jeans, and brown suede boots, Arianna walked into the vast room and looked around. Jadon sat in her arms in a yellow sweater and denim overalls. Both mum and daughter looked around too see if anyone they knew might be there. Jadon seemed eager to get out and play, wiggling furiously at the sight of the decor. Dark oranges, browns, and reds covered the carpets and walls, along with pillows strewn about on the....couches? Arianna had never been in a restaurant with couches.

"Jadon's going to have fun tonight," Arianna commented brightly. Taking Nic's hand, she let him lead her to one of the tables to sit down. They'd have to ask for a high-chair when the room started to fill up, but for now the little family would recline on a couch. Jadon really loved couches for some reason. They were soft and bouncy and if her mum put a pile of pillows in front of it, she had tons of rolling off the couch. Pillow fights were also fun, even if she couldn't fight back yet.

"I'll just have a water for now," she told the waitress as she settled into the cushions, setting her bag on the floor and Jadon beside her. Arianna had already told Nic that he could have whatever he wanted tonight as long as he didn't go overboard. He deserved to relax a bit.

"I wonder who else is going to show," Arianna commented, glancing at the door for a split second before her attention was drawn to Jadon, who was crawling over her daddy's lap to get at one of the pillows. Yup, tonight was going to be fun for sure.

[Hiro McVeil]

Work had been unbelievably slow the past...well longer than it should have and it was driving Hiro crazy. He was all too excited when he found the invitation waiting for him after another long and boring day. It took him a while before he decided but in the end it was a chance to actually do something. The invitation itself was vague on who might be there, it had only said 'Hogwarts Alum' which had a broad range to pick from.

Hiro dressed like he normally would after he cleaned himself up after work, which made him stand out even more than he normally did. He'd fit right in back at Hogsmeade of course but since this was muggle London his robe and cloak weren't exactly all the fashion. His blindfold and walking cane, for once, was the most normal thing about his attire.

Even more frustrating than the random children's' laughter that he heard every now and again was navigating his way through the city. With a broom he could just follow an owl as it took a message but here in muggle territory he would get a heavy fine for that. So instead he had to use the subway system (something he hoped that he wouldn't have to do again) and ask for directions about twenty times over.

But it was all about to pay off as he stood at the doorway of his destination. Of course as one problem is solved another follows, what group was he supposed to be meeting here? Was this a muggle restaurant or could he say he was with the Hogwarts group? Finally he decided to just walk in and hope that someone would spot him, otherwise he would have to improvise if a waiter came to him.

[Esmerelda Mizart]

Es was quite surprised when she received the invitation. Her life had changed so much, and it was almost like she had forgotten Hogwarts, or blocked it out, in the very least. Not to say, Hogwarts hadn't changed her into the confident woman she was today, but it was hard to forget all of the horrible things she had to go through. And Hogwarts always made her think of Dean, no matter what else she tried to think about, he dominated her very thoughts.

She loved Dean, it was true.

But it just didn't work out. She hated that phrase. It didn't work out? It sounded like they gave up. And in some ways, they did. She was sure they could have worked it out but they were too far gone to do that. But just thinking about Dean made her hesitant to come. What if she acted like a complete fool in front of him? What if she couldn't hide her emotions? What if he didn't come at all? She hated these uncertainties.

Regardless, she figured she should go anyway. She had so many people she hadn't seen in so long, it would be nice to get together and display their lives. So Es cleared her schedule for a couple of days, and was getting ready to go when she realized she had no idea what to wear! It didn't say on the invite. And so, she decided to choose a simple, forest green dress, with her long black hair down and flowy like she liked it. She figured it was safe. So off Es went, used to using the muggle ways to do things, since she lived in America. The flight didn't suck, and it wasn't horribly hard to find the place. When she walked in, she glanced around for anyone she knew. Es did a double take, was that Ari and Nic, [Is he here yet?], with some child in her arms?!?! She contained a squeal that wanted to escape her mouth and made her way over to them.

"Hi!!"

She exclaimed, grinning at them.

[aaaahhhh]

{kicks Nic. I haven't seen him around for a few weeks, so I hope he got my message.}

Arianna kept herself busy playing with Jadon as they waited. She would poke the baby lightly in the stomach and then play peek-a-boo behind the pillows until Jadon was giggling and smiling like the happy baby she was. Arianna was glad she had gotten her daughter to take a long nap earlier; Jadon wasn't always a ball of fun, especially when she was tired. Arianna wouldn't trade her for the world, though.

Stopping mid-peek, Arianna looked up to see the new arrival. It took just a few quick seconds to dig through her brain for a name to match the face. Esmerelda, she was sure. She'd been in Arianna's grade...or was she Nic's? Arianna couldn't remember that much, just that the girl had been in Nic's house and that the two of them had been friends. She'd started up a bit of a friendship with the girl toward the end of her school career, but life had been too hectic since then to try and keep tabs on everyone. It was sure nice to see a familiar face, though.

"Es!" Arianna nearly jumped out of the couch, though she had to be careful as she was picking Jadon up, too. What a perfect opportunity to show off her perfect little angel! "It's so nice to see you! It's nice to see anyone I recognize, really...." Not minding propriety or whatever, Arianna pulled the girl into a quick one-armed hug. "This is Jadon....can believe how much she looks like Nic? I still can't....."

Arianna happened to look passed the girl and caught another familiar face. This one Arianna didn't have to think too hard on, though it suddenly crossed her mind that she hoped both boys were over a particular incident. They really should have been after...what was it? A year...and a half?

"HIRO!" Arianna called out. She lifted her arm to wave the boy in, but stopped when she realized he wouldn't see the motion. He'd certainly know which direction to go, though.

[Nicolae Torque]

{Stop kicking me woman! lol}

Nic watched Ari and Jadon with a small smile on his face. He loved his family more than anything and he was happy he didn't have anything to do today and could pretend everything was normal and fine. He looked at Es and his smile widen. "Es, ma, how are you?" He wondered if anyone was going to comment on how well he spoke in public. He knew his wife noticed the difference, but he wondered if any of their past old "friends" would remember the difference.

Nic rose and hugged her before he turned towards Ari and Jadon. "You know my wife Ari and this is our daughter Jadon." Nic heard Ari squeal a name and Nic turned towards the door. "Excuse me." He walked over to Hiro and paused in front of him.

"Hey, Hiro. We're in a northeast corner of the room. Clear walkway though about 7 steps a chair a little pulled out on the left." Nic walked beside Hiro also escorting him to the group. "How have you been?"

[Hiro McVeil]

(sorry been busy )

Hiro had been confronted by a wait staff and was trying to figure out the best way to answer the questions when he heard his name being called, a perfect excuse to avoid answering. The wait staff seemed relieved as he awkwardly backed away from the blind young man and someone else approached him. The voice was familiar but something seemed off, so much so that he didn't even notice that he was being escorted, a person pet peeve of his. It sounded like Nic but the odd thing about this conversation was that there were no 'dogs' or 'chagetme?' in it. As they approached the small group Hiro was relieved that they'd actually be speaking the same language for the first time.

"I've been working quite a bit since graduation." Hiro replied. "Though I have to admit that business hasn't been exceptionally busy considering how much I've been working."