Glad to be off. (Open!)

[Gerald Dietrich]

It seemed like he had finally been able to escape the scornful eyes of his younger sister and father, and for that Gerald could not help but to heave a sigh of relief. The new term was coming on quickly now, and of course that meant going to Diagon Alley for school supplies. However, there was a vast difference about this time and the year before. Back then, Elénore had for one not been allowed to accompany Gerald and their father. Also, his father had still liked him that time when they visited. Now, It was Elénore and Gerch who enjoyed themselves whilst he just wanted to disappear from them. That chance came when it seemed like his father was intent on taking Elénore down to Knockturn Alley for some bits of special shopping, and Gerald really felt neither interest or respect for that place. Instead, he took that opportunity to leave them. He would not be missed, and he could always just floo home on his own later.

It was shocking just how different people of the same heritage could be sometimes.

It was a sunny day, Hogwarts students running about either alone or with enthusiastic parents trailing on behind them. All in all, Diagon Alley was filled with cheerfulness and anticipation for the new school year. Gerald too was ecstatic about going back to school, but was currently allowing himself to ignore the longing for a while, and just have some fun while he could. Merlin knew he would not smile again until he was safely on the Hogwarts Express.

While Gerald's mind was preoccupied with the bare feat of drinking in all the happenings and views around him, he passed Ollivander's in a haste and steered his steps towards Flourish & Blotts. He still had to pick out his books for his classes this year. There was no way his father would do that, and Gerald was just happy that he had at least been given his own Gringotts account. While his father was not very fond of him, Gerald suspected that Gerch would rather die than let people think they were poor. And that suited Gerald just fine, since he actually enjoyed shopping on his own.

As he finished and thanked the man in the book store, Gerald had almost managed to push away his worries and was rather inclined to visit Florean Fortescue for some of their famous ice cream. 'I might as well, while I have the chance.' He mused, and so he set off in a rather hastened pace, not really bothering about anything in particular. That was, as to say, working quite smoothly for him. Until he crashed into someone as he rounded a corner, of course.

[Rei Quincy]

Rei woke up early for that day. She planned to buy school books and also a good book to read once she was back in Hogwarts. It would be another year in Hogwarts and she was very excited about it. Not that she didn't want to stay home, of course she did because it was the only days where she could be with Joseph, her father. Her father was always working since her mother died so she made it sure that every time she was in her vacation they would eat their breakfast, lunch and dinner together. She was glad when her father agreed to it. She was excited about it because she also liked staying in Hogwarts. She met a lot of interesting people there.

She readied her clothes last night so all she had to do was take a bath. She and her father talked about her trip to Diagon Alley. Her father said that he has an important business to tend to so she would be going to Diagon Alley alone. She was okay with it besides she likes to buy books alone. It was because she really takes her time choosing a good book. Besides, that was not new. Her father never really had a chance to go with her because of his business which she understood. At least, he was still trying to make some time for her. Not unlike before she went to Hogwarts, he almost forgot that she was there and still alive. How she dreaded those days. But because of what happened to her family, she learned to be independent at a young age so she got no problem being alone.

But before going to Flourish and Blotts for her books, she needed to go to Gringotts. Her father gave her a pass in their family account to get some galleons for her to spend. He gave her too much which she saved in case she needed it in the future.

Once she was out of Gringotts, she walked or more like ran to the bookstore. She wanted to finish shopping for school stuffs early because she wanted a drink in her favorite cafe there. It's been a while since she had her iced coffee shake. Without stopping, she turned left and then-- BHAM! She didn't know what happened. All she knew is that she was now sitting on the ground with her butt aching.

[Gerald Dietrich]

'Oh that is a charming way of meeting new people.' A sarcastic voice said in his head as Gerald mentally kicked himself, and the voice, for being so stupid. He never really made a habit of running since it normally ended badly one way or another. This was obviously one of those outcomes.

He had managed to stay standing, but the poor girl he had smashed into was not so fortunate. On the verge of panic, he noted that she was probably quite older than him, though still looked the age of a Hogwarts student. "Sorry! I did not see where I was going." As he had been brought up, apologizing was not needed. Not when you were above everyone else. But according to Gerald, that was all pure tomfoolery. People were people, and that was it. "Are you all right?" He added, his tone worried. It would not do to have an injured girl on his conscience, especially not someone older than himself.

Getting himself together Gerald offered a hand for her to take, much as an extended apology but also as a token of friendship. She seemed vaguely familiar to him, with that face and brown hair. Which meant that he had most likely seen her somewhere at the school in his previous year, but just could not remember. And if they were going to attend the same school, there was no way he wanted an extra enemy. He had a feeling that his sister was going to make his life as miserable as she possible could all by herself.

He was not one to linger on worried feelings, since it made him rather depressed. But this summer had been particularly foul, and had as such affected his normal mood. Which was partly why he was looking forward to school, hopefully his sanity would remain intact when he was away from the manor. Determined to at least try and save the horrible first impression he without doubt must have earned with the girl, he tried a shy smile and introduced himself, since such was, as opposed to greeting someone by barging head first into them, the polite way to behave. "Um, my name is Gerald by the way. Gerald Dietrich."

[Rei Quincy]

"Sorry! I did not see where I was going. Are you all right?"

Rei looked up and blinked her eyes for a few times. She focused her eyes to the one who she bumped into. This is embarassing, she thought when she realized who she bumped into. Well, she doesn't really know his name but she was very sure she already saw him. If she remembered it right, she saw him in Hogwarts. Yes, he was with his friends. She sometimes saw him laughing with his friends on the school grounds. She also knew that he's younger than her that made it more embarassing. They literally smashed into each other and he still managed to stay standing while she was on the ground. Then she noticed that he was extending his hand to her and that was when she realized that she was still on the ground.

"Um, my name is Gerald by the way. Gerald Dietrich."

"Uhm, I'm Rei," she told him while reaching for his hand. "Rei Quincy. I'm fine, thanks. And it was not entirely your fault. I was the one who was in a hurry. I should have stop when I was making my turn." she said and gave him a smile. She was trying all her might not to blush but it was really embarassing. She was the older one but her body betrayed her by being the one on the ground. She tried to take his mind out of it. It was not as if her body was that firm, it was actually the opposite.

For that experience, she told herself to restrain herself for now on from running in a place where there is a high possibility she would bumped into someone. This would possibly be in her top three most embarassing moment. She might be always hanging around on crowded places but she was sitting from afar on where she could see the people just right that's why she was not really prone to accidents.

[Gerald Dietrich]

"Rei Quincy. I'm fine, thanks. And it was not entirely your fault. I was the one who was in a hurry. I should have stop when I was making my turn."

She seemed rather shaken by the ordeal, and just stared at him for a while before taking his hand and allowing him to help her up. Well, that was not much of a surprise. The whole running into had been rather sudden, after all. He almost felt grateful for her demeanour; she seemed more or less just as sorry as he did. On the whole the fact that she seemed worried too helped to ease his panicked mind. That probably meant she was not for Slytherin, at least. "Nice to meet you. I should have done that too, but I guess I was a bit too carefree." He really needn't bother her with the information as to why he had been hurrying, and unless his sister decided to appear before them hopefully that would be safely kept in the dark. He knew it was childish of him to be afraid of Elénore, but he really, really did not want to meet her again today. So the ice cream parlour seemed like a nice idea to him, since his younger sibling despised the taste of it.

Thinking quickly for a moment, Gerald shifted his feet and looked up at the slightly taller girl. "As an apology of sorts, would you care to join me for some ice cream at Fortescue's?" Figuring that it was better to go together, than to kill time alone he spoke his mind somewhat awkwardly. Hopefully, she was nice and in a house that did not despise him. Her voice certainly sounded rather pleasant, Gerald thought.

As he waited for a reply, he absent-mindedly watched the crowds of people running about and minding their own business.

((I'm going to assume that Rei is the taller of the two, since none of us have their heights stated in their bios. She is older, after all.))

[Rei Quincy]

((Yes, she's taller because of her age.))

"As an apology of sorts, would you care to join me for some ice cream at Fortescue's?"

Hmm... Ice cream..., a thought swirling on her mind. But what about her plan to drop by on her favorite cafe in Diagon Alley for her favorite smoothie? Her eyes turned to him. He was looking around so she was not certain if he would really like it if she accompanied him in Fortescue. There was a thought too that he might be with his family or friends. She's not really that good in socializing. That was because she doesn't really have a reason to learn to socialize. There were no party she needed to attend to nor celebrations in her house. In her house, the only visitors they got would be either her father's employees or his clients. So most of those times, she would just stay quiet and only talk when asked to.

But then again, a little detour won't hurt, a voice in her head said when her eyes still lingers on him. With that, she stopped thinking. She could always go there anytime she would like. Plus, it means she won't be alone for the time being and an addition to her list of friends would be just wonderful. It won't be fun talking to herself anyways.

She was going to say yes but then she remembered she was still not finish with her shopping. She still needed to buy her books. She can't really delayed that errand. She thought quickly that made her look funny. Her facial expression looked weird as her friends always say to her. There would be a knot on her forehead, her pouted lower lip would stick out and her fore finger would keep tapping her chin. After some thought, she decided that she'll just buy her school books so she can be quick on it.

"I love to Gerald but you see, I need to buy my school books first. Would it be okay if you go first and I'll just follow? I promise I'll be quick," she asked hoping he would understand. He seemed a good kid so it would be nice having him as a friend.

[Gerald Dietrich]

"I love to Gerald but you see, I need to buy my school books first. Would it be okay if you go first and I'll just follow? I promise I'll be quick,"

Well, she had not declined at least. Which probably proved her nice enough for actual friend material, something that Gerald definitely did not mind. He had friends of course, but not all that many. And the truth was that he actually feared, on some irrational annoying level, that some of them were going to leave him for his sister. Of course, that could not be true, but Elénore had stolen so much from him already that it was not a complete impossibility.

He considered offering Rei his help, but then decided against it. Perhaps she was meeting her family along the way. And besides, he would have the chance to look at the new flavours for quite a while before having to make up his mind about which ones to buy. Chances were that he would even make it to the toppings before she caught up with him. "Sure, I'll just run along over to Fortescue." He said, sounding far less worried by now. Most of the initial surprise was gone, and his day seemed quite fine to him again.

Coincidentally, as Gerald was about to bid her good buy for a while, since she seemed rather urgent to be off, he spotted two very familiar figures taking leave from a shady alley close by. That did not play too well with his plan of a nice day. "Um, Good luck with your shopping. See you at the ice cream parlour!" He concluded, before disappearing in the direction of said place. Which thankfully meant the opposite direction of his so-called family.

As he reached the comforting interior of the cosy Fortescue's, he shrugged everything else not related to ice cream and friendship away from his mind, and contented himself in greeting the man behind the counter before falling into throughout deliberation about flavour choices and whatnot.

[Rei Quincy]

"Sure, I'll just run along over to Fortescue."

Gerald's answered which brightened her face up. All she had to do now was to buy her books. Though she would need to control herself from buying other books that usually takes a lot of her time. She would not let him wait for long. She knew that it would not be cool to wait long for someone. And he was now a friend of hers. A new friend that she did not want to think bad of her.

"Um, Good luck with your shopping. See you at the ice cream parlour!"

She was about to bid her good bye too but he was off to the ice cream parlour. She seemed a bit in hurry that made her think while she was walking to the direction of Flourish and Blotts. She didn't know him that much to think of a reason of his sudden actions. He might really want to eat ice cream. She could ask him why later or not. There's a high possibility that she won't remember it. She decided to stop thinking about it. It won't do her good anyway. Plus, she doesn't want to get hit again and this time because of her absent-mindedness. After a few minutes, she arrived in the store. It didn't take a while to get there because she might not be running but she was walking really fast.

She looked around the store. They were a lot of students at that time so the line of the counter was a bit long. Paying might take a while. Fortunately she knew almost all the books in the store so she knew where to look for. She didn't need to go to the counter and ask for assistance. She took out her list and started looking for the books listed in there. She already had the two books listed so that lessens the amount of time and money she would be using. She started collecting her books. After some time, she was done with it. She fell in line and was lucky that the others are already finished paying so she was the third customer in the line. She patiently waited then greeted the shop keeper when it was her turn. "Hello dear, I notice that you bought your books in a short of time and they are just schoolbooks. That might be a record," the shop keeper joked that made her smile. She would always buy her books there so the lady already knows her. "I have an appointment after this that's why. I will be back though so please reserve me some good books," she smilingly told her while paying and then bid farewell when she was done.

With a paper bag full of books in her hand, she headed to Fortescue to meet up with Gerald. They were a lot of people mostly kids there so she was having a hard time locating him. She looked around trying to see where Gerald is.

[Gerald Dietrich]

Gerald did feel a bit bad for leaving Rei in such a rush, but he had his reasons, and she did not need to be troubled by them. At least not for the moment. He did not believe that his sister or father would venture towards this part of Diagon Alley, since no stores "worthy of their time" was located in this area. Which suited Gerald just fine.

As he finished his quest of choosing just the right kind of flavour to buy, he smiled at the shopkeeper and placed his order before finding a table to sit down at. Which was surprisingly easy, seeing how crowded Fortescue's always seemed to be. Today was no exception, but it seemed like everyone just bought their ice cream and left to tend to their other errands. As he sat there at the small table, surveying the happy families chatting about mindless things around him, a small smile crept to his face. It must be nice for kids to have the option of acting like a child without too many reprimands. Gerch had always wanted his children, even when he happened to despise them, to act mature and sophisticated.

The door opened for what seemed to be the millionth time, but this time it was not by just another family but rather by the very girl he was waiting for. She seemed content with herself, obviously having finished shopping judging by the goods she was carrying. However, she did not quite seem to be able to see him. Which was understandable, after all he had chosen a table in the less noisy area. Instead of just hopelessly waving at her, he got up and went to meet her. Just in time it seemed, since the busy shopkeeper handed him his ice cream immediately as he reached the counted. "Finished your shopping?" He more or less stated, kindly with a smile on his face.

[Rei Quincy]

"Finished your shopping?"

Gerald said facing her with a smile that also put smile on her face. A smile would always be on her face every time she would see someone smiling. That would probably be her favorite part, a smiling lips. He was just in time showing his self to her because she was about to move around to find him. "Yes, I'm finished," she said showing him the bag she was carrying. "Sorry if I made you wait long. I see you got your ice cream already. Wanna escort me in ordering mine?" she asked nicely.

She wondered how long they're gonna stay there. And if Gerald has other plans or he's with someone. She figured that she should ask him later about it. She doesn't want to be a hindrance to him. She doesn't want to take his time if he needed to go somewhere or he needed to meet someone. She still might see him after this anyways. They were in the same school after all. That reminded her to ask him what year and house is he in. She still doesn't know that part.

She made a mental note not to forget all the important question she needed to ask. She was not really a forgetful person. It was just that her memory would be sometimes full that she would forget the other things. A habit of hers she wanted to change.