1994-07-01: Boomslang Fever

Participants:

Cullen_icon.gif Cho_icon.gif Hermione_icon.gif Snape_icon.gif Siobhan_icon.gif Antigone_icon.gif Jack_icon.gif

Scene Title Boomslang Fever
Synopsis An impromptu gathering of students (and others) in Diagon.
Date 01 July, 1994
Watch For Some flirting, some hissing and just a pinch of Crazy.
Chronology N/A
Logger Siobhan

Diagon Alley

This place is surely like no other on earth! The narrow cobblestone lane is crowded with vendor's carts while buildings are packed in on each other on both sides of the lane. Very little room if any can be found between the buildings, but narrow alleys can be found here and there. The entire area feels like you've just set foot onto the set of a Charles Dickens tale almost. Usually people can be found up and down this area at all times of the day and night. While in a way this scene isn't too out of place in England, the contents are! The shops lining the lane are out of the ordinary due to their nature and the people crowding around are definitely out of this world. The soft hooting of owls can be heard from Eeylops Owl Emporium, strange and often disgusting smells filter out of the Apothecary, while a throng of children and a few adults ogle merchandise found in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies.


The streets of Diagon Alley are crowded. What with Hogwarts classes coming somewhat soon and the joy of being out without classes or homework, students take to the streets to enjoy ice cream, drool over quidditch supplies, or - if you're Hermione Granger - paw all the books at Flourish and Blott's. Having been very good and only come out of the store with a bag full of books (as opposed to two) she heaves the heavy load over her shoulder and counts her change, just to make sure. She's always careful like that.

Another day, another trek to Diagon Alley. At this rate, Antigone would do just as well to take out a room at the Leaky Cauldron. But really, it is the wonder of Floo powder, isn't it. Marvellous invention for getting one away from overly rambunctious little sisters and other undesirable things at home. The Hufflepuff girl wanders along the main shopping concourse, not seeming to have any aim in particular. As a small boy goes running past, chasing a handful of coins he'd dropped, Tig turns to watch him go, and not looking where she's going, seems on a collision course with the bookish Gryffindor.

Oh joy! Collision course. Riley can see Antigone heading toward Hermione as he walks by, seemingly not paying attention — rather than say anything to help, however, he instead lifts his hand to offer a subtle wave and a smile toward Tig. Perhaps trying to distract her even more and intensify the collision. He uses his other hand to brush a few strands of dark, smooth hair back behind his ear absentminded, and totally not like a chick. Really.

Luckily for Antigone - unluckily, perhaps for Riley - Hermione is perceptive. Plus, she had just finished counting her change and was putting her purse back into her robes when Antigone drifted her way. Stepping deftly out of the way, she reaches out a hand to guide the Hufflepuff gently in a direction that doesn't lead right into her. "Pardon me," she smiles easily. "It's certainly crowded today, isn't it!"

Antigone is, alas, pretty easily distracted today, and so Riley's friendly wave does the trick to keep her from noticing that she's unwittingly attempting to run right into someone. It's only when Hermione's hand is suddenly guiding her out of the way that she looks back over, clearly surprised to find herself so /close/ to someone. "Pandora's box! Sorry!" she exclaims sheepishly, flashing an apologetic grin at Hermione. "Quite crowded, indeed." Riley gets a faintly puzzled frown, as the Hufflepuff tries to figure if he saw that about to happen or not. But she opts in the end to assume he didn't, or of course he would have said something, yes?

Riley faintly frowns when no collision occurs — blast. Should've known. Never any fun with Gryffindor! But when Antigone looks over at him, he just smiles again — as warmly and sweetly as he can, no less. "Having a bit of a clumsy day?" He asks in a quiet voice as he steps a bit closer — he looks toward Antigone. "I'm afraid I don't recall what your name was. Someone asked me, and I had to tell them I didn't know." He explains, faintly frowning.

"It's quite alright." Hermione is proud to have been of some service and directed Antigone out of the way of harm for now. "I'm amazed no one else has been run into or trampled on. It's a bit of mad house here!" Switching her heavy bag of books to another shoulder - none of them actually being school books, those she acquired at the very beginning of summer - she smiles and does what she does best: chide gently. "I'd make sure to watch where you're going, otherwise you might find yourself down a bad twist. There're some places I wouldn't want to find myself lost in, even in Diagon Alley." When Riley steps closer, she watches the Slytherin with a bit of cautious attitude. Lions and snakes don't get along. But, he has yet to say anything outrightly snark worthy, so she keeps any thoughts she may have to herself.

"Yeah, it definitely seems to be picking up around here," Antigone agrees with a nod, looking around with wide eyes at the crowds. She's feeling a little bit better about her near miss until Riley points out her clumsy day, and she's left to frown slightly again. "I … guess I am." But she shrugs it off readily enough, summoning up another smile. "Antigone Atherton. And you are?" She waits patiently for a beat before turning back to Hermione, taking in the advice with wide-eyed earnestness. "I only looked away for a moment," she half-explains, half-protests. "It's just so busy, I suppose I got distracted." It's been known to happen.

Two young girls step out of the ice cream shop, both holding cones of different flavors. The almond eyed slightly taller one giggles softly as she waves to the other as they nhead in opposite directions. "I'll see you later, Marietta!" Cho quips, giving a friendly wave beforelooking around the area scanning for any familiar and hopefully friendly faces.

Riley makes a little dismissively gesture with his hand. "Ah. Antigone. I see." He says, pausing for a moment — "Riley Skivington." He introduces, lowering his head slightly for a moment. He glances then glances off in another direction before speaking again. "Nice to meet you, I suppose." Of course, he's not even looking at Tig, and his voice doesn't sound.. super-duper sincere and excited.

To be expected of a Slytherin. Hermione's seen him around Hogwarts, though she didn't know his name until now. With a roll of her eyes, she doesn't bother with the introductions with him. He doesn't seem to be all that interested, anyway. Instead, she hones in on Antigone. "Oh, I didn't mean to…I just meant you should be careful!" What with near collisions and places like Knockturn Alley being close by. She's been trying to cut back on her bossy nature. As much as that's possible for anyone like Hermione. "I'm sorry, I know I've seen you around Hogwarts. I'm Hermione."

"You only suppose? I'm very nice to meet, I assure you," Antigone replies in jest, trying not to be put off by the Slytherin boy's lack of enthusiasm. She gives him an eyebrow-arch, looking at him for a moment before shaking her head and turning back to Hermione, smile returning. "Yeah, I guess I really should try to be more careful. Did you see the boy with his coins though? I wonder if he got those all back…" she muses, glancing over that way a moment to see if she can tell. But before she can even really try to pick him out through the crowd, she's turning back to Hermione again. "It's nice to meet you, Hermione."

There's a continual scan of the crowd, but considering this part of the city is usually crowded, Cho slumps a little, not initially recognizing anyone. Oh well, there's her ice cream to console hera bit until the crowd starts to part, and there's a somewhat recognizable young boy by two girls, one of whom she recognizes from before, and another merely through reputation. She heads on over, smiling brightly the entire time before giving a friendly wave to Riley, "And we run into each other again!" she chirps.

Cullen is alone today, gang abandoned, hands tucked into pockets and chin tilted upward. Pale eyes scan skyward, lips upturned into one tiny smile as he wags his way down the street. He's not very careful about it, though the boy does at least manage to skirt all the people he passes by, averting near-disasters and crashes with pivot of feet. Only occasionally does he actually scan his surroundings, stopping to check the name of building, or archways that lead off elsewhere.

Riley turns on his heels when he hears Cho's voice, with a smooth, girly swish of his hair. "Oh. You. Hello." He says, lifting a hand to briefly wave before he gestures lightly toward Antigone. "This was that Hufflepuff girl I told you about. The one who was offended by her house being described as 'everyone else'." He explains, his lips slowly curling into a soft little smirk. He probably should try to be less overtly unpleasant, but well.. it's hard!

Intolerable. A summer's worth of reading and further erudition lost because of a certain individual's hopeless inadequacies as both a caretaker and a human being. The precious months hold the few days he can enjoy a lack of interruption, improving his already superior intellect without having to bestow titbits of information upon ungrateful students who would sooner learn to cast useless practical joke hexes or throw an idiotic quaffle through the air.
No, Snape is far from impressed with having to be in Diagon Alley. It shows by the perpetual scowl on his face as he moves through the crowd, robes fluttering about him like horrible, black wings and eyes scanning the stalls and stores on either side of the walkway. Glumbumble's half price? Probably already dead. Bezoars? Maybe.
If he does see the students, he pays them no heed.

Well. Hermione doesn't really mind being ignored by Riley, as she was doing the same to him. However, that doesn't mean that she enjoys it. "The boy?" While normally observant, the Gryffindor doesn't catch everything that happens around her. "Which boy?" As if expecting to see him now, she glances around. And that's how she sees Snape billowing his way down the Alley as if this were the hallways of Hogwarts. If she were Ron, she'd utter some sort of curse. But, she's not. Tilting up her chin a little in defiance already, she just nods as Cho joins their group. "Afternoon, Cho." To Riley, she just raises an eyebrow. "I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't be offended by such an offhand remark," she adds to him. "Really, Hogwarts was founded in order to promote camaraderie among witches and wizards of each House. They each have their own strengths. Don't you pay attention in Binn's class?"

"You didn't see him? He dropped all his money and was chasing it down the street," Antigone replies airily, waving a hand along the way he went, though she seems to have already moved on in her mind. There's too much going on here and now to worry about the boy, even if she was the one who brought him up. "'lo Cho," she greets with a friendly smile, which fades as Riley goes on. But as Hermione speaks up on her behalf, her spirits buoy somewhat. "We aren't just 'everyone else'. And I don't see why it is you can't just be proud of your own house without having to put mine down." Huffy Hufflepuff coming up, as ordered. Though the wind is knocked from her sails slightly as she finally catches sight of Snape and pulls a face. "Is that /Snape/?" she asks incredulously. It's strange enough seeing professors out of school without it being /that/ one. She always just sort of imagined he couldn't go out in the daylight or stray too far from the dungeons at school.

"Now what did I tell you about baiting.." Cho says, giving Riley a little bit of a reprimanding look as she shakes her head and lets out a soft oye under her breath. She perks up over to Hermione and Antigone and nods, "An…Antigone, right? I have to keep on making a mental note of Oedipus Rex every time I see you.." she says with a soft chuckle under her breath before continuing. "How is your summer so far, Hermione? Oh, you should join Harry and I for a bit of quidditch, it'll be good fun!" seeming to look forward to a bit of practice against her Gryffindor rival. She takes another quick scan of the area beforeshe spies Snape and lets out a little eep, becoming sheepish before spying Cullen in the corner of her eye.
"Cullen! I've finally made it to London!" she calls out, slightly loud, but hey, what does she care? And she motions him over.

Riley's head lowers just a little as he's.. chided. Reprimanded! How droll. He quirks an eyebrow and glances toward Antigone again. "Well, if you'll recall, it wasn't me who said it. It was that little soon-to-be first year. I never expressly claimed to /believe/ it, only that I thought it was funny." He says, slowly and calmly. Not.. exactly an apology. But maybe as close to one as Slytherins can muster. Of course, when Antigone mentions Snape, he rather eagerly whirls — again with the girly hairswish — to look.

Cullen does, after some delay, arc head over in the direction of the shout. There's a pause, slow tilt of head and squint of eyes before Cho and the cluster of students is spotted. A smile after, quick tug at lips as the boy begins to make his way toward then, one hand raising in return. "Cho," He chimes back, head arcing back and forth when he draws closer. "Antigone," The others just get genial nods, names apparently not placed.

Snape. Snape. Snape.
Although he may not deign to look upon the students, he can certainly hear them and hear his name. He's used to hearing it spoken in hushed, sometimes nervous whispers - in fact, he very much prefers it that way. Better than people being happy to see him, after all. His eyes still fixed forward, he pauses at a stall not at all far from where the small group is gathering.
He reaches out to pluck what looks to be a dried plant of some kind from a hook hanging from the stall's roof, turning it over in his hands. The shopkeeper eagerly spouts off the many different benefits of the herb, all of which appear to fall on deaf ears.

Much like He Who Must Not Be Named, Snape must be able to hear people when they say his name. It's disconcerting. Like any girl who's lived through harrowing circumstances, Hermione keeps one eye on danger, namely the Potions Professor. "Oh, I must have missed him," the bushy haired brunette replies to Antigone with a bit of a frown. She doesn't like missing things. "Yes, I think it must be. I didn't think he could leave the Dungeons." Like vampires or cockroaches.

To Cho, she gives a friendly smile, but shakes her head. "I leave the Quidditch and the flying around on brooms to Harry and Ron." She hates flying. It's one of the few things she's not good at. "I prefer to cheer from the sidelines." As the students seem to be gathering quite a big group, she nods to Cullen and steps more toward the side so that they're not in people's way. In a more stuffy bit, she adds to Riley, "Actually, I don't recall anything, as I wasn't in the conversation before. I was only pointing out to you how we're all supposed to benefit from each other's strengths and differences." It's hard to not be all know-it-all in front of a Slytherin.

"Yeah, that's right," Antigone replies to Cho with a grin, nodding to confirm her name. "Though … not the same Antigone," she feels the need to add after a moment, just in case there's any confusion on that front. As Cullen comes to join them, her grin remains and she offers a nod of greeting. "Hello Cullen," she returns in kind, before looking back to Riley again, brow furrowing slightly. "All right, well, I suppose you didn't say it, you're right," she has to concede as she thinks back on it. "Just, since you're the one bringing it up now, it sounded like you agreed. And I wasn't exactly /offended/," she adds just a touch defensively. Hermione gets a shrug, since the boy seems to be gone now. "He was just a regular kid, I guess. Just one who was chasing his money down the street," she explains, a little distracted as she looks back over to see Snape paused not too far away. That's just all sorts of disconcerting. "I rather wish he couldn't…" she murmurs, as to him leaving the dungeons. It just looks /wrong/ otherwise.

"Antigone, there's proud of your house, then there's insecurity as well. If you were truly proud, then there's no reason to get upset when someone makes an uninformed statement." Cho says looking over to Antigone with a warm smile still on her features. "Besides, certain…people might see it as a weakness, and if they know you get upset, they'll start poking and prodding until you get even more upset, and then it just adds to their fun.." If she's talking about Slytherins here, she's been subtle, not exactly naming any names, colors, or houses in particular. "The best thing is to just ignore it.." she says with a firm and resolute nodin the end, smiling the entire time. "Besides, you have the 'great motivational speaker'in your house and that's something to be proud of.."

A wry grin and a wink is sent in Cullen's direction as she wraps an arm around his shoulder, squeezing fondly. "I do hope you dont mind that I'll be borrowing him as well, but if you have a talent, might as well share, right?" A soft and impish giggle can be heard escaping from her lips as she looks back over to Hermione with a slight pout. "Awww, that's a shame, but cheering from the sidelines is fun. Are you all going to the All Star Quidditch match?" This question is posed to everyone.

Gesturing with his hand again, Riley shakes his hand. "Oh, I wouldn't go so far as to say Hufflepuff is just the dumping house." He says, smiling as sweetly as he can despite the.. not terribly flattering words. "And, as I said with Ravenclaw, joining Hufflepuff isn't the worst. One could certainly do worse than Hufflepuff." He says, nodding slowly. Well, it probably isn't Slytherin which he considers the worst after Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. He turns his head toward Hermione and and offers her another, sickly sweet smile, while he lifts a hand and nudges his glasses up a bit higher on his nose. Wonderfully nice! Honest.

Cullen comes to a stop when he's close enough, the girl on his shoulder helping immensely with judging the distance. There's a flash of grin down at Cho, mention of, "You made it," He mentions, "And I suppose I can't say no, right?" That said his attention turns to the other member of his house, glance snuck toward the Hufflepuff with mention of, "Sorry."
There are other things to look at after. A snuck glance across the street toward Snapeish figure, furtive duck of head after. Then toward Hermione, mention of, "Seen you, haven't I? That girl with Potter." Genial smile is offered, small wince when he catches Riley's words. "That's rough."

Who knows what nastiness lurks in the mind of Snape? Perhaps he actually enjoys listening to people talking about how horrid and scary it is to have him lurking around. It may even explain why he still hasn't decided what to purchase from the stall, plucking a jar full with colourful fluid and what looks to be a still-beating heart from a collection of odd-shaped glassware before him.
"I don't think so," Snape says quietly when the shopkeeper asks if he wants to buy it, placing it back with the others, "How much for the monkshood?"
As Snape reaches out to collect a bundle of oddly-pretty yellow flowers from the keeper, his black eyes dart sidelong for just a moment to catch Antigone's glance. His expression does not change, but he still manages to look quite mean.

Eyeing Riley, Hermione just turns up her nose at him. He can't be bothered with, really. Because she knows that Gryffindor is better than Slytherin. Camaraderie or not. Instead, she turns her attention to Cho, Cullen and Antigone. Even Snape is banished from her view. Though she's still aware that he's over there. Buying things. Being…Snape.

"We'd planned to go. It's supposed to be a big event! I've been reading about the past ones in one of the books I got at Flourish and Blott's! It seems like it'll be quite exciting." To Cullen, she shifts the large bag of her own books and nods. "Normally, I simply go by Hermione. And you are?" No girl likes to be known simply as the girl who goes around with Harry Potter.

Antigone's eyebrows go up a little at Cho's spiel. "I wasn't upset at the first year," she states again in a slightly firmer tone. "I just filled her in on how we're more than just 'everyone else'." To the snickers of the Slytherins, but no matter. "Honestly, I hadn't even thought it that big a deal, so I'm a little surprised to find out people are talking about it…" And by 'people', she clearly means Riley from how her gaze cuts over to him, eyebrows still up. But after considering his words, she furrows them thoughtfully. It was sort of like an apology, and yet it didn't make things seem at all better. Realizing this conversation is one she just seems to keep losing no matter what, she tries to shrug it off. "Just don't be such a good motivational speaker that they beat us," she replies to Cullen with a grin, maybe not quite so quick as it would have been before. She seems perhaps about to say more, but Snape catching her gaze is enough to catch her voice in her throat. Her eyes widen and she rather quickly looks away, like he might turn her to stone or something. It takes her a moment to realize that the conversation has moved on to Quidditch, but she returns enthusiastically to make up for it: "Oh yeah, I'm sure we're going to go. It sounds massive. I bet everyone'll be there."

"I hear some of the North American players are quite dreamy, but I'm just glad there's representation from the Tutshill Tornados!" Cho chirps happily, beaming the entire time. She gives Cullen a fond squeeze once more before realizing what she's doing and she quickly unwraps the arm from his shoulder, coughing a little as her cheeks burn a bright tinge of red. She snickers softly at the mention of Hermione's title while chewing quietly on her bottom lip.

It's then that she notices Snape once more and hrmms for a few moments, peeking out towards him from behind Cullen.

Riley steps back just a little from the others as the talk turns to Quidditch; he lifts a hand to start twiddling and toying with some of his hair, tugged forward over his shoulder. Seems the little girly Slytherin isn't big on flying and Quidditch either. He does, however, take the chance to turn his head away from Hermione, and return the proverbial nose-turn-upping. Hrmph! He just glances off in another direction instead, half-lidding his pale grey-blue eyes. He doesn't dare look at Snape directly, of course. A Slytherin especially isn't foolish enough to do something like that!

Cullen's elbow moves, giving Cho a playful sort of nudge when she detaches. It's not a very subtle thing, but it works. Attention turns toward Hermione after, mention made of, "Right, sorry." Flash of teeth is made in apology, reply of, "Cullen Langley. Hufflepuff, I usually blend in with whoever I'm with." Sweep of head brings him back to the other member of his house, "I'll try. I get carries away sometimes."
One last glance back toward the figure of Snape, squint of eyes before he settles attention on Cho again. "Is that offer still open? Don't know how you'll manage it, but I'll go to the Cup if it is."

"Yes," Snape says, his tone suggesting that he's had quite enough of the shopkeeper's talking as he hands over a collection of galleons, "And the boomslang."
Having paid for his assortment, Snape retrieves a bag containing a collection of different herbs and a small wooden cage containing what looks to be a very vividly green snake. A boomslang, for those of you playing at home.
As he steps past the group towards yet another stall, the snake suddenly stirs and opens its mouth wide - bearing fangs and hissing loudly. It throws itself in the direction of the students, looking for a moment as though it may escape the overly-wide bars of the cage before striking some magical barrier and curling back in upon itself. Snape does not so much as glance at it.

Apparently, Snape is like the sun. If looked directly upon, he'll cause blindness. Hermione takes that non-verbal advice to heart. After her initial wariness, she tries to keep out of his path. No good could come of it. School isn't in session yet, so he can't take points off of Gryffindor, but she knows he could store it up for some meaningless attack once classes had started again. "Pleasure," she replies politely to Cullen. "I wouldn't say that," she tells him. "I remember seeing you around." But, being the girl who hangs around with Potter half the time and the girl who studies too hard the other, she doesn't get out all that much.

Cho's arm nudging and grasping onto Cullen is noted. Something to remember not to tell Harry when she sees him again. To Antigone, she nods. "The book I read seemed to think that it's one of the biggest Wizard gatherings save for the World Cup and a tournament that hasn't happened in a hundreds years. It's certainly something not to miss." the snake that lunges toward them is given a glare and Hermione steps back automatically, not about to put it past Snape to 'accidentally' set a poisonous snake on them. When it hits it's barrier, she lets out a breath.

Today seems to be the day to hang out in the Alley. In comes one more addition to the pot; a petite sort of blonde who walks with a bounce in her step. Despite the gaggle of familiar students, she seems to be looking for someone else, someone who isn't there. The hissing boomslang smashing against its cage does draw her attention away for the moment. She smiles, getting a closer look at the creature before straightening and offering a brighter smile to the dour Potions Master. "Hullo, Professor! Who's your friend?" she inquires congenially, nodding towards the cage.

Antigone doesn't miss the extra touching going on between Cho and Cullen either, but other than a slight lift of her eyebrows, she makes no comment. She's just happy to be off of the inter-house bickering, really. Riley does get a glance, but since he's being quiet, she can't be too suspicious of him right now. To Cullen, she flashes another grin and shrugs her shoulders: "Maybe you need to give yourself a speech first to motivate yourself /not/ to make us lose?" she suggests, though the logic of that makes her own brain hurt. She gives her head a quick shake to clear it and then looks back at Hermione. "Wow, that's even bigger than I would have thought!" she remarks, now more determined than ever not to miss it. Again, she might add more, but with the snake leaping at them, she's rather too busy giving out a girly shriek and jumping back slightly.

Of course, Riley doesn't dare to /move/ when the snake makes it's strike against the invisible barrier — he knows that making Slytherin look cowardly infront of Snape and others would be enormously unwise for him. However, he can't help but quiver faintly like a schoolgirl at the sound, and he scrunches his nose a bit. His eyes turn toward Siobhan when he hears her voice.. she is certainly braver than him, that's for sure.

Snakes. Scary. Especially ones that looks like it'll get out of the cage, and Cho lets out a yelp, clinging onto Cullen's arm unconsciously once more before she looks towards him. "Um of course it's still on the table. It's always more fun with more people!" she says with a nervous chuckle before furtively glancing towards Hermione and antigone once more. Girls are quick to pick up on things, and not wanting rumors to start flying around, she quickly releases his arm once more. "Snakes…never liked 'em..I dont ever think I will.." she admits ruefully.

"Miss Noble," Snape begins, not sounding particularly surprised or enthused to see her - simply stating that he remembers her name. The question causes him to glance down at the snake in the cage, lifting an eyebrow, "It is a boomslang. I believe we've already covered this in your Potions class - a bright green snake whose skin is used in the concoction of Polyjuice Potion? Does that happen to ring a bell?"
He does not sound overly pleased that Siobhan cannot recall what a boomslang is, not fathoming that she might be asking for the pet's name. Since when does Snape keep pets and if he did, since when does he name them? Tsk tsk. Riley is afforded a very displeased glare out of the corner of his eye.
"If that man isn't the creepiest thing I've ever seen," Cullen's voice is low, quiet words passed to the circle when snake strikes up against invisible wall. He doesn't make much objection at playing occasional post for Cho to rest on, just giving rueful smile at the girl, reply of, "Then I'll go. Might even keep out of trouble, for the most part."
With that half-promise made Cullen performs somber nod in direction of Antigone, "Guess I could try it. Those things come on the spur of the moment, though, it seems." Helpless shrug follows. "I'll get one for everyone, though. I do love to talk."

Oh, oh, call on Hermione! She knows what a Polyjuice Potion is! Quite well, in fact. But, she keeps her thoughts to herself, as that would mean she would have to confess to stealing from Snape's office in her second year. There are many things she would prefer not to do. "He belongs with the bats and the vampires, never to see the light of day," she agrees under her breath. The books over her shoulder are starting to take their toll, though. As she shifts them to another shoulder, she glances at those gathered. "I should start going before my parents start to worry." While they find this wizarding thing quite amusing and amazing for their daughter, that doesn't mean they want her wandering around by herself all the time in the afternoon. "I've got loads of books to get through now, too. Hopefully I'll see you all at the Match."

"It does, actually. Several bells," she returns pleasantly. The man's condescension and frigid manner doesn't seem to phase Siobhan one whit. One could, perhaps, argue that she's well used to such things by now. Seven years will inure a person to quite a lot. "Yes, Professor. I know it's a boomslang. The color and the hissin' sort of gave it away, yeah?" She flashes the older gentleman a bright smile, though snatches of other conversation cause her brown eyes to dart for the group of students every so often. "I meant to ask what its name was, Professor."

Riley can feel Snape's glare on him, without even looking. /Feel/ it. That thick dread. When Hermione pipes up about leaking, he clears his throat a little, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. "That sounds like a good idea, Miss Gryffindor student." No, Hermione doesn't get named properly, "I think I'll be leaving as well." He glances toward Antigone, Cho, and Cullen — nodding to the three before he takes a step back, and turns with another swish.

Antigone recovers from the fright slowly, a hand over her chest to make sure her heart doesn't leap right out of it. She tries to bring her attention back to the conversation, although she remains wide-eyed. "Well, just try to make the one for our team better then," she suggests to Cullen, still mostly kidding. Mostly. She looks back at Hermione, nodding emphatically, now more in agreement than ever that Snape clearly shouldn't be out roaming Diagon Alley like this. "I'll, uh, I'll see you around then, Hermione," she offers pleasantly, and then a little more cautiously, "You too, Riley."

"Huuush, he might turn you to stone.." Cho whispers to Cullen as she wraps her arms around his once more. There's just creepy and well, it's getting her skin all goosepimply. As the others start to leave, she pouts a little, definitely not wanting to be left with the professor, the elder Slytherin and the snake. "Um…ice cream anyone?" she asks around her, her brows raising, nhoping to change the subject from creepy to something a bit more pleasant.

"I'll make it," Cullen confides to Cho, cheery assurance that comes with drag of elbow. He seems at least be comfortable with his on and off again attachment. "Ice cream," He agrees, "If it'll get me out of here. I owe you the tour, right? Should have expected you to pick the boring places." Impish smile is flashed after, free hand arcing up toward Antigone, "How about you? Food?" And he waves at the departures, calling, "Good to meet you."

"It has no name," Snape answers, "It's just a way to acquire boomslang skin without having to deal with … shopkeepers."
He says the last word the same way one might say garbage. He hefts the cave a little to get a better grip on it, making mental note of the muttered comments and deciding just how many more points to deduct when school starts.

This appears to honestly confuse Siobhan. "But everyone's got a name. It'd be a bit rude to call it 'Snake' all the time. Not to mention a bit borin', yeah?" Leaning down a bit, she takes a closer look at the serpentine creature coiled within its cage. "I think you look like an Eoin." She straightens again and tilts her head to one side, silently considering. "Yeah, definitely an Eoin. What d'you think, Professor?"

Antigone looks between Cho and Cullen, a little uncertain. "Um, sure, I guess I can stay out a little longer, if you two don't mind a third?" she asks with just a little pointedness. Is she going to be a fifth wheel here? She glances back over at Snape and the Slytherin, certainly not wanting to linger here any longer than necessary. "But I don't fancy being here when that thing tries to escape again," she can't help but note in an undertone.

Watching Hermione and Riley go off, Cho gives a sheepish wave, definitely given the heebie-jeebies by the snake, Snape and the cool and calm demeanor of Siobhan. So many 'S'es! She looks over to Antigone and smiles warmly, "I dont mind, just somewhere else is better than here.." she says firmly and resolutely before looking over to Cullen and nods. "I'll give you my address then, it's easily accessible by floo.." she says before peering around for the ice cream shop.

"All that fire jumping still bothers me," Cullen's words are absent, one final glance ferreted back toward Snape and student before he makes to move. "That'd be fine, though." One quick shake of head is made toward the other Hufflepuff after, mention of, "Don't mind a bit. Someone'll have to find our place, though."

"I'm sure I have no idea," Snape answers, glancing down at the snake for a moment before turning his attention back to Siobhan, "Is there something that you wanted, Miss Noble?"
He says the latter with an air of someone who is exceptionally busy and has no time for conversation. In fact, he is already beginning to move towards another stall.

"Actually, maybe I'd best be going. I just remembered I'm supposed to pick something up for my father," Antigone replies in a slightly distant tone, looking at the two students nearest her before her gaze flickers over to the representatives of Slytherin house. "I'll leave you two alone," she goes on, coming back to Cho and Cullen with just a slightly knowing smile. "Maybe I'll bump into you again out here, or at the Cup." Now that she's made up her mind, she doesn't seem too keen to dally and be left here alone.

Rocking back on her heels, Siobhan shrugs once. "Not really, just came in for a bit of lunch and wanted to find out what all the commotion was about." As he moves, she moves with him—keeping abreast without moving into personal space. Nothing better to do today, and if nothing else, Snape is always /interesting/. "What is it you're lookin' for?"

"Bye Antigone!" Cho replies with a friendly wave before she looks over to Cullen and then to Siobhan and Snape. She tries to imagine the two Slytherin out of the picture and relaxes a little as she smiles warmly and sighs in the end. "So shall we begin that tour then? I know you like to talk afterall.." she quips with an impish giggle.

"Think we scared her off." Cullen mumbles this toward his accomplice, hand wagging after the departing Hufflepuff, "Probably because you think I'm a lamppost, yeah?" Lopsided smile goes along with those words, humored criticism before he s starts to move. "Alright, let's eat, I'll show you around the whole boring place. We'll make a time of it." And Cullen starts to shuffle, taking pains to avoid putting attention on Potions Professor or his companion again.

Snape gives Siobhan yet another look - perhaps trying to discern just what it is that encourages her to follow him around. Unable to rid himself of that particular student-drawing vibe, however, he simply continues along his way towards a second stall. He doesn't answer the question, long fingers prodding at some jars full of various ground up potions ingredients.

"As long as me treating you like a lamp post doesnt lead to undue rumors flying around..but I dont think Hermione and Antigone are the type..that boy though.." and she pauses, snickering softly under her breath. She seems a bit more comfortable now, giving Cullen's arm another fond squeeze as she lets him lead the way. "Not that I mind rumors, but I've never been the type to like being talked about.." Cho admits ruefully. "So, where to, good sir?" she asks with a happy little chirp.

Siobhan ignores the look, but takes the hint to fall silent. No chatter then, that's fine. She doesn't need to talk to learn. As they approach their next stall, she stands to one side of him to get a better look at what he's prodding. The second jar of ground leaves she eyes a bit closely, actually lifting it to get a better look, before returning it to its shelf with a disgusted shake of her head. "How could they sell that stuff? It shouldn't be ground until the /fifth/ week." Her shoulders collapse and she heaves a sigh and--forgetting for a moment that she's not alone—continues to talk to herself. "I'd be surprised if they waited /three/."

The summmer is warm, and Jack Noble is taking full advantage of the hot day to saunter through the Alley. He strides purposefully and silently until he spots a familiar face… well, two familiar faces, actually. Stopping in front of his little sister, he gives her a hug and a huge kiss, lifting her up as he does. "Rosie-girl!" He crows, setting her down and pushing her back to see her. "Looking good." This is not an unusual greeting for the effervescent man. In fact, he sees Professor Snape, and slings an arm around his shoulder, smiling brightly. "Spending time with tall, dark and brooding, are we?" His grin widens, and he steps back, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, what are we looking at here?" Enter, invade space, take over conversation. Jack's here.

Cullen leads across the street, past several clusters of people, speaking toward Cho as he goes, "This way," He indicates, propping door open before ducking inside. "Can't say I'm not a fan of eating. I'd do it a lot more if I didn't have to pay so badly for it." He's gone soon enough, vanished into building.
Snape lifts a hand, clasping the wrist of the arm Jack has around his shoulder very pointedly - his grip vicelike and uncomfortably cold. He then proceeds to remove the arm from around him, letting it drop once it is free and giving Jack a stern look. He might not be his teacher but he can still give withering stares to the civilians.
"Yes," Snape says, glancing over towards Siobhan and the ground up herbs in the jars before turning that black, grim stare at the shopkeeper, "I trust you're aware of the ministry ban on ill-prepared potions ingredients? The punishment is a lengthy term in Azkaban, I believe."

"Jack!" Siobhan's smile is quite suddenly bright as day and she returns that hug just as fiercely. "When did you get back? I've not seen you for ages!" Not /strictly/ true, but if he doesn't know about the last time /she/ saw /him/, he can't be hurt that she dragged an Auror under a table to hide from him. As he slings an arm around and is summarily peeled off by Snape, her grin turns just a shade wicked. "Some ground Valerian root. You know, the plants I have in the far corner of the back garden?" Without waiting for his answer--she knows he'll remember eventually, if not right away—she too turns on the potions vendor, hands on her hips and tapping into a bit of the fierceness that was her inheritance from her mother. "Yeah, someone usin' those in their brew could've ended up hurt, mate. What in the world were you thinkin'?"

When Snape grabs his hand, Jack's gaze hardens just slightly, and he inclines his head fractionally toward the Potions Master. As Siobhan speaks, he grins, changing completely again. "Just got back this week. S'been busy." He shrugs. "Oooh. Bad ingredients. Not a good situation. Need me to find someone?" He's fiercely protective of his sibling, and the fact that she's making potions with stuff from this establishment worries him. "Don't get something you're not sure about, okay, Rosie?" He cautions, knowing it's unnecessary. She's his little sister; he can't help worrying. "What're you doing here?" He adresses the professor directly then. "Hello, Professor Snape." The smile sparkles again. He can be persistent. Or just annoyingly charming.

No returned greeting from the Potions Master who is in the process of selecting some more suitable ingredients from the collection at the stall. After purchasing them for significantly less than what they're worth, Snape once more glances towards Jack and Siobhan. Perhaps quietly hoping that they'll bother each other and not him.
He begins to move further down the Alley.

Siobhan, probably out of some twisted sense of right and wrong, doesn't buy a thing from that particular vendor, but she does roll her eyes at her older brother's warning. "Yes, Jack, I /know/! I'm not some wet-behind-the-ears first year, you know." Jerking her thumb at the caustic professor as she continues to follow him, she looks over her shoulder to her brother. "Six years with him as a professor and even /Longbottom/ couldn't miss poorly prepared ingredients." Oh yes, that boy is infamous already—even among the upper years. "I came in to have lunch away from Mum and came outside to find little Eoin here," she gestures towards Snape's caged boomslang, "Causing a bit of a ruckus with some of the other students." She doesn't bother to hide her amused chuckle at /that/ particular memory. "Did you take the last of my belladonna? I was running low before and if you ended up snagging that last bit, I should pick up some more…" Despite the addition of Jack, Siobhan continues to walk with her potions professor, watching him as she carries on conversation.

Jack easily keeps pace with his sister. "Your belladona? No, I haven't touched it. Grey might have, though." His smile disappears for a moment, then he brushes it off. "Eoin? Nice little thing." He scratches idly at his hand, nervous energy showing through. "Have you had your lunch yet, then?" He grins. "Because I could surely treat my baby sister." He nods toward the Leaky Cauldron. "There, or somewhere else, if you'd rather…" He doesn't care. The professor gets another glance, and then he returns his attention to his sister.

For the most part, Snape lets the pair do what they want - he's not about to encourage or discourage. He stops at a stall to look at a pair of eyes flittering around in a strangely-shaped glass jar full of water and looks thoroughly unimpressed, putting it back down and moving on. The snake in the cage he carries dozing now.

Sio scowls. "I wish you'd stop callin' him that." Never one to give up so easily, Siobhan looks torn for a moment between her professor and her obviously--to her--uncomfortable brother. Eventually, Jack wins out--as he always does—and she nods. "Lunch would be great." She'll find Snape later. "Bye, Professor! Best of luck with your shopping." That said, she offers a final smile and a wave and turns to Jack, threading her arm through his. "Alright, but make it somewhere with chips, and you're payin'!"

"Who? Grey?" It's an old argument, and Jack ignores it for the most part. "Chips, right. Gotcha." He winks saucily at his little sister. "Good hunting, Professor." Jack waves and turns back to Siobhan. "Sure thing, I'm payin'. Just got off a job!" He grins widely. "Let's go!" He snakes his arm through his sister's, guiding her toward a restaurant.



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