here comes the sun

BETTY BRAITHWAITE.

“Don’t get too comfortable, then,” Betty scowled. She was not above falling over dead to even the playing field between the three of them. “I’ve got ideas about where else we can go anyway. After I pop the cork on the bottle in my bag, anyway.”

“You better check that it wasn’t nicked from your purse. We riffraff at the Commons tend to get handsy.” 

@famousamosdiggs​

“I’ve gotta go the little boy’s room before we scurry off,” Amos popped out of his chair, mismatched socked feet sliding on the floor as he made way for the porcelain throne. “Save me a swig!”

Emmeline nodded, “You can’t go wrong with the Pleasure Beach. I used to go with my aunt, uncle and cousins every summer until I was sixteen.”

“Oh? No kidding?” Amos’ brows rose as he accidentally obnoxiously slurped from the milkshake. “Are you gonna eat your cherry, by the way?”

BETTY BRAITHWAITE.

WHEN: Thursday, 15 April, 1980; evening WHERE: Tthe Commons, Cardiff WHO: AJ Runcorn, Amos Diggory, & Betty Braithwaite

“Why here?” By which Betty meant why had they met here, at AJ’s flat, on a day that she had intended to be both historic and celebratory in nature.

“Is my design aesthetic not up to your standards?” A laughable question, given in his two years of living in the flat, A.J. hadn’t decorated at all. 

@famousamosdiggs​

“Oy, this is a nice place. When people aren’t dying.”

Emmeline drank her milkshake and looked at him, was it his birthday? She didn’t want to accuse him of lying which he might not be doing so she decided to go along with it. “Okay then.” She shrugged, “What are you doing for your birthday? Besides getting a milkshake.”

“I’ve yet to decide. Mates suggested I go to Blackpool’s amusement park, but it’d take a lot of convincing for me to step foot onto a fookin’ rollercoaster.”

Emmeline looked up from her book when she heard him speak and was drinking her chocolate milkshake as she listened, “Are you trying to tell me it’s your birthday?”

“Oy, I wasn’t trying to imply anything...” He dipped a finger into his milkshake and fished out the maraschino cherry. “But it sure is,” he lied.

“It’s true, on your birthday you get one of these puppies for free.” He slurped through a neon pink straw, sipping up a malted vanilla milkshake. It definitely wasn’t his birthday and wouldn’t be for another couple of weeks. He just wanted the attention.

molly watched on as bill toddled around the cobbled roads, nervously waiting for him to trip over either his feet or the uneven ground. she winced softly to herself when it looked like bill was going to topple over. when he didn’t, she let out the breath of air she hadn’t realized she had been holding and took a bite of her food before looking down at the sleeping baby lying against her chest.

“Yanno, that’s about as close to an extreme sport as I’ve seen in awhile. Blows quidditch out of the water. M’on the edge of my seat here, Molls. Phew.” Amos wiped his brow dramatically, even if his heart was thudding along rather quick watching the kiddo waddle.

.

“If a goose attacks me, there will be hell to pay, Diggory.”

“You’re safe with me.” It wasn’t so much a promise, as much as it was a hope.

.

Alice huffed indignantly. “I’m not scared of birds. I’m just highly cautious of swan and geese-looking type creatures. A song bird comes over and I’m fine. An owl? Love them.”

“Let’s feed some geese. I've a bag of cooked rice in my pocket. Meant for this opportune moment.” Amos had cast an extendable charm on his favorite jacket ages ago, hoards of things stored. Really, ask him for anything, give it a try.

.

“Amos, I know the difference between a horse-like bird and a swan or a goose. Please. But still, Hippogriffs have a bit of a reputation, too, while we’re at it.” Maybe her issues just stemmed from a deep distrust of anything that was the color white. 

“Alice,” Amos chuckled, annoyingly, “you’re afraid of birds.”

.

“Yes, but the problem is, my initial reaction is to see a large white bird and think monster, rather than stopping to contemplate which large white bird it might be. Do you see the dilemma here?’

“Not a fan of Hippogriff either, aye?”

.

“Don’t they attack people?” Alice’s voice grew quieter, as if assuming that a swan might appear in the park they were sitting in, only to prove her point.

“The swans near my home must be real angels, I reckon. I’ve seen the geese fight each other more than once. I bet you’d be attacked by a goose far before a swan.” He hoped that didn’t amplify any fear of them.

.

“You know, I think being called a swan might be the biggest insult I’ve ever received. Aren’t swans mean? Don’t they attack people?” She regarded Amos as she waited for him to answer.

“Wha-- Now, I meant that with the highest regards. Black swans are my favorite. Have you ever seen their cygnets? Cute and grey. Fluffy, little things.”

.

“A little suffering for my happiness? I think it’d be worth the pain.” Mostly, Alice had idealized her return home after all of these years. Especially with the pang of knowing that when she did go back, it would be without her mother.

“Aw, you two are a couple o’ swans. Mates for life.” Amos grinned. Even Alice’s teasing nature spelled out l-o-v-e to him. And even though he was jealous, his happiness for them overtook that emotion.

.

“I want to bring Frank to Saudi Arabia, if only to see how ridiculously out of place he’d look.” Alice didn’t really want to spend any additional free time in Europe, much more keen on seeing the world outside of what she could practically already see in her own back garden. “America might be nice, too.”

“Wow, cruel, Alice. Do you know how quickly he’ll sunburn in those places? Unless he’s Italian, but I fear the only thing Italian about him is his spaghetti breath.”