no net ensnares me;

there was a short list of people who could stop one of valeria’s outbursts in their tracks and live to tell the tale—sera, thankfully, was near the top of that list. letting her sister guide her, she remained silent until the bartender began fixing their drinks. “why did i ever think coming to this stupid carnival was a good idea?”

sera stepped over to a set of stools -- one being occupied -- and gave a look to clear it. when the stranger complied, sera took her perch next to it and nudged it into position with her ankle. “because the heart is a little bitch that wants what it wants.”

Lloyd couldn’t help but chuckle, deciding against finishing up in front of his sister. “Impeccable timing, sis!” He said, jumping as he pulled his trousers up. “If I knew you were coming, I would’ve–” He paused. “Nah, still would’ve taken it.”

“Just like clockwork,” Sera huffed, but quickly got over it and dropped tensed shoulders. “Of course you would. It appears that not much has changed.” however, to some surreptitious extent, she was glad.

“stupid fucking ferris wheel—–stupid fucking carnival—-STUPID—-” valeria’s heated muttering was cut off as someone stepped into her path, and her eyes flashed in irritation, fists clenched at her side, “you’re in my way—-M O V E .”

sera feigned actually giving it a thought, but quickly gave a dramatic shake of her head. “hmm — NAH .” linking arms with her sister, she rerouted them towards the hogshead. stepping in, sera locked eyes with the bartender. “do your worst.”

“Just a sec–” Lloyd sharply exhaled, looking down at the girl on her knees as he held her hair back. “We’ll be done in a sec.” 

“Put that thing away or so help me,” Sera hissed, clenching her eyes shut and spinning away. “That’s not quite the greeting I was looking for.”

it had been months since felix had ventured into diagon alley; not only was school taking up most of his time, the current climate of things—-the escalating tension in a seemingly endless war—-didn’t really make the wizarding world appear so WELCOMING to a muggleborn like him. he’d kept in touch with a few friends, and magic would always be a part of him (whether some people liked to believe it or not), but all in all, felix was happy to retreat from the wizarding world itself—-he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, but the relief was palpable. still, he knew the alley well and moved through the crowd with ease, that is, until he spotted one of the many visitors drop something from their bag. picking it up before it had a chance to get trampled, felix quickened his pace to a brisk jog to catch up to them. “hey, hey—-uh, you dropped this?”

sera stepped out of an apothecary, powdered root of asphodel in hand, as she attempted to scan through a mental checklist. her thoughts kept drifting as she carried herself down the cobblestone street. in retrospect, heels were never the brightest choice of footwear for meandering through the throng of people blocking her path, but they were the prettiest. in retrospect, they weren’t optimal for running, either, but that did not stop sera carrow from bolting when she saw a familiar face. when he closed the gap between them, sera spun around to face him. “i don’t think i did, no.”