#strpgopen

Today, however, Evan was shopping in Diagon Alley. A few new clothing boutiques had sprung up in the last few months and with the weather getting warmer he decided now was the time to add a few more pieces to his collection. A client had cancelled their morning meeting so Evan was free to shop and do as he pleased. “It’s Prada, don’t touch me” maybe that wasn’t the best way to tell the too attentive shop attendant to stand down but Evan was busy flicking through racks as the shop girl asked about his shirt. “If I need any help I’ll ask for it” he told the girl, moving away from her with a polite smile as he went to look through a display of shorts. “You’d think more people would recognize Prada without me having to tell them” it wasn’t really a comment to the person at the display next to him, but more under his breath. Upon realizing someone was standing there Evan gave a slight shrug, “Sorry I just don’t like people touching my clothes”. 

It was a word Lily Potter was very familiar with. While at Hogwarts her curfew was strictly 10 pm during the school semesters and while at home it was 11. As she became a prefect and then head girl, curfew became a little more lenient at Hogwarts. If she was found outside of her common room past 9 pm no one batted an eyelash. She was Lily Evans after all, what bad could she be doing? The curfew at her parents’ house was less lenient. She’d only broken curfew once during Christmas break when snogging James in the park seemed more important than making it into the house on time. When she had finally gone inside both of her parents were sitting, waiting on her arrival and one lecture was enough to make sure that she did not miss curfew again. 

Since her graduation there was not a single person who forced Lily Potter to go home at a certain time. Of course it was rare that she stayed out late and when she did her boyfriend was typically with her. If not then when she arrived home there was no grand lecture. He was not her keeper and she was an adult. However now as a nearly 19, after living many months without a curfew, married adult Lily was being told she was not allowed outside after certain hours.

Lily was furious.

“It’s completely fine. My friends can stay out until all hours of the night, but I have to stay in. Seems totally fair and legitimate” she told the person sitting across from her inside of the Fortescue’s ice cream parlor. “I mean clearly I am so unprepared to protect myself as a muggleborn, that I need to be behind locked doors by nightfall. I didn’t realize I was living in the middle ages. Next because I am a woman I’ll be required to have written permission from my husband to run to the apothecary. Very reasonable”

Silence was the worst thing Gideon Prewett could imagine. In the silence thoughts got into his head. In the silence words echoed so loudly he couldn’t sleep. Days had passed with nothing but utter and complete silence, but Gideon Prewett could not live like that any longer. He was driving himself crazy lying in bed and moping around. It was the same behavior he had the last time he got dumped and funny enough it was exactly a year ago. This time of year was about resolutions and purging the old and Gideon Prewett just seemed to be on that list consistently. She was different. Frances had been different. 

Obviously not different enough.

This morning he had not allowed himself to stay in bed, forcing himself against every fiber of his being to leave and go to the gym. No one was there, it was too early for his staff to arrive and so he had taken to blaring music as he worked out. If he sweated hard enough maybe he would feel better. Maybe not, but it was worth a shot. 

One. Two. Three reps when a noise broke his concentration causing Gideon to drop his weights on the mat as he headed towards the front of the gym “Can I help you?” Gideon called out, turning off the music. “We don’t open for another hour”

February 10th

It was a beautiful Saturday in Hogsmeade when Evan Rosier stepped out. The birds were singing, the air felt fresh, and for once there was not snow on the ground. It seemed that maybe spring would be coming early to the United Kingdom, or so Evan Rosier could hope.

The cold was never good on his joints or his mood and at twenty five years old it made him feel closer to forty. Therefore the warmness of spring was a welcomed one and this pseudo-warmness did wonders for his mood. For the first time in a long time, Evan Rosier did not wear a scowl.

After running his assorted errands: tea shop, potions shop, jeweler, and of course Honeydukes, Evan was deciding whether it was time to pop home or maybe shop for a few new items for his upcoming trip to Iceland. Did he need a new coat? Not at all. Did he want a new coat? Absolutely. So Evan Rosier was going to get a new coat.

Stepping into one of the shops he frequented Evan set about perusing for something that would strike his fancy. In front of a display of coats stood someone else but Evan was far too captured in the coats themselves to really pay attention to the person just to his right. “Black is more practical, I look best in navy, but that camel is stunning. I think I should just buy all three....and maybe that olive colour as well because I deserve it”. 

February 21st

“It’s eight forty, I still have twenty minutes” 

Lily Potter was at her wit’s end. In the beginning the curfew had been a joke. Something she rolled her eyes and laughed at over lunch with friends. Something she had assumed would end rather quickly. Now almost a month later the curfew was running strong and it made her want to cry. It wasn’t the fault of the auror, she knew he meant nothing by it. Every time she was stopped now she reminded herself that James was having to do the same thing and that this auror probably liked this portion of his job about the same as James. It wasn’t their fault the Ministry was imposing restrictions.

She was not a late night person. She preferred to be in her flat at a reasonable hour, but there was something so stressful about knowing that she had to be. It was little things like not being able to meet her friends, or when her yoga class ran over a few minutes late and she had to bolt home. A few nights ago she had a migraine so bad that she desperately needed a pain potion only to realize it was half past nine, and James wouldn’t be home for quite some time, so instead of running and getting a pain potion, or sleeping draught, Lily had spent her evening intermittently crying in bed and throwing up her dinner. The curfew was really getting to her.  

After her exchange with the auror Lily readjusted her yoga mat under her arm, turning back to the produce cart she had been at before the disruption.This was her life and there was nothing she could do about it right now, short of getting herself arrested. All she could do was carry on and pray that soon it would end.

 “You’d think if they were going to bother me they would at least get their timing straight”  

Edgar Bones was confused. It wasn’t often that he visited magical shops, or well shops in general. He preferred to let Helena do the shopping for the baby and just going along to carry parcels, but today he was here unaided. The baby was due within the next few weeks and crunch time was beginning. They had to finish the nursery, make sure they were completely set up at Mungos, and still sort through the teetering stacks of paperwork all before the baby was actually here. Today’s task had been to select a baby carrier, safe for apparating and flooing. It was mind boggling the technology available in the wizarding world and while they already had a car seat and an array of muggle strollers for the baby, this would provide them a way to transport their child safely while apparating or using the floo system. Edgar wasn’t completely sold, but his parents assured him it was necessary.

“What do you think?” it wasn’t weird to ask a random stranger, though this one seemed to be looking at everything but baby items. “Is it necessary to have a carrier that also floats? Isn’t that what a stroller is for? I’m buying the wheels attachment anyway, so why does it need to float?” he asked the person closest to him, as he examined the box he was holding. “Also, I wonder if it’s protected from spell meddling. The last thing I need is for some sick fuck to drop the baby while it’s carrier is floating”