(1938-12-28) Junk Shop Junk
Details for Junk Shop Junk
Summary: There's more than just junk to be found in junk shops.
Date: 1938-12-28
Location: Whatchamacallit Junk Shop, Diagon Alley

It would be a wonder if even the owners of this establishment know all the is contained within these four walls. There are no aisles to be found anywhere, merely trails that meander among the mountains piled impossibly high, reaching to the ceiling and leaning back over the heads of customers. Looming overhead, the wares could possibly to slide down in an avalanche of wires and gizmos and gadgets if disturbed by even a loud noise. Almost any item, object, or mystical artifact one is looking for can be found by those brave enough to go spelunking among the paths, but will it work? That is a question that can only be answered by the treasure hunters that venture within.

Angelus bobs his head a couple times as he listens. "I'm glad to hear it," he replies, a smile tugging briefly against his lips. "Mine was terrific," Angelus answers with a dip of his head. A grin crosses his face as he thinks back to Christmas morning, until his brow is arching inquisitively at the young girl. "Uh, yes, that would be wise," remarks the youth about not camping in the forest. "The rules are there for our safety, after all." A warning look is sharply given to Madeline, because also, that would be a huge point loss. His eyes shift, curiously looking to Variel, but nods his head as he lets out a soft hum. "I won't ask then," he says, shrugging casually despite his curiosity. "Unless you would like to brag some more."

Madeline lets out a dramatic sigh. "Why does /everyone/ think I'm going to go into the Forbidden Forest?" she asks. "I mean - well, sure I /want/ to, but I don't do /everything/ I want to do."
"Good girl," Perry replies, ruffling Madeline's hair. "Now, are you planning on buying that dragon horn, or should I try to…" his eyes go up to the top of the stack he's standing near, "…put it back."

The door to the store opens and closes, permitting access to the store to none other than Evelyn, the older cousin of Angelus. Her eyes look around as she stares at the many items that the store holds and she lets out a gasp of wonderment. Her eyes go slightly wide. "Wow…" She whispers, barely audible. The things a Ravenclaw could do with the stuff in here. Like make a super awesome cauldron that helps speed up the potion making process so as to impress Professor Slughorn. Not that education is about impressing the professors, mind you. But it had crossed her mind already, in the few seconds that she has been inside the store.

There's another tinkle of the bell above the shop door as Lucretia walks in; guess who got a complete new wardrobe for Christmas? A gorgeous black mink Cossack hat frames her face, the starkness of it's colour contrasting with the ivory paleness of her skin so that her eyes seems even larger and darker by comparison. Finish that with the luxurious black cloak that drapes the delicate angles of her shoulders and she might well have stepped right out of the pages of an advert for 'Young Miss Wizard 1938'. "Eibon." Her greeting for her fellow classmate is immediate and warm, as is the following smile for Variel. "Weasley. I hope you both had wonderful Christmases." A drift of her eyes do encompass both Evelyn, Madeline and Madeline's uncle, but they don't get a personal greeting, simply a nod of her head.

"Nope. No need to brag more, I'm already happy," remarks the redhead with a grin. Evelyn, he doesn't know- but Lucretia, he does, and she gets just as warm a grin. "Evening, Black! You look -stunning!- Love the stitching, I know some young witches who'd be green with envy if they weren't already in your house." He smirks pleasantly, as Clever glances about, its head poking from Variel's collar.

"That just makes you smart," Angelus offers out to Madeline in reply, his smile slipping softly against his lips. His eyes lift briefly to her uncle, and towards Variel, looking between everyone. His eyes shift to the horn when it's mentioned, looking curiously to Madeline before his gaze is drifting off towards the door when it opens. "Evie," greets the blonde haired youth with a warm smile. He turns back to Madeline and her uncle to offer a low, gesturing towards the blonde Ravenclaw. "Have you met my cousin, Madeline? Evelyn Eibon," he introduces politely with a dip of his head. To Evelyn, "Evie, this is Madeline Evans, one of my housemates. And her uncle." Gel's royal blue eyes trail off again, flicking to the door, and his smile flashes brightly as he catches sight of Lucretia. "Ah, Black," he announces delightfully. "What an absolute pleasure to see you again."

"Hello, Eibon," Madeline greets the other girl brightly. "My Uncle's name is also Evans," she supplies helpfully. "Perry Evans. And isn't this shop just /great/?" she enthuses - apparently not having missed the look Evelyn was wearing - I mean, who could?
Much of her enthusiasm fades at Lucretia's appearance, however, but rather than focus on the girl she turns her attention to her Uncle. "Oh - I'm not sure. We can at least ask them how much it costs, right? Do you think it's terribly expensive?"
Perry nods politely to the two new arrivals, before turning his attention to his niece. "Probably a little bit." At least, for a young girl on a limited allowance.

Slowly approaching the others, with a quick glance back to Lucretia, Evelyn offers a tentative smile to those gathered, along with a nod to Lucretia as well. She curtsies them all. "H…hello." She murmurs. "It's very…very nice to um…to meet you." She says to them. Despite her taking a moment or two to get out the words, she does sounds sincere. She offers a little nod to Madeline, looking around at the place once again. "It…it's wonderful." She says, her voice airy with wonder.

"Thank you," Lu says to Variel, acknowledging the compliment without reading anything deeper into it beyond it being just that. A compliment. Its hard to tell whether there's a small uplift of one brow beneath the fur of her hat when she notes Angelus' friendliness towards Madeline, but she does turn to Evelyn with a friendly enough smile, recognising her now that she's no longer behind her and trailing her into the shop. "Hello, Eibon." This greeting now also given Evelyn along with Angelus. On horns and the greatness of the shop, she holds counsel, eyes resting on Madeline for a mere moment before passing on. "So much junk here," she states suddenly, her words coming as if from a sudden realisation.

"Well, yeah, Black- s'in the name of the shop, isn't it? Whatchamacallit's Junk Shop, eh?" He grins as Clever ducks into his robes, emerging out his sleeve a few moments later. He holds the hand out towards the general group as the snake peeks at each of them, tongue flickering. "Still, there's some stuff worth taking home- trick's finding it, though. Still, uh… still trying to remember why I came in, truth be told. I'm not really looking to buy anything…" He sound puzzled.

"If you'll excuse me," Angelus says politely as he turns back to Madeline and her uncle, bowing his head respectfully. The boy remains polite and formal as ever - though he does pause for a second to lift his hands in front of him, his sign language a little on the slow side as he thinks about it. 'You may as well get to know another one of your club members.' A brow arches to Evelyn, that silent question as if asking her if she still sure about being a member of the Mud Club. But he ends his signing with a wave, and he turns to step toward Lucretia. When his back is to Madeline and her uncle, he eye rolls as he lets out a sigh, but then smiles warmly to his year mate. "Are you interested in a malt, Black?" he offers, by way of asking if she'd like to depart.

"I found this," Madeline says towards Evelyn, offering her the dragon's horn so she can take a look. "Isn't it /great/? But Merlin's wand isn't here. I already checked."
"/You/ already checked?" Perry asks in a dry voice.
"…okay. Uncle Perry already checked for me."

Lucretia's nose scrunches a little. "I'd simply love a malt. Thank you. That is, if you aren't going to walk me out in a semi-rescue before abandoning me on the doorstop of the nearest cafe. I'd not put it past you feeling you need to be gallant, but I'm perfectly capable of rescuing myself if needs be." A flash of amusement flickers behind her expression, the young pureblood apparently not too put out by present company.

Jocunda enters the junk shop with the same casual air that she does anything. Like a windswept angel, sitting side-saddle on her broom as she eases it slowly through the front doors of the junk shop. The tip of the world-famous world-renowned world-travelled Jocunda slides off her equally qualified broom, staring at the massive /piles/ of crap, holding the top of a very distinctive jar.

Variel manages to keep his tongue at the idea of hunting for Merlin's wand someplace like this. He coughs into his hand at the exchange between niece and uncle, looking to Lu as she mentions the whole malt thing. "You're not leaving already, are you, Black? Y'just got here." He sounds legitimately disappointed that she's thinking of taking off so quickly.

Madeline can't help it - the disappointment in Variel's voice causes Madeline to frown deeply at him. She forces herself to look away again, and smile at Evelyn instead.

Accepting the horn, Evelyn handles it gently and gazes at it, turning it about. "I've um…well, never seen anything like this before." She whispers. Though it wouldn't surprise her if her uncle and aunt had one hidden away somewhere. She looks up at Angelus and watches him as he signs. She raises an eyebrow and, positioning the dragon horn so she can reply, uses sign language as well. -Another member of the club? The mud club? I guess it couldn't hurt.- She shrugs. -Have fun with the Black girl. Are you sure that you two are just friends?- She asks as she smirks at her cousin, turning back to Madeline. "S…sorry about that." She looks back at the horn. "Where um…where did you find this?" She asks, gazing between Madeline and her uncle.

"I only poked my nose in to see if my father were here," Lucretia says to Variel, genuine warmth in the smile she gives him. "He's a great collector of artifacts and often find things in places such as this. Perhaps you might care to come over to the house sometime before we return to school, I'm sure he'd be pleased to show you some of the finds, or if not the finds themselves then writings relating to them." Jocunda's arrival sees her smile grow wider and there's a friendly wave of her hand given the quidditch player. "Miss Sykes!" comes the enthusiastic greeting. Or it might be a half-greeting a half-goodbye, Lu hovering on the verge of being spirited away for a cup of something hot elsewhere.

"Oh, we just Accio'd it from one of the piles," Madeline says brightly, after watching the signing with blank incomprehension. "Isn't it /great/? I've never touched anything that was real /dragon/ before - I don't think. Do you think it's useful in potions and things? We haven't done any potions with bits of dragon in them yet."

Angelus misses the last bit that Evelyn signs, because he only pauses to watch the first bit of her reply before he's turned away from her. His gaze flicks over to Variel briefly, but is then bringing it back to Lucretia. He would have replied, but he stops when she explains that she was only peeking in and his soft smile slips across his lips. "Oh, good, then I don't feel bad for stealing you for your company at the malt shoppe. I wasn't planning on staying here for long."

"Sure! I'd love to see some artefacts- gotta have some interest, you know, Curse Breaker and all…" He trails off as he catches Madeline's frown and heaves a sigh. "… that. Be glad to visit sometime, Lulu." He turns towards Madeline and steps nearer to include himself in conversation as Lucretia greets the Quidditch player. "Evans. You got a moment to talk? In private?" His tone's not chilly, but it's certainly stern.

Handing the horn back to Madeline, Evelyn nods slightly. "It's um…it's possible that dragon might be useful in potions. Usually it um…well…maybe it the later years. You well, you never know. Professor Slughorn is…he's an interesting teacher." She smile. "He uh…he may let you do some extra credit that involves something to do with dragons." She says softly. She looks as if she's about to say more to Madeline, but Variel steps in and asks to talk to Madeline in private, so she stops before she even starts.

Lucretia laughs at Angelus' reply. "Well, in that case, I'll happily join you for a malt. Thank you. And Weasley, just send an owl if you're genuinely interested, I'll make sure to be around." Surprisingly, despite being such a huge fan of Jocunda's, she does elect to leave the shop with Angelus, hands coming together in a knot behind her back as she leans just close enough to whisper something quietly to him. It will be a companionable pair that exit the shop.

"Oh, do you think he would?" Madeline asks, bouncing up onto the tips of her toes. "That would be fun!"
But then there's Variel, speaking to her sternly, and suddenly the bounce is gone. She looks from him, to Lucretia, and back again. This is going to be about /her/ she just knows. She takens on a suddenly sullen look, hugging the dragon's horn to her chest. "Why?" It's not like she /did/ anything.
"Madeline," her Uncle says with a hint of a disapproving tone in his voice. "He helped you out the other day, didn't he? You should always hear your friends out - at the very least."
The girl lets out a slightly frustrated sound - but she nods.

Variel nods in thanks to Perry and starts away from the others with a relatively light-hearted, "Don't worry, folks, I'll bring her back in one piece." He picks a spot in the stacks some short ways away, enough to ensure privacy.

The whisper brings out a sigh, and there's a slight twitch of his brow as he winces. Damn it, Evelyn! he curses silently. There's embarrassment for his cousins, but the annoyance and a bit of uncomfortableness doesn't last long as he's clearing his throat. He simply nods, opening the door and holding it open to allow Lucretia to pass first before following her out.

Northeast Diagon Alley

When the door closes though, he lifts his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose. "She's an embarrassment," he sighs out and lets his fingers fall away from his face. "If she wasn't family I would gladly ignore her. But," he shifts his shoulders a little, "let's go get those malts. I don't have long before I have to get back to my pa."

"Its alright, I won't judge you on the actions of you cousin," Lu says generously, pausing a moment as Angelus pulls the door shut and retakes his place alongside her. "My family has its own skeletons too, you know. My great uncle Phineas was all in favour of muggles and muggle rights you know." A small mien of displeasure creases her brow with that and she exhales slowly, a fug of white breath hanging coldly in the air for a moment before it dissipates. "We don't talk much of him though and to be truthful, I find that easiest. Then again, he's not in my life as your cousin is in yours." A delicate hand gets laid on her friend's shoulder and she squeezes him lightly in some form of comfort.

"So very kind of you," Angelus replies, his smile flickering across his lips. When he starts walking it's at a casual pace, heading away from the junk shop. "Mhm," he murmurs. "Yea, my pa was nice enough to let her and her brother stay at the manor - she's not easy to avoid." A brow arches as he glances at her at his side. "But she's not repaying his kindness very well." He rolls his eyes, a grin flashing across face at the hand to his shoulder. "You really can't show hospitality any lesser. They then get it in their head that they don't need to show respect to their superiors."

Lucretia nods, withdraws her hand and clasps it loosely once more with its twin behind her back. Walking slowly, shoulder to shoulder, she keeps her eyes on where they're going with only the occasional glance Angelus' way. "Well. Its probably more than I could manage and your family are very generous to have taken them in. I much prefer to keep arms-length from those with dirty blood myself." There's a small shudder given, hardly surprising from someone like Lu. A pause, a pause that brings with it the relief of a change of subject, perhaps for both of them. "Now that Christmas is done I'm quite looking forward to returning to school. Are you?"

A thoughtful hum escapes Angelus before he nods, glancing out to his side once again to Lucretia. "I think it comes from my mother," he decides to share as he shrugs. "She certainly believes in the purity, but she's too kind not to help out family." He lets out a sigh before he smirks. But he's glad that the topic veers away from that small taint that his uncle created. "I am," he answers with a dip of his head. "But I'm also looking forward to the New Year's Eve party."

"Oh I am too!" Lu says enthusiastically. "My parents have given me the most wonderful dress which I intend to wear. Its simply gorgeous! Alphard's being such a pig in not allowing me to go to his party, that yours is the only one left now before the holidays are over." A lovely smile is granted Angelus with that as she tucks a length of hair back beneath her hat.

"Mhm," Angelus muses before a smirk touches his lips. "I'm just glad you'll be able to attend." His royal blue eyes glance to the girl at his side again and grins briefly, giving an idle shrug of his shoulders. "Well hopefully you'll have a pleasant time that it won't bother you so much that he won't let you go." He shrugs. "Once everyone arrives, I was going to head down into the basement away from the adults to have our own little party."

