Elsie was decidedly not a last minute shopper. In fact she'd been done with her Christmas shopping at large, by the middle of November. There were some things however, that could not be bought or made months in advance, sweets included. So as Elsie stepped into the busy sweet shop, greeted by a rush of warm air and delicious scents, she had a strict plan to get Owen's favorite treats and get right back out.

Of course that was nearly impossible, as the store itself was packed with people doing exactly the same thing. Taking a deep breath and sliding toward the edges of the room, Els picked up a little basket Mr. Honeyduke had available for shopping around and tried not to bump into anybody. That was easier said than done in the throng of people sampling treats and milling about chatting. She couldn't blame them though, the renovations to the shop seemed to have made it even more cozy and inviting, as if that had been possible previously.

Perhaps she'd get herself some hot cocoa if she could manage it, but first she needed to get her hands on some sugar quills for her brother. Squeezing by a pair of girls not too much younger than herself, she managed to find the shelf with the sugar quills and tucked a couple into the basket on her arm. She turned on a whim, thinking Lottie might like something too, when the little boxes of chocolate frogs caught her eye.

Any other year she'd be picking up a few of those to send off as well, but not this year. Plucking one of the little boxes off the shelf, she ran her fingers around the edges slowly, a soft, sad sort of smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she looked it over. Sighing quietly, she tucked it neatly back on the shelf where she'd found it, oblivious to those around her as she quickly wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye and moved to find something for her sister- right into a little display of lollipops, sending a good portion of them cascading to the floor. Mortified, Elsie righted the stand and hurried to start picking them up, blushing a deep shade of red as she tried not to look around at anybody who was gawking at her.