December 15th, 1888 - Magdalena's, Diagon Alley, London

Ever since Maggie and Lorcan had gotten beyond their near silent treatment of one another and taken their marriage to the next step, things had been simply wonderful. The fact that his cousin that had been so critical of their elopement had gone and done the exact same thing, even if her impromptu nuptials weren't nearly as merry and egged on by amorentia, had only helped with Maggie's mood. She'd never really expected karma to hit in such a quick manner but it had delighted her more than she'd thought possible. And, as it was, life had continued on.

The bakery, Maggie's pride and joy, had been decorated in a rather festive manner for the holidays. The interior smelled of fresh and delicious goods and looked very much the part of the holidays. The majority of the cookies were decorated with white and blue frostings. Some were in the shape of a star and some where in the shape of a tree. There was a wide variety of Christmas themed cookies just waiting to be purchased when Maggie opened up the shop that morning. But she wasn't done quite yet, not with the decorating of the shop at least.

Once the newly hired clerk had show up for their shift, Maggie had stepped outside to decorate the front window. Clutching a warm coat around her frame to ward off the crisp[ December morning air, Maggie set to painting the front window. With the use of her wand, she made it look as though the outer edges were perpetually frozen to give it a frosty sort of look with bits of snow continuing falling down. As she finished it up, she heard the sound of hoofbeats coming down the road and just managed to get away from the edge of the road as the horse drawn carriage went dashing by at a rather quick pace. So focused on not being trampled herself, she didn't notice the person who had just managed to dodge it as well only to collide with Maggie.

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Open to Anyone that would be in Diagon Alley in the morning!

  

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

Richard loved Diagon Alley during winter. It always looked so dashing. The crisp air surrounded him, but he still felt rather warm and merry due to all the festive decorations put up for the holidays. He would think that the one who used enchantments was the star of the whole thing, but he was also pleasantly surprised by the whole thing. Hoofbeats passed Richard as he walked down the alley, considering heading to the Irvingly market later on to see what they had. White snow fell, making the blue sky pop out. He could tell it was going to be a good day. First, he had to get some shopping done.

The alley was far from silent, though people were respectfully trying to keep their conversations quiet. If he tried hard enough, he could hear them talking about Christmas, or other gift giving traditions, along with quiet steps in the snow. The frosty air must have been encouragement for the horses, as they practically leaped through the air as they went. Richard narrowly avoided the horse drawn carriages. Wonderful... he thinks to himself at least I didn't get dirty

He collides with another person, a woman, and begins to apologize profusely. "I'm very sorry, Miss." What a disaster!

  

Maggie had never really been the most graceful of women. She could dance passably well but she'd never really worried much about such things. She'd always been a baker's daughter, after all, so what good was it to be the best of dancers? She'd had a basic Coming Out at Hogwarts and nothing else. And though she was now no longer working class, she was actually quite happily married. And, luckily for her, Lorcan didn't really care for fancy balls and whatnot himself. It was perfect.

But, she had learned a thing or two having to move about in a crowded kitchen without bumping anyone or ruining the baked goods. It was likely her saving grace in that moment after she was collided with. She didn't fall and he didn't seem any worse for the wear before the gentleman was apologizing.

Waving it off with a smile, she shook her head slightly. "No harm, no foul," she said easily enough, "We both are still alive despite the horses and that's all that matters."

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

Richard felt like he was bumping into more and more people these days. Ah, well, it couldn't be helped. As long as they were both alright in the end, though he'd usually hope for more than alright. Still good was what he would want, but obviously when you're bumping into someone something is going to go wrong. He wondered if he should yell something at the driver or if they'd be out of range by now. Too far gone, Richard decided, and hardly the right thing for a gentleman to do when he gave it more than a second of thought.

He nodded when the woman said that they were both alive, a fact worthy of noting for sure. He'd hate to be a ghost by mistake, and if he was honest being dead in general did not seem to suit him.

"I'm glad, Miss." he gave the surrounding area a quick look around, feeling like he may have gotten turned around in his hurry to both avoid the horses and apologizing to the young lady for bumping into her. Though he was still in Diagon Alley in the very least, that much was clear. "I'm not terribly good at directions, do you suppose you could point me to Flourish and Blotts? They do have such nice books."

  

Maggie nodded with a smile, grateful he seemed to be an amiable sort. He could have gotten cross with her or with the driver and she really didn't feel like dealing with such things so early in the morning. And she really had a lot she needed to get to so that she wouldn't be behind later on in the day but before she could bid him goodbye, he was asking for directions.

"Oh of course," she said, still smiling and showing true politeness, "It's just down that ways a few stores down." She motioned down the right hand side of where she stood in front of the bakery. She often got a lot of the book store's clientele in after they'd gotten a good book and were looking for a bit of tea and a delicious treat to go with it. It was why she'd ended up expanding the front a bit more and added a few tables so that customers could enjoy their purchases inside where it was warm and cozy.

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

Richard sensed a small bit of need to leave in the woman, and he didn't wish to keep her much longer. Whatever it was could be important, and Richard was nothing if not willing to put his feelings aside for important things. And he didn't have very many feelings of this woman, he was just glad that they'd both been safe after the driver nearly injured them both.

He was glad that she was able to help him out with where he was going. The winding streets of Diagon Alley could become a little confusing sometimes, and he was always grateful for some polite conversation, even if it wasn't much. "Thank you." he says graciously, nodding at her, "I would have been lost for sure without you." he smiles and starts to leave, happy that nobody is too badly injured and that he knows where he is going now.