Charley bit back a laugh at the news, chewing the last morsels so she wouldn't choke on them in spectacular fashion. Which was more than she could say for Jimmy Fletcher, he must have lost his notorious edge in Hogwarts if first years were no longer spreading warnings about him. Her vindication was shorter lived than she would have liked, Maggie was quick to yank the urchin off her feet in the direction of the races.
"An' that pair's not even lookin' to win!" Charley added to the little girl's commentary, tossing her thumb over to the young couple who were demonstrating the telltale signs of courtship. She looked aside when the man leaned in and the girl laughed, letting Maggie see the full force of her rolling eyes. She pursed her lips in a mock set of kisses, making just enough noise for her partner, tied and leglocked together now, to hear.
The urchin flexed her ankle a bit, chafing at the rough bindings on her skin. It wasn't the nicest way to run a race, there should have been a spell or something that even a farmer could manage. When Maggie leaned out to make some gesture at the father and daughter pair, Charley pinched her sleeve and pulled it so they were lined up. "Keep yer wits there, Maggie. Gotta focus to get the win, eh?"
She set her free foot out in front, coiled slightly like a rabbit ready to run. Charley's nose twitched, like she could sniff the right moment to launch, and stuck her foot out the second the farmer called out the start. Then she was off, flinging her weight behind their combined feet to start them off, and giggling when Maggie was just a moment too slow to react.
The urchin threw an arm around the girl's shoulder to keep her upright. Maggie was her path to winning, she wasn't about to let any stumble keep them back. "No toppling on me," Charley warned a bit sternly to the girl, and then threw a laugh into the breeze of their own making, "an 'we're the fastest three-legged hare in these parts!"
"An' that pair's not even lookin' to win!" Charley added to the little girl's commentary, tossing her thumb over to the young couple who were demonstrating the telltale signs of courtship. She looked aside when the man leaned in and the girl laughed, letting Maggie see the full force of her rolling eyes. She pursed her lips in a mock set of kisses, making just enough noise for her partner, tied and leglocked together now, to hear.
The urchin flexed her ankle a bit, chafing at the rough bindings on her skin. It wasn't the nicest way to run a race, there should have been a spell or something that even a farmer could manage. When Maggie leaned out to make some gesture at the father and daughter pair, Charley pinched her sleeve and pulled it so they were lined up. "Keep yer wits there, Maggie. Gotta focus to get the win, eh?"
She set her free foot out in front, coiled slightly like a rabbit ready to run. Charley's nose twitched, like she could sniff the right moment to launch, and stuck her foot out the second the farmer called out the start. Then she was off, flinging her weight behind their combined feet to start them off, and giggling when Maggie was just a moment too slow to react.
The urchin threw an arm around the girl's shoulder to keep her upright. Maggie was her path to winning, she wasn't about to let any stumble keep them back. "No toppling on me," Charley warned a bit sternly to the girl, and then threw a laugh into the breeze of their own making, "an 'we're the fastest three-legged hare in these parts!"
![[Image: bZbZdaH.png]](https://i.imgur.com/bZbZdaH.png)