May 4th, 1894 - Potts Flower Show

One of the other children busted into the small brown haired girl as they waited in line to enter the zoo. Too much money had been spent on her in recent times to ready her for school in September, but, she wanted to come to this party, the zoo sounded so pretty and Magaret liked flowers, they were soft and they made her smile. She had even dressed up her simple outfit with a small flower she had picked off of the ivy from the outer wall of her home.

"How many luv?" the teller asked the man at the lead of her congregation. "Ah yes, myself, my wife and 7 little ones please" he replied as the ground moved through and were hastily counted in. Maggie felt a hand on her head as she was counted and she carried on into the zoo. The even smaller girl beside her missing the count as she had hoped, these weren't her family, she hadnt even met them before but the large brood allowed the small and unassuming Wallace girl to slip by without payment.

But where next?

She was hungry, she carried and apple and a cob sandwich in a wrap of paper in her bag but it wasn't time to eat that yet. Her hunger was quickly replaced by excitement as she saw beautiful animals and picked up her pace, leaving her temporary family behind her. "What is... that?" she stared wide eyed at a creature that had the softest grey fur and bushy black and white tail. She kneeled and put her her finger on the bar near the creature as it chewed on a peach, she made funny noises trying to get its attention.

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Charley Goode

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   Charley Goode

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With far lighter pockets than last year's, she was intent on spending all day at the flower show. For a while, the thought of taking a few cuttings of the more exotic types guided her vision. It would have made up for the heavy cost of the show, from the carriage between Hogsmeade and Irvingly to the entrance to the zoo, everyone had their hand out to take the urchin's money. What little she had, even what Mrs. Mann had given her fell short, forcing up precious coins earned by tips and long hours of toiling in Missus Crouch's flower shop. With so much time spent among the garden of the floral boutique, it no longer seemed right to Charley to steal away any of the Potts' garden set up here.

For once, Charley just let herself bask in the wonder of the displays. She didn't get much time to do that herself, always keeping an eye out for customers and an ear out for a new request by the shop's manager. Today, she felt more kin with the chittering creatures that scurried along the arches entwined with flowers that decorated each exhibit, heedless of any bothersome needs of people at all.

If wonderment alone could grant her a wish, Charley would have wished to be an animagus so she could transfigure all her cares away for the day.

She wasn't the sort for much wonderment or wishes, but those were funny thoughts to think about anyway. When her eyes tired of flowers and creatures after a long while, they started following the people. One group, in particular, caught her eyes, separating Charley from the row of jobberknolls and launching her from the top of the bench taken a perch on. The urchin followed at a distance, sizing up her quarry, not even sure why she was following.

The little girl didn't even look like she had money.

"That's a monkey," Charley answered, before she even knew she was doing it. So much for keeping her distance. Letting out a breath, the urchin stepped up to the hooting little girl, keeping her hands low enough to catch any enterprising pockets. The critter's big eyes followed a bit too closely for her liking, chittering back at the girl calling to it. "They're a handful, jes like you."

Leaning low, the urchin whispered in the girl's ear, "If you spill yer secret to the flowers first, then I won't hafta."

There wasn't much that Charley could really do about the little girl's free admission. It impressed more than upset her, really. Still, she was bored, and it seemed wrong to let such an obvious trick go unnoticed. The urchin might have used something like it herself once or twice before, when there was no one to call her out, and look where that got her!

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   Margaret Wallace

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"A monkey huh?" the creature twisted it's head up as if it had heard the query and chirped at Margaret as she wiggled her finger. "Aren't you a cutie?"

The other girl, several years older and dressed in similarly muted colours to Maggie came in close to help her out, then whispered quietly in her ear something. The girl's accent made her think of one of the serving boys she had met in irvingly, he was from somewhere in the south. Her brow furrowed, secrets? "I suppose we should have to find some flowers first though." she said nervously, feeling a little threatened but not clear why, what secrets might she mean? Had she caught her sneaking in and was on the pay of the zoo? Technically speaking her entry fee had been paid, it was the youngest of the strange family that had come in without being noticed or paid for.

Maggie turned and looked at Charley, she didn't want to get in trouble, she was naughty, but she really wanted to see inside the zoo, it wasn't *her* fault that Hogwarts preparation was draining every spare knut in the household right now. "Are you gonna tell on me?" she asked the other girl? The small grey creature also looked at Charley, demanding and answer with its big eyed as it smooshed another chunk of peach between it's jaws, letting sweet drool trickle down it's face and attract several interested flies.

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Charley Goode

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   Charley Goode

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Charley's gaze was caught by the critter tracking the little girl's finger, giving it the measured consideration she might have a shopkeeper. It's saucer-sized eyes did have an adorable sort of look to it, if she was honest with herself. The sort of eyes that were sure to pry any measure of coin from the unlucky bearer who might look at them.

Frowning to herself, Charley stood back and found herself patting her pockets for evidence of anything missing.

Safe, for now. The urchin kept a wary eye on the monkey thing, for all she knew it was a magical sort that could disapparate right into her pockets. The little girl wouldn't know it, either, particularly if she was a Muggle. That made Charley turn a kind eye in her direction, and just in time to make herself shine.

"Oh, if yer looking for flowers, you found the right lass!" The urchin proclaimed, tugging on her vest's lapel. It really should be her shop —Missus Crouch's shop— that took over the zoo with flowers galore. Then she could have been taking a cut from the admission fees instead of paying it, and all because of the Potts family and their connections. Second-best didn't make second-rate anyway, and this was Charley's time to shine!

The urchin tapped the side of her nose, signally where she kept the little girl's secret there for the moment. Pointing toward one of the arrangements nearby, she beckoned with her hand then led the way. "I know more'n most, y'know? Missus Crouch taught me herself, she runs Montague's over in Hogsmeade." Charley leaned over at her younger pupil to ask, "You know about Hogsmeade, right?"

Just to be sure she wasn't dealing with a Muggle after all.

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   Margaret Wallace

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Margaret was relieved to sense that the other girl would not immediately tell tales on her, she didn't want to be asked to leave, or worse. It was pretty here. Maggie said one last goodbye to the little grey creature before being beckoned to follow by Charley Goode towards one of the displays further along, it was a handsome display to say the least, Margaret knew little about flowers other than being able to name a few of the more popular ones. "Hogsmeade? What about it?" she asked, puzzled and not understanding that she was being checked for magical knowledge. "I've made deliveries to Montague's before, Mrs Shapps grows lilys, but she's a muggle so she can't go." she let out a little envious sigh, oh to be a muggle.

She looked at the towering flower display that must have stretched a mile into the sky from the perspective of the small girl, she saw a large white flower in the centre that filled the air with perfume. "Do you work there?.... oh, I don't know your name. I'm Maggie." she turned sharply and did a brief introductory curtsey as ladies were supposed to, but then let out a little giggle at the silliness of it all. She wondered who she was speaking to and why she was being spoken to, but the girl seemed sweet, and her accent was cute.

"What is your favourite flower?" she asked after turning back to the lovely display, of course after allowing the other girl to introduce herself. A large bee made her jump as it appeared from the bush and buzzed past her face making her go cross eyed. This illicted a little blush from the young girl.

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   Charley Goode

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So the little girl was a witch after all, or would be someday. That was a strange thing to find relief in, Charley was only three years a witch herself. Somehow the insight gave her an odd sense of comfort, as she nodded warmly along to a kindred soul in the young chatterbox. "Aye, that's my job. Never seen you there, but I en't al'ays takin' delivery besides. That's Mrs. Mann, you'd know her then."

A wave of the urchin's hand dismissed the bee that flew by, discouraging it from bothering her.

"An' I'm Charley, which yer prolly thinkin' is a boy's name. But I en't no boy, nor some lady neither." Which she offered in lieu of returning the curtsy that made Maggie break out into a sweat of giggles. Charley scoffed at that, pishing the air above her face to disturb the few strands of stray hairs outside her cap. She grinned despite it all, a lopsided one that might be saying more than the urchin let on. "Guess I'm jes a workin' gal, when there's work anyhow. Bet you know how that is."

Anyone with Maggie's dress and thin frame would know exactly how that is, the urchin hardly needed to mention it. That she did was just a wordy wink at the little girl, proof enough that she could be trusted. Having a secret of Maggie's was Charley's own proof enough, one she'd share only with herself, barring any voiceless flowers with the same burden.

"Oh, my favorite's lurkin' 'round here somewhere," Charley declared, confident it had to be the case. The Potts were good at that much, even if they were the sworn enemies of Missus Crouch's shop. Not that she'd ever said such a thing, it was just something Charley knew without even asking. It was fundamental, a simple Law of Nature that all shops had to follow, their competitors were the enemy and the enemy had to be taken down.

Despite all that, the urchin could be just as dazzled as the next sort wandering around a zoo decked with flowers. "You seen the Mimbulus Mimbletonia yet? They put it outta reach, but betcha don't know why!" Launching herself back onto the path deeper into the zoo, she glanced back to make sure Maggie was following. Since the little girl had snuck herself in, it stood to reason that she was all alone. And with no one to cry to, or shout at someone for leading her astray, Charley might just have some more fun in store for the gullible, little Maggie. "C'mon!"

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   Margaret Wallace

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Maggie nodded at Charley, she knew the proprietor of the flower shop even if she didn't recognise the girl she was speaking too. She thought the girl quite funny, more relaxed than a lot of other people she tended to run into. She guessed her name was sort of boyish but it would be terribly rude to agree with her assessment so the small girl just shrugged.

It appeared they would be quickly on their way. Margaret was confident she wasn't about to be ratted out by the other girl and felt she seemed somewhat trustworthy. Mimbulus Mimbletonia sounds like something a posh girl might be named. I dont know,do they keep it oit of reach to protect its virtue or something?" she giggled as she joked and they continued. She had no idea what this plant might be or even where it might be, all she knew is that Charley had piqued her curiosity and she needed to find out. It wasn't like she had a card full of other plans anyway, she wasn't even meant to be here but she was glad she had snuck in.

"We should get ice cream too!" she added to her friend. Poor sweet innocent Maggie having little idea the kinds of prices a zoo ice cream seller might ask, but the joke would be on them as it is very difficult to rob someone with as little means as Maggie had.

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Charley Goode

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   Charley Goode

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Ice cream would make for a pretty sweet way to cap the day, Charley agreed. She looked back at the little girl, giving her the right answer with one drawn-out word, "La-ter."

The urchin held a face full of mischief in a single grin, leading deeper into the dressed-up zoo. The throngs of magical folk crowded around different displays, but she knew the small ways through them. Had it been earlier, she might have used that to get close up to the arrangements of Forget-Me-Nots or to the glowing Lumos Lilies that no one had ever ordered from the shop.

With a follower at her heel and a purpose driving her forward, Charley stalked through the edges of the crowds instead. Where it was so easy to let her hands brush against a man's coat, along a woman's handbag, with all the close quarters. Charley's hands retreated quickly to her pockets after that, coming out clean to guide Maggie through the toughest spots to ensure they'd stick close together.

"Reckon if ol' Mimby's in need of summat lookin' after her virtue, she'd be baring all in fronta such a crowd?" They were close now, enough to point out the bulbous spikes of the plant that still held the odious secret from the little girl. One that Charley was keeping pretty close, herself. She grinned from her little joke at Maggie's —and the plant, which might not care as much— expense, tacking on a better suggestion, "If it were like virtue, then a pure soul like yers'd be the better sort to get right up close, right?"

Charley nodded along to her words so that Maggie would, too. It was perfectly reasonable, everyone knew children were the purist sort to be found. Naturally, that'd be why Missus Crouch wanted her for work at the flower shop, too. Beneath the crusty layers of the urchin, there still had to be some of her own innocence she was born with. It couldn't all be gone yet.

"Lucky for us, Mimby's sittin' pretty under a tree," the still-had-to-be-innocent urchin said, pointing up to the large plant shading the walkway. A long branch hung out over the plant, one that might not carry Charley's weight any more. Maggie, though, looked light enough to try it. "You en't 'fraid of heights, right? Jes shimmy over on that branch and whisper to the Mimbulus." Giving the little girl a serious expression, she added gravely, "Need to get real close, too, ya hear?"

Charley could hardly contain the excitement in her voice and body, holding herself still and her voice even enough to convince Maggie. She hoped, anyway, with an impish eagerness close behind.

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   Margaret Wallace

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The cadence of the other's girls speech had something of a musical quality to it and it reminded her of the London types portrayed in some of the plays she had been taken too as a child. She followed her new friend closely through the crowds of people that towered above her, she felt like a little rodent scurrying through a maze of legs. A taller gentleman gave a start as Maggie stepped on his foot and his accompanying lady gave her a look of disdain but then the girls were gone again on their mission.

Finally they reached a strange looking spiky plant and Maggie's nose wrinkled from some vague odour that smelled a little like a dog that was in dire need of a dip in the canal. She couldn't place it at all but Charley needed her attention so she looked closely. Maggie nodded along to the older girl, not entirely knowing what she was talking about but she was a follower now and the older teen just seemed so worldly too her. ”You want me to go, up there?” she pointed up the tree which quite handily was mostly obscured by the large plant, but not so much that she would be entirely invisible to passers by. ”And tell the plant that I snuck in?” she raised an eyebrow curiously but was still nodding along to the plan.

Something didn't feel quite right about the whole situation, but what was the worst that might happen, a mischievous child climbing a tree for a better look at a plant was hardly the crime of the century so the little muggleborn girl placed it at the back of her mind and continued listening before heading over to complete her task.

The tree was not the most difficult climb, the branches were grown for show rather than cutting so she could easily get a purchase and lift her small frame up. What did make things a little difficult was her dress, but this was something that Maggie was used to and could compensate for, hopefully not snagging the brown material along the way. The branches that did pose questions were the thinner ones that reached out above Mimby, these bowed slightly as she placed her weight onto them, dropping her closer to the lumpy green and unusually scented plant as she moved. She felt herself shaking a little as the branch strained more and she saw several adults had spotted her and were pointing her out to the staff. She came closer and closer to the plant before deciding now was the time. She glanced over looking for her coconspirator to ensure that she was being watched my more than just the adults.
”Hello Miss Mimby, I need to confess, I never bought a ticket to come and see you. Sorry.”

It was unlikely anyone would have heard what was said as the branch gave way just enough for her to touch the undulating flesh of the branch, but everyone certainly heard the shriek that the little girl let out for what happened next.

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Charley Goode

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   Charley Goode

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"Tha's right!" Charley nodded solemnly, tossing her head in a slow, exaggerated manner. Just the sort of manner that would convey her utmost seriousness, this was not a matter to take lightly. The traditional confession of wrongdoing into the Mimby was a rite of passage, one that Mrs. Mann had used to her fullest desire when the urchin had cost an ample sickle with one mistake at the shop.

It delighted the urchin that there was still one more gullible soul in the world as she watched Maggie trot off to deliver her sordid confession. She donned a grin while wandering her way through the onlookers, pushing out between some old biddy with her skirts too fluffed and some boy who gave her a much kinder reaction. No one seemed to mind one more spectator to the plant whose description prompted no end to murmurs of imaginative curiosity.

She alone could trace the little girl's path up the branches, leaving the rest of the crowd to point and gasp in astonishment when the first began to notice. A warmth swelled in the urchin's chest, but she let the smile fade and adopt the expression of worry that made her fit the picture of the crowd. "Whatcha reckon's got into her?" Charley gasped with the others, and declared to those who tried to ruin the whole affair, "Oh, do be careful, the plant's sensitive to magic!"

The crowd didn't have to know that such a thing was foolish, there wasn't a single herbologist among them. All that mattered was that they watched in stunned horror as Maggie crept closer, and lower on her spry branch, to the extended, pulsating boil of the Mimbulus mimbletonia. It took Charley everything to keep herself from spoiling the surprise, buttoning her lip so she wouldn't giggle or even smile again. Her tongue, it seemed, would not be stilled, squeezing through the space between her lips to goad Maggie onward. "Closer...closer...jes one more inch... "

Charley couldn't wait to start laughing as soon as the branch dipped low. She might have given up the game early, but then a blood-curdling shriek echoed through the open-air zoo. Truer music had yet to find the urchin's ears, who was giggling too much like a madwoman to care if anyone else nearby found it odd or alarming. It seemed entirely possible that no one noticed at all, with too much fuss and furor over the tree-climbing girl who was suddenly covered in sticky, putrid sap.

"What a rot!" Charley cried to anyone in earshot, waving a hand in front of her held nose. Mirrored by the boy nearest her, he chuckled at the affair for a moment before the smell got too much for him. Some others had definitely fared worse, evidence on the ground offering an unintentional effect that didn't stop the urchin from giggling some more. This was turning out even better than she'd expected.

With the plaza emptying out, the urchin took a few steps forward. The stink was especially ripe here, pushing her tongue furiously into the roof of her mouth to stave off being sick. Reaching up, Charley held out a hand to the little sap-ridden girl, her efforts not to laugh or puke bringing tears to the wells of her eyes. "Couldn'ta asked for a better show, brava! Had yer fill, then?"

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   Margaret Wallace

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This was horrid, the sap smelled like nothing the young girl had ever experienced before, the horror of it all caused her to drop her grip on the branch and tumble to the ground. The girl shrieked again as the floor caught her tumbling down, she hadnt noticed, but her panic had managed to catch fire to several of the leaves on the plants that were closeby, only adding to the minor panic she had caused. Luckily fresh foliage burns poorly and the worst that occured was a fairly acrid smoke mixing with the bad smells.

Several onlookers appeared that they might offer her assistance or even apprehend her for her awful act of public nonsense, but the putrid coating proved to be a shield to their advances and the area quickly emptied leaving Maggie sobbing on the ground only to be greeted with the hand of her friend. She looked upwards and wiped the tears and a back hand full of slime away before reaching for Charley and taking her aid to stand up. "Did you know?" she asked through tears looking at her friend who couldn't help herself but give a little nod.

Maggie turned and clenched her fists "That was a HORRIBLE...TRICK' the girl stamped her foot hard on the ground and a nearby poster this time took the brunt of her problematic magic, catching fire and burning against the stone wall it was nailed too. "I thought you were being nice to me. But you're just... horrible." she flicked her fists crossly as if she wanted to punch someone. The action caused a great dollop of slime on the back of her hand to issue forth and hit the other girl square in the upper chest. This briefly broke Maggie's anger and she glanced at the mess all over her before glancing back at the other girl with revenge in her eyes. Charley had better think fast.

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Charley Goode

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   Charley Goode

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Charley had to jump back when the little girl tumbled from the tree, she had enough sense of self-preservation to avoid getting the stinksap all over herself. It would be a long ride back to Hogsmeade in a smelly shirt, that was for sure. A little giggle burst forth from the urchin's lips again, as irresistible as the nod she gave to Maggie's accusation.

"Hadta, Charley said with a shrug, rolling away the next line of insults. Being horribly tricked just came with living the streets, she didn't have the money for shows or grand eateries. She made her own fun, like trickery and foolish games. The urchin had fallen into her share of pranks, too. Charley's own ears had nearly steamed off from embarrassment when Mrs. Mann had played this one on her. Being the witness to Maggie's furious rage was far more fun than being in her shoes. Her ruddy cheeks were almost cute, in a harmless sort of way. "Aww, but keep yer chin up, shake it of—"

She peeked down at the glop of stinksap that shook loose from Maggie's hands, and landed in the middle of her shirt. Her eyebrows shot up, nearly to the brim of her cap, and she looked under them over to the little girl. Then to the smoldering ruins of a poster that had burst into flame behind her. Charley's mirth vanished as she pulled at her shirt, feeling the heavy, wet sap already bleeding through to touch the skin beneath it, making the shirt stick to contours it was never meant to. "Yech...Not what I mean!"

Feeling the furious little ball of rage staring right at her, Charley stared back. She knew the look on the little girl's face, a look that Charley knew from wearing it too much herself. Fearing that she was about to be the victim of an attack —or worse, wind up wearing Maggie if she jumped her— the urchin threw her arm around Maggie and let out a real cackle. "Yer alright, y'know that?"

Not a handful after all.

Swinging herself around, Charley put a little pressure on the shoulder of her newest, fiery friend to guide her. If she had to smell the stinksap on her shirt all day now, the urchin was going to make sure that Maggie did too. Besides, there was more to see at the flower show, and if they were lucky the zoo might have a pond they could jump in to scrub off. Yes, this was how the poor kids made their fun.

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   Margaret Wallace

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