Meeting Up! (Mace and Keiba) (Invitation)

[Keiba Namid]

Keiba smiled as she walked down the cobbled street of Diagon Alley. Eventually she came across an Ice Cream parlour with a large colourful sign professing that it was "Florean Fortescue's". She grinned and walked inside, gaping at all the yummy flavours of ice cream.

She felt really indecisive. There were so many delicious and exotic flavours. It would be a great to help with the jet lag from the trip back from down under... she pondered over the bright colours of frozen cream as memories of the frosts and pretty sunsets flooded back to her.

[Mace Balfour]

Mace walked into the parlour, already wondering what he should get. Maybe the biggest serve of ice-cream they could give him. As Mace stared at the multiple choices, he noticed a familiar face doing the same. Hesmiled and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey Keiba."

[Keiba Namid]

Someone tapped Keiba's shoulder and she spun around. "Mace!" She cried. "Long time, no see, brother!" Keiba grinned ecstatically. It had been a while since she'd seen her childhood friend.

"Merlin's beard, you're so tall!" She gaped, craning her neck up to look him in the face before laughing.

"What flavour ice cream, do you think? There's so many, I can't decide."

[Mace Balfour]

Mace chuckled. It was always good to see Keiba.
"I wouldn't have the foggiest on what to get," he replied. "Just make sure you don't get vomit flavour or something, because, well, it tastes like vomit." Mace smiled broadly
Keiba shot him one of her 'your such an idiot' looks and went back to gapping at the flavours menu.
Now that she'd mentioned it, Mace noticed that Keiba was right. He certaintly was getting taller.
He was now over a head taller than her.
Mace's smile grew even larger. Keiba wouldnt like that he was so much bigger than her now.

[Keiba Namid]

Keiba shot Mace her best derp face. She scanned over the flavours, her eyes finally landing on Butterscotch & Caramel, and Rainbow.

"Can I help you?" Asked the clerk.

"Um, yes please. Can I have a double cone with Plain Butterscotch & Caramel and rainbow?" Keiba ordered.

"Do you want the sparkly rainbow or the plain?"

"Plain please." And then Keiba was handed her ice cream cone. She paid the man and motioned for Mace to hurry up, raising an eyebrow playfully.

[Mace Balfour]

Mace poked his toung at Keiba when she told him to hurry up.
Speaking to the clerk, he said, "I'll get a triple serve of chocolate and cookie dough thanks.
The man looked Mace up and down, then said, " Are you sure you want a triple serve? Thats alot of ice cream."
In response, Mace's stomach rumbled.
Once he had received his ice-cream, Mace sat down at a booth, gesturing for Keiba to join him.

[Keiba Namid]

Keiba pulled up a chair outside at the table Mace was sitting at. "So, what you been up to? I haven't seen much of you lately." She licked at her melting sweet, crossing her eyes at some that got on her nosetip. Keiba tried to lick it off with her tongue, then, realising that was pointless, wiped it off with the back of her hand.

[Mace Balfour]

Mace handed Keiba a napkin to clean her hand.
"Oh, you know, not a whole lot. Mostly at home, reading, eating, sleeping, eating some more. The usual."
Mace finished of his ice-cream and stared at the bottom of the bowl, wishing for more.
"What about you, Keib? What have you been up to over the break?"

[Keiba Namid]

Keiba took the napkin and cleaned her hand (with difficulty, since she only had one free hand!).

She laughed. "That is indeed your usual, Mace. Well, I went back to Australia for a few weeks; I got back yesterday. I took some awesome photos but never had a chance to owl them to anybody. I guess I'll owl them tonight after I finish shopping for school. Hey! That reminds me!" she exclaimed with a grin. "We can do our shopping together!"

She saw Mace staring into the bottom of his empty ice cream bowl. She flicked a sickle at him and said, "Go on, get some more."

[Humphrey Williams]

After Humphrey talked to Ivano he noticed Keiba and a boy at one of the tables. He walked over to them. "Hey Kibbles, mind if I join you and your friend? I'm Humphrey by the way." he said to the person he had not met before. His ice cream was chocolate chip cookie dough and it tasted lovely.

[Keiba Namid]

"Oh! Hey Humphrey! This is Mace, we've been friends since primary school. We're both Australian. What are you doing here?" Keiba exclaimed as her Gryffindor friend came over.

"Mace, this is Humphrey. I met him on the train at the start of term." She smiled.

"Have a seat, Humph! It's good to see you."

[Humphrey Williams]

"Hello Mace." he offered his hand for a handshake. Humphrey always felt introductions required shaking hands. "Ah, glad you have a fellow Australian to keep you company.

"It's great to see you too. Sorry that I didn't talk to you after everything that happened. I needed some time to myself. I am actually here because I was looking at the Firebolt 1999 broom. If I save up a little more I should be able to get it. Trying out for Gryffindor Chaser this year, hopefully I make it." Humphrey said. He absolutely loved flying, even though he hadn't done it much.

[Keiba Namid]

"That's wonderful, Humphrey! I heard that Firebolt is pretty good. I hope you make the team," Keiba said, happy for her friend. "Hey, Mace, you like sport too, right? Why don't you try out for Ravenclaw Beater? You'd be pretty good, and it would give me an excuse to go to the matches. Except... if you guys verse each other, I won't know who to go for! I'll have to sit on the fence."

She finished off her cone and licked the remaining yumminess off of her fingertips. "So, guys. What's been happening since I've been away? Did you go to Charlotte's Dad's Bakery, Humph?"

[Humphrey Williams]

"Haley told me it was a pretty good broom, and now I've seen it I must agree with her. Thanks, I hope I do. Even if it is in one of the other positions. You should root for somebody Keiba, you can't sit on the fence during a sporting event. It is like...the law, you have to choose a side." Humphrey told her. It was true, whenever he had been unsure he did eeny meeny miny mo, because it was simply not right to be cheering for nobody.

Humphrey finished the last of his dish of chocolate chip cookie dough. The ice cream was the tastiest he had ever had. "I've just been at home in Edinburgh with my aunt and uncle. Pretty boring summer really. Umm, no I haven't been. I haven't been invited. Charlotte and I are talking a bit again now, but at the end of the year we weren't really on speaking terms." he said, the emotion clear in his voice.

[Keiba Namid]

Keiba listened to Humphrey talk about Quidditch. She agreed with him there. "I like Haley, she's really nice. And if that's so, then I'll just cheer for everyone!"

Humphrey looked so lost when he talked about Char. "Oh, Humphrey! You'll be best friends again soon. I swear it! Just give it some time and everything will be back to a better normal."

[Mace Balfour]

Mace gave a little start as he shot back down to earth. He had been thinking about quiditch. It was his dream, though he'd never tell Keiba as she would probably laugh at him, to play on a pro quiditch team.
He desperately wanted to make the team this year.
"Sorry guys. Blanked out a little there," Mace slid Keiba's sickel back, shacking his head. " It's nice to meet you to, Humphery."
Mace looked back to Keiba.
"Hey, yeah, I'd love to go do our shopping together. It'll be a heap of fun."

[Keiba Namid]

Keiba smiled. "Awesome! Well, since we've all finished eating. I have to get some books from Flourish and Blotts. It would be lovely for you two to accompany me!" She slung her bag over her shoulder as she stood up.

Keiba took the sickle and pressed it into the hand of the man behind the counter, before leaving the shop, the bell ringing as she opened the door.

[Humphrey Williams]

"I need to go to Flourish and Blotts as well, so I'd be glad to accompany you. And as for being friends with Charlotte again, we've already sent each other a couple owls. I think we should be able to be friends again. As for best friends, I'm not so sure. But, we'll see. So what classes are you taking this year Keiba?" he said as he followed her out the door.

"So Mace, what do you like to do? I've been catching up with Keiba and kind of ignoring you, sorry about that." Humphrey said.

[Keiba Namid]

"Goody," Keiba said. "I still think it's good you guys can still be friends after everything that's happened."

Keiba thought for a second, trying to think of what classes she'd signed up for. "Hmm... charms, potions, transfiguration, infiltration, Care of Magical Creatures, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy... I think that's it. What about you, Mace? And Humphrey? Do we have any classes together?"

[Mace Balfour]

"Uhm, I picked Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Care for Magical Creatures, Occlumency, Transfiguration, Charms and Flying Lessons, so it sounds like we should have a fair bit together." Mace replied happily.
Looking at Humpery, he said, " It's fine, I understand. I mainly like to play instruments whenever I can, but now that we are Hogwarts, I don't get much of a chance anymore. Still, it's what I do." Mace really did miss all of his instruments back in Australia, especially his piano, but it couldnt be helped. Hogwarts was the best place for him, so that was where he was going to stay. "What about you? You obviously like quidditch."

[Keiba Namid]

Keiba skipped a little in excitement. "That's great! We have a heap of classes together!"

"I don't know about you guys, but I am uber-excited for our second year." Keiba said, using an awesome word she kept reading in manga's. She loved it now. "Uber" was such a funny word to say and it made her giggle a bit.

[Humphrey Williams]

"I am taking every class except Muggle Studies. So that is Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Occlumency, Infiltration, Potions, Flying Lessons, Dueling, Astronomy, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and I think that is it. Should be a busy year, but I enjoy being busy." Humphrey replied in answer to Keiba's question.

"I play piano, and try to write a bit of my own music. Haven't had time to do much of it, but I've done a little over the break. Being at Hogwarts is a good trade-off though. Also I like reading, writing, and art. Working on writing two fiction novels at the moment. I used to play Basketball, but now that I've discovered Quidditch, that is my new love. In my opinion, there is nothing better than the experience of flying on a broom." Humphrey was really looking forward to the coming year at Hogwarts, he hoped he made Chaser for the Gryffindor team. Competition was something that he thrived on, it was something he had always enjoyed and suspected he always would.

[Keiba Namid]

"That's great Humphrey! I just hope you can keep up with that amount of work. I know you did a lot last year too, but I suspect you and the Headmistress worked something out around that," Keiba enthused.

She listened to Humphrey rattle on about his strengths and poked his side. "Okay now you're just showing off," she giggled.

[Humphrey Williams]

"Yea, we did manage to work something out. I prefer to be busy, I just hope I'm not too busy." Humphrey said in response to Keiba's comment.

"Ow! Mace asked me about what I liked to do, I'm not trying to show off, honest. There are just a lot of things that I am interested in and like to do." he stated. He rubbed his side, Keiba poked him pretty hard.

[Zara Hawkins]

Zara was walking through Diagon Alley, looking for Flourish and Blott's Bookshop. As she gazed around, a familiar face caught her eye.
"Keiba?" She thought to herself.
Zara smiled and ran over to the girl she met in the library. She tapped Keiba on the shoulder.
"Hi there!" Zara said.

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