A Uniquely Pleasant Meeting [Oona]

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Diagon Alley was amazing.

Atticus had known of both the non-magic life and the magical life all of his life, he had experienced many unique and wonderful things because of it, but this - this place was like nothing that he had ever seen before. It was everything and far more than he had expected when he had been told that they would be making their first trip there today - to get new wands for both himself and his older brother - but Atticus had always been perhaps a little bit easily distracted. So not long after arriving and being told the shop they would be looking for was called 'Ollivanders' - Atticus had ended up seperated from his brother and his father. He knew it wasn't a good thing, this place was new to all of them - but he wasn't too worried, despite not having a clue where the shop was - he was eagerly looking around and taking in the shops, keeping an eye out for a sign that read the name he was looking for while also taking note of some places he wanted to check out later. He might be lost but at least he was getting to explore at the same time.

Still, Atticus really did need to learn to pay better attention to what was going on around him. Which he silently made a promise to himself to work on, right after he bumped into someone of course... He mentally scolded himself before peering over at the person he knocked into. A girl, he noted - she looked like she might be close to his own age. He hadn't really had a chance at meeting anyone who might be in his year - at least not anyone that he hadn't known since his first year at Ilvermorny. Of course his clumsiness and distraction had led him to bump into someone... literally. Still it had been his distraction that had resulted in them bumping into each other so he quickly offered his hand, honestly concerned and hoping she wasn't hurt even as he tried offered a tentive smile.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" Atticus started easily, hoping the girl wasn't too upset with him, "I was distracted, I hope I didn't hurt you - I guess I'm a bit clumsy too. You are okay right?" He offered another smile, reaching up to rub the back of his head as he spoke, "I should probably keep going..." he glanced around again, now - which way was it that he had already come from? He starts to move again, pausing before shaking his head - no - that was the way he had come.. right? That decided he turns around again - walking in the opposite direction - surely Ollivanders couldn't be too far off.

[@oona ]

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It wasn’t uncommon for Oona to run into people by accident, on the whole. Keeping her nose in a book most of the time increased that likelihood, though it was a habit that she hardly recognized as being a nuisance or even a danger to those around her. On this trip into Diagon Alley, though, she wasn’t reading at all; the books that she had with her were in a shopping bag and not in front of her face. This made it all the more surprising when she found herself being bumped into by someone or something and falling to the ground before she could even see whom or what had caused her to fall.

Landing on the ground, Oona looked up and saw that someone had offered out their hand to her. Her right palm stung a little from where she had tried to catch herself, and she hoped that the weight of the bag of books had kept them from falling out onto the cobblestones. Whatever had happened to her books, she knew that she had been knocked clean off her feet.

“I'm so sorry, are you alright?”

It was when she looked beyond the outstretched hand that she saw a boy’s smiling face. Maybe it was because she did typically keep her nose in a book, but she had never really paid too much attention to boys before. Obviously, they existed. She went to school with plenty of boys, but they were always just in the background; she didn’t view them as vital to her existence.

There was something different about him, too, Oona thought, besides his dark brown curls. Like her cousins, he had an American accent, at which she almost laughed when he rambled on about how distracted he had been.

“I’m alright,” Oona told him, taking his hand and standing. “I—” She didn’t get to say much more than that—or even introduce herself to him—before the boy said that he needed to go.

Oona collected up her bag of books from where they had fallen and then looked back at where the boy had been. Apparently, wherever he was going, he hadn’t gotten too far, because he was wandering off in the very direction from which he must have come when he had knocked her down.

She did laugh this time, knowing that he couldn’t hear her, and maneuvered past a small group of people to catch up to him. “Are you lost?” she called after the boy, nearly beside him by the time she spoke up. Oona knew how confusing Diagon Alley could be, though at least she had a little more experience with it.

@atticus

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Usually Atticus would be a little more careful not to just run and bump into someone, but he was facinated with everything he was seeing around him. Diagon Alley was unlike any other magical place he had seen before - sure he had seen some things like he was seeing before - but this was different. It was - honestly amazing and his eyes were wide as he wandered around - not caring about the fact that he was honestly rather lost. But then he had bumped into someone and instantly his attention was turned toward the girl who had clearly knocked right off of her feet. 

He offered a smile and helped her back to her feet, trying to speak as clearly as he could - already today he had ended up talking to someone twice and had them look at him like he was growing a second head or something. It was utterly weird to the point he had stopped and looked at himself in a window to make sure that he indeed wasn't growing some extra body part. She didn't say much - but she was okay - and he offered another small smile - hoping he hadn't utterly bothered her before moving on to continue to try and find his way.

But he didn't get all that far, he heard her voice again - asking if he was lost and he turned back towards her, a sheepish little grin on his face as he reached up to his curly hair and brushed it back from his face, peering at the girl as he spoke, "Kinda... sorta." He offered a slight shrug, looking at her curiously after a moment, "I've never been to Diagon Alley before.. it's amazing. But also ..." he trailed off as his eyes darted around them, "Distracting and hard to find where you're going..."

[@oona]

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The boy didn’t entirely admit to being lost, but being “sorta” lost wasn’t exactly possible, was it? Either someone was lost, or someone wasn’t lost; Oona didn’t think that it was something that could fall on a spectrum. He said that he hadn’t been to Diagon Alley before, and Oona knew even before the boy expressed it for himself that his seeing the place for the first time must have played a role in his getting turned around.

“It's amazing,” remarked the boy. “But also… distracting and hard to find where you're going.”

Oona had never been to Diagon Alley at a time when it had been empty; there were, in her experience, always people around, looking for something or selling something or wandering around with an ice cream cone, so she understood how it was difficult to absorb everything at once. If she were new to Diagon Alley, too, she thought that she probably would have gotten distracted by the boy’s mess of brown curls.

“I can help you,” she offered quickly, wondering in hindsight if she should have made it a question instead of a statement. She didn’t want to impose, but who was she kidding? She didn’t mind the thought of spending more time with this boy; at least, she wanted to be around him long enough to catch his name.

@atticus

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He hated to admit that he was indeed lost. Even if it was beyond obvious - he wasn't going to fully admit it outloud so he simply spoke around the actual admittance, and tried to find his way even if he failed once more. He was stubborn, something that had often been pointed out about him - by pretty much anyone he had met. He was headstrong and liked to try and do things on his own - while he wasn't afraid to accept help - asking for it had always been a bit harder for the young Fleming child.

As the girl spoke up again, saying that she could help him - Atticus gave a wide smile. While he hated to admit he might be lost - her offering to help was something he would gladly take her up on, "For real?" he spoke and nodded quickly, "That would be awesome! Thank you." He moved slightly, moving to fall into step with her as he glanced back at her, a smaller smile forming. She seemed really nice - and pretty. He shook his head at the thought before realizing something, "Oh yes. I'm Atticus - Atticus Fleming." He Introduced himself, holding out a hand towards her as he spoke.

[@oona]

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“For real?” asked the boy, apparently disbelieving that she was actually offering him help. That didn’t last for very long, though, because he added, “That would be awesome! Thank you.”

He moved so that he was walking in step with her, and then he introduced himself. Oona observed that he seemed to have become a little bit distracted in the process, and she had to wonder if it was just his nature or something else. “I'm Atticus,” he told her, “Atticus Fleming.”

Atticus reached out his hand again, but this time was for a handshake. As she had before, Oona took it. “Oona O’Toole,” she introduced herself in turn, smiling a little and then looking away after a moment so that she wouldn’t stare into Atticus’s eyes.

She looked back after another moment—not for too long, though, because she didn’t want to seem bored of Atticus’s company already. “So, where are you from?” she wondered. He certainly was American; she didn’t doubt that, but America was a lot bigger than Britain and Ireland were.

@atticus

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Atticus instead of allowing his attention to wander, to look all around him at the wonders and magic going on around him - instead found himself focusing on the girl, eager to learn more about her and perhaps get to know her. She seemed really nice and it was of course exciting to meet someone new to him. He carefully shook her hand, grinning as she introduced herself, "Nice to meet you Oona," he carefully spoke her name, making sure that he pronounced it right, quickly returning the smile although he was a little puzzled when she looked away so quickly.

"Oh," he happily straightened up, tucking his hand into his jacket pocket as he spoke, "I'm from Los Angeles, California - in America, although I'm pretty sure you worked that part out." He offered another little grin, "What about you? Where are you from?" He was a curious thing, and this girl had sparked his attention and he wanted to know more about her - was she a London native? Or perhaps somewhere else nearby - he knew from her voice she was at least from around here and not from America like he was.

@oona

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“Oh,” Atticus answered her, “I'm from Los Angeles, California—in America, although I'm pretty sure you worked that part out.”

“You’re from Los Angeles?!” Oona admittedly felt a bit starstruck but tried to remain calm. He was from the Los Angeles! Oona wasn’t sure if she should ask if he had ever seen anyone famous; the people who were probably “famous” to him—assuming that he wasn’t Muggle-born—were people she had never heard of in her life. Maybe Jace or Indie would be able to tell her about who was famous in America’s magical community.

She could feel herself melting a little at the sight of the boy’s smile, too. “What about you?“ he asked. “Where are you from?”

“I’m from Dublin,” she told him. It was nowhere near as interesting as being from Los Angeles—or what she imagined being from Los Angeles was like—but she hoped that Atticus wouldn’t find that too strange. Oona wondered, too, if he was able to tell her Irish accent apart from the other accents around. “Have you ever been to Ireland?” she asked him.

@atticus

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Atticus gave a quick but small laugh at the way she asked him about being from Los Angeles. He nodded slightly, grinning back at her as he confirmed, "Yeah thats where I am from, thats where my home is." He spoke lightly, he had heard many times people surprised and eager to ask him questions - of if he had seen someone famous - or better yet met someone famous. But he supposed that for Oona it might be a little different due to him being American some people he knew as someone famous might be different for her. 

He was more eager to learn about her, the girl was nice and he eagerly wanted to learn more about her, he knew by her accent that she was at least not as 'english' as some people he had met already, "Dublin..." the name was a little forign to him but her follow up made him shake his head, "Not yet at least - is Dublin in Ireland?" He tilted his head curiously, trying to recall as much as he could about Ireland. "Whats it like there? They.. don't have as many buildings there do they?" He was really trying to remember as much as he could but what he could recall wasn't all that useful.

@oona

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The nonchalance with which Atticus spoke of being from Los Angeles was surprising to Oona. He was so close to Hollywood, and the weather there must have been warm all the time—beyond anything she had ever experienced in Britain or Ireland!

As exciting as that was for her, Atticus didn’t seem to know where Dublin was, asking if it was in Ireland. He knew it was in Ireland, at least, which kept Oona from becoming completely frustrated with his lack of geographical knowledge. “What’s it like there? They… don't have as many buildings there,” he wondered, “do they?”

“It’s a city,” Oona giggled, trying to avoid rolling her eyes at him. “Of course there are buildings.” By comparison, of course, London was grander—and Oona had no doubt that Los Angeles was, too—but, still, she found it laughable. “It is the capital of Ireland, after all…”

@atticus

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Atticus knew that for some people Los Angeles was some big and amazing place - almost like out of a fairytale or something. But for Atticus himself, it was simply just - home. Sure sometimes cool things happened and  that was pretty amazing, but most of the time it was just.. normal, it was his home and that was pretty much it. But he supposed for other people - learning about where others lived was always more exciting. Even still - as Oona gave a small giggle at his questioning he couldn't help but become a little embarrassed as she corrected him. 

Perhaps he needed to do some more research about the places around now that he was in a different country. "Oh- Oh right." His cheeks burned as he offered a small grin and a shrug, "Maybe you can tell me more about it? I mean you probably know a heck more stuff than I could learn by reading right?" He reached a hand up, rubbing the back of his neck before tugging a few stray curls gently. "I guess my geography isn't any better than it used to be."

@oona

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Atticus did look a little bit embarrassed with himself after she had had to correct his thinking that Dublin was much smaller and less important than it was, which was… Oona knew that it wasn’t “good,” per se, but she was glad that he’d realized his error. Besides, she couldn’t mind too much, she realized; she would have to be explaining a lot of things to a lot of new faces over the course of the year.

“Maybe you can tell me more about it?” Atticus wondered. He guessed that she probably knew “a heck more stuff than” he could learn about Dublin through reading, which sounded funny but also kind of cute, the way he put it. “I guess my geography isn't any better than it used to be.”

Considering that he was from Los Angeles and hadn’t known for certain where Dublin was located just a few moments before, Oona knew that she was practically an expert on Ireland. She didn’t know absolutely everything that there was to know about Ireland (or even Dublin), but she was from there, which gave her a good head start.

The only problem was, however, that she knew more about the Muggle side of things than the magical one.

“Hm,” she thought momentarily, trying to come up with something that wouldn’t be too boring. “I’ve never seen a real leprechaun, but Ireland is the only place in the world to find them…”

@atticus

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Despite Atticus's clear embarrassment, he was enjoying the company of the girl - she was nice, a little quirky but that was far from a bad thing. Being 'normal' was boring and way too over rated, he liked interesting people far more and this girl was interesting in a very good way that made him smile. Even if he made a fool of himself.

He was eager to learn more, about the girl mostly - but if learning about where she was from helped well, it was a start and she clearly cared about where she had come from. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he kind of sucked remembering places and facts about them, he learned better by doing things than by just reading them in books. But he'd pay attention and try to learn something from Oona, listening to what she wanted to share would be more interesting than reading.

His head tilted curiously at what she started with, a small grin tugging on his face, "Seriously? Do they really have a thing with rainbows and pots of gold?" He was a little curious but he also had no idea if she was being serious or joking, either way - he was hooked, "Anything else you wanna share? It doesn't have to be magical either."

@oona

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Leprechauns might not have been the greatest way to start conversation, especially considering that she spent all of her time in Ireland among Muggles and didn’t have any stories about them, but Atticus had asked.

Still, he didn’t seem to have found the fun fact to be too much of a bore, which Oona knew was a good thing. “Seriously?” he grinned. “Do they really have a thing with rainbows and pots of gold?”

Oona nodded. She did know that. “Haven’t you ever heard of Leprechaun gold?” she asked him. “The coins look like Galleons,” she explained, “but they disappear in a few hours.”

Other than that, though, Atticus asked if there was anything else she could share, specifying that it didn’t have to be magical.

“There’s the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin,” she suggested. “They make beer there…” They were both too young to be drinking beer, but the place was popular with tourists. “Or, um, Trinity College,” which was more of interest to her, personally. “Do you know Oxford and Cambridge? The universities? Trinity College is… like them, but Irish.”

@atticus