Maintain the Madness (open!)

[Iain Murray]

So next week I’ll go to Iceland
Then onto London.
And into the arms of my favourite stranger
And then onwards
Cos I cannot I will not I cannot I will not I will not I cannot
I will never stop
- The Jane Austen Argument

Iain strolled the streets of Hogsmeade and tried to find himself a place to eat. Oh, of course he could go home and eat there, but well.. no. He wasn't very much in the mood.
Don't get me wrong, because Iain loved his family. Adored them. Would do anything for them and then some. But Cailean had gotten himself a girlfriend (Linda? Laura?) through that stupid dating-plan the Ministry had come up with and it wasn't that Iain didn't like her, just.. He didn't like being in the same house with her. For one thing because it constantly reminded him that he would soon receive a letter as well, which he wasn't so sure about (and why had Cailean's letter arrived so soon? was Iain really that unlikable? it made him feel a little self-conscious to be honest..). Apart from that reason, Iain didn't like the way she hung off his brother's arm like she'd never let him go. It wasn't that he didn't want his brother to be happy just..

He was jealous, wasn't he? And not of Cailean, but of her! (Lizzy, Lotte, what was her name? Lisa?)
Oh, shite, what a mess.

Not that Iain was in love with his twin brother. Good gods, no! People had suggested it in the past, but they had always been met with swift retaliation (usually a hex of some sort, or the good old-fashioned tripping someone down the stairs). He was just so used to being real close to him and now everything was different and changing and he didn't like it one bit. Soon Cailean would move out and have a proper house and Iain would remain at home and then what? He'd probably stagnate. Cailean would grow and blossom and Iain would look up and watch him go, because he certainly couldn't see himself going anywhere.

But, so, the plan. He had let his parents know he had to work late (..white lie) and that he'd grab a bite of dinner in London (not a lie). Now the question was just where. Subplan: focus on the positive. He had delivered a beautiful baby girl today, after all, and that had been wonderful. Hold those thoughts, the good thoughts.
Indecisive, Iain stood in the middle of Diagon Alley. What did his stomach feel like, today? How much money had he even brought? Completely uncoordinated, he dug into his pockets for his purse to check.

[Blaisia Zabini]

Blaisia had been busy all day. She'd been shopping, gone to work for a little while, shopped some more and now it was time for a bite to eat. Shopping was harder than it looked and if a girl didn't keep up her energy, she wasn't going to be able to keep up with all the shopping that needed doing in the world. Today London, tomorrow Paris. Oh, thinking of which she needed to nip by and pick up her new dress. Custom made from the finest, most expensive materials. She was going to look like Royalty on her date that the ministry was setting her up on though she hadn't yet received a letter. Perhaps they had more on their hands than they'd anticipated. Perhaps there wasn't a shortage of wizarding families after all.

Blaisia had been home a couple of times to drop off her shopping and all though she could have had a meal at home, cooked beautifully by her house elf, she chose not to eat alone like always, she enjoyed the company of others. Well not necessarily their actual company but certainly being near people. Blaisia was a social sort, not afraid to speak to strangers, to help them out if she was feeling generous, the only problem was Blaisia liked to spend. A lot. And she was in need of a new, successful husband to take care of her. She wasn't going to go bankrupt just yet. She had a fair few years ahead of her before that happened but she wanted far more and the more she shopped, the more expensive her tastes got.

Fiddling around with her handbag as she walked, Blaisia looked about for her purse. She had a feeling that she might have left it at home and was going to need to take another trip back to her gorgeous little manor home.

Ah ha! Success! Blaisia felt her purse at the bottom of her handbag and as she started pulling it up she bumped into someone. Her left shoulder collided with a body part of someone else and she knocked herself back a little. Merlin she could be clumsy at times.

"Oh my word, my apologies sweety." She said as she let go of her purse and pulled her hand out of her bag. "Are you all right?" Blaisia hadn't been like all the other Slytherin's in her dorm or even her year, she was a fan of everyone because they each had their own little fortunes, little fortunes that she liked to take an interest in. Being a Slytherin wasn't about hate like so many people in other houses presumed, it wasn't about disliking blood statuses, all though granted, Salazar Slytherin had been a little fussy about it but some Slytherin's weren't, Slytherin's like Blaisia because there was more than one aspect to a house, shrewdness and cunning were just a couple of things that came to Blaisia's mind.

[Iain Murray]

Just as Iain thought he had found his change in the bottom of his pocket (that bigger-on-the-inside spell had definitely been a bad idea), he was bumped into by someone. Well, that was probably his own stupid fault for standing still in the middle of the road like an idiot. He should be glad he hadn't been hit by some vehicle or other, actually. Being in hospital with a cracked pelvis or a missing spine wasn't exactly what he wanted to be doing right now. (Though it might get him out of dating for a while, huh!) He stumbled back slightly and, in a reflex, pulled his hand out of his pocket in order to steady himself and in case he had to break his fall - scattering coins all over in the process. Whoops.
"Hm? Oh- fine, gud," Iain said, nodding and looking at the mess around them. Coins hadn't been the only things in his pocket. Cigarettes, lighter, matches (too!), random scraps of parchment he used instead of an agenda, a silver ring he'd found on the ward yesterday he'd meant to drop off at 'lost and found' but which he'd forgotten about.. and then some.

Flashing the young woman who'd bumped into him a reassuring smile, Iain squatted to pick up his belongings.. or rubbish, whatever you preferred to call it. "Shouldnae've been standin' here like this anyway. This'll teach me," he said jovially, glancing up briefly. "Ye're okay, tho'? Unhurt?"
Iain thought he recognised her face from somewhere. Hogwarts, possibly. Only vaguely, though. But she seemed nice enough - she had apologised after all, even if it was his fault too. "Were ye on yer way tae somewhere?" he asked. "I dun wanna keep ye or anythin'. 'mfine, really." His tone also indicated that he wasn't trying to get her to leave, he just didn't want to be in the way of her plans (again).