Holding onto the strap of her bag, Therese examined the entrance to the alley that led to Knockturn Alley. Her toe dug into the ground as her leg rocked back and forth, taking her next steps into consideration. There was never a good tale to tell when you entered Knockturn Alley, but it was really her only option. She liked to consider herself a woman who could take on her own adventures, but there was always a strange, nearly howling breeze that came out of Knockturn.

Her shampoo was not that important, was it?

It sounded silly even thinking it! But! Matilda Rowle had always provided her with a special brand that was widely regarded amongst the veela population, something Therese had believed would cause her hair to fall out the moment the concoction touched her scalp. Therese had very little veela blood, but her mother had always commented that her hair was a gift from her ancestors. Right. In any case, the shampoo (and conditioner!) had been something she'd sworn by since leaving Hogwarts, and--she felt a twisting guilt to use something other than the brand that Matilda had found her for.

Merlin, this was a stupid argument she was having with only herself. She was a grown woman, a former Slytherin! There was nothing to be nervous about. Therese straightened her shoulders and took the first few steps into Knockturn. She lifted her chin; she'd be in and out, that was all. People came in and out of here all the time.

This little errand would go perfectly fine.

Who: Orion and Nora
What: He's going to find out why she's being so evasive
Where: Nora's place
When: Friday night
Status: In progress

( ...he wasn't going to be able to rest easy until he found out what was actually going on with her. )

WHO: Nora Peakes and Howard Aubrey
WHAT: She stumbles into one of his extracurricular activities
WHERE: Some forest. Somewhere.
WHEN: Today?!

( He didn’t like getting his hands dirty, but he needed to protect his investment. )

While she wasn't particularly keen on parties, she was set on saving wildlife. Everyone else seemed to rake in the galleons by throwing large events, no matter the scandals that erupted from them, so why couldn't they? Nora had conservatory's committee for quite some time now, and being the youngest by a good forty years, had devised this plan as a new and fresh way of funding. It helped greatly that she had friends that had access to some of the best party planners (or that she could twist Charlie Spinnet's ear until he helped her out), and things seemed to have turned out well. So far.

For the brave at heart, there was a grand maze that made its way throughout the haunted castle. Guests would be offered clues to get themselves to the ballroom, and if they were truly lost (as Nora was sure was to occur), for just a small donation (it's for charity), any money dropped into a clue box would light up a blue path down the correct route to lead the way out. With all the Gryffindors that Nora had put on the guest list, she was sure they were going to triple their goal.

There was a simpler route than the maze, which was simply to walk through the double doors to the dance floor. Nora was currently wavering between the two, having run out of pamphlets to give out at the front entrance therefore giving her no excuse to join the festivities. She felt rather exposed, as Delilah had stolen her cloak, and when someone tapped her shoulder she jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"Bloody hell!" she let out, spinning around. "You scared the life out of me!"

Nora frowned, the wind whipping her scarf loose from around her neck. The weather was dreary and it mimicked her mood perfectly. After nearly five days, her little expedition group was nowhere closer to finding the missing curse-breakers. Nora knew how to track animals, and while Nico, Larkin, and she was now clumping Ethan into the mix weren't animals (well...), she knew how to conduct a search.

She unfolded a picture she'd taken of the trio in Egypt and stared down at it with a frown. The images all waved back, knocking each other over on the bench after a few moments. Nora wished she could have some sort of idea what had happened, to ease her easily worried mind. She knew in her head that they were all capable of handling themselves, but the circumstances were just so strange and the period of time that had passed without any sort of communication had gone on too long for comfort. From all the misadventures she'd heard about, with great flourish, it was hard to simply sit around and wait.

"Thanks a lot," she said to the young girl behind the stall. Nora had provided the picture and the girl had recognized Ethan. She'd pointed down the alleyway of the street fair and Nora let out a breath; at least she knew they'd been here. Nora walked toward Delilah and Max, who were a bit further down and in the direction the girl had pointed out. She stopped, putting a hand up to block the sun, noticing that even with the wind she felt warm. She better not have caught something.

"They were here," she said, folding the picture up and putting it back in her pocket. Nora was glad that her friends had come along with her, but it was starting to seem like a hopeless cause, and they were all feeling weary, "or at least Ethan was. Maybe someone else saw something."

Good Merlin Nico was going to throttle her in her sleep for this one.

Larkin bit the inside of her cheek, hand hovering over the handle attached to the door that lead to her best friend's (newly upgraded!) quarters. In Jordan. Where they now were currently living. For an undisclosed amount of time? Held questionably under the vague term of 'guests.' Well, except for her. This was technically her home. A palace. At least a nice palace, but still a... palace. That, was also, so obviously not magical it would be startling if she had not somewhat become accustomed to it the first time around. First time around.

Larkin closed her eyes sharply, finding her own thoughts unappealing. That shouldn't be how she described... it was very complicated, her time last spent here, so it really... wouldn't be right to... the boom of a distant door swinging open down the hall snapped Larkin out of her thoughts, and she shook her head fiercely.

Right, this was--- all just lovely! She pressed her lips briefly, eyes rolling up to the ornate ceiling as she adjusted her clothes. It felt very strange to be wearing something that A, was not trousers and boots and in fact a dress, and B, articles of clothing that were completely void of magical culture.

Yes, just another thing to add onto the list for Nico and Ethan to be stark raving mad at her about. Larkin had decided, in the couple of hours that she had been given 'off' (off from what, exactly, she wasn't sure, because it felt like she wasn't doing much of anything for the past day), she had thought it wise to finally sit down and clarify what was... going on. One at a time. In private. She hoped, at least, that the residential upgrade provided for Nico through her brash decision of naming him her 'royal advisor' would help soften the blow of his undoubtable anger and disbelief toward her. It couldn't hurt, right?

Biting her tongue, Larkin finally pulled down and slipped through the door. Hiking up her dress to walk properly, she didn't have to go very far until she came upon her partner in crime.

"Hi," she let out sheepishly, her voice dropping to a low tone. Well wasn't this awkward?

Traveling with a rude, over sized ferret and a treasure hunting niffler was not the easiest of tasks. Nora hadn't the foresight to see the hassles that might occur as she'd transported larger, much sharper fanged creatures before. No, no, the scratches on her arms from Kenneth's early morning temper tantrum and the various holes chewed into her pockets because she'd forgotten about the good luck coins her mother often placed in her clothing when she set off on an expedition, had not even remotely been thought of. Nope, she'd just been excited for the weekend trip, having not a single assignment to take up her time.

It seemed like all of her friends were in Istanbul for the cup. Octavius had been there since the beginning, Delilah made her way over last week and was now planning to stay, Adrian's team was advancing to the next round, and Nico was gallivanting around with his partner-in-crime, Larkin. Nora really didn't have much of a care for quidditch, but she had actually never been to Turkey and found being lonely as a good excuse to make the trip. Plus! Lorenzo had been whimpering the last week in ways that could only be interpreted as missing his owner. She'd sent an express owl ahead of time to Nico to arrange where they could meet, in case something exciting popped up before hand (which it tended to, a lot), and the bustling, energetic Istanbul City Port was chosen for a dinner that would include this and that from the various street vendors and one of a kind restaurants.

Dinner, though, was supposed to have been over a half hour ago. Nora leaned forward on the railing overlooking the water, rubbing her hands together because the night was turning rather brisk. Letting out a breath, she decided she'd give it another fifteen minutes. Who knew how fast time flew here, yeah?

Who: Ethan Jordan, Nicodemo Penrose & Larkin Whitby
What: RUNNING SECRETS FEELS AHH!
Where: a bazaar! Istanbul!
When: today!

( I don't quite recall being finished with my browsing )

WHO: Nicodemo Penrose, Nora Peakes, and a very naughty jarvey
WHAT: A fugitive's time runs out
WHERE: A tent.
WHEN: ...Maybe a week ago?

( SUCKERS! )