Ariel was once again finding herself standing in the packed street of Diagon Alley. She had decided to be slightly early with the shopping this time around. Well… Early and early… But she decided it was better to leave now than to buy everything ON THE DAY she left for Hogwarts like last year. Having to wake up at seven am had been a horrible experience. Not to mention her mother always stressing into harpie mode. That was never a pretty sight. She looked around the street. One thing about coming here a bit early was that the normally packed street wasn't as packed as it would be later in the summer.

She had gotten the pocketmoney needed and started walking down the street in the sunny, warm weather. She wondered where to go first. But at the horrible sight in front of her, she quickly understood. Flourish and Blotts. Books. Books. And evermore books. She did like to read. So long as she got to decide what to read. But buying schoolbooks was not her favorite hobby. So she grudgingly trudged into the shop and looked at all the people and books around her. Fine, it smelled all right, but still… She wouldn't be needing stuff like Herbology in her future. And not Divination either. Or Arithmancy. Thank Merlin she was done with that shit now. Now she only had to take the subjects she wanted to take.

So she walked behind a few shelves trying to find the right ones, looking around for Dark Arts, DaDA and Transfiguration. She found the Potions book pretty quickly and put it under her arm. She grit her teeth, though, when she couldn't seem to find the other ones. She could see in the corner of her eye that her hair had gone a shade redder. She took a deep breath and let it go, returning her haircolor to her original blonde. She tried to find the books when a boy walked over. Obviously one of the helpers. He had a dazed look in his eyes. She could basically see him drooling. Sure, Ariel didn't mind being exceptionally pretty, but she hated those looks she got from so many people. Guys mostly. So she gave him the stink eye and said. "Sorry, don't need any help. I'm just looking," she said, her voice not very stern, just not beyond friendly either. The guy seemed happy just to have her say anything to him. She looked away and heard him walk away. And then she shut her eyes, focusing and changed her haircolor to brown, shading up her veelaness momentarily. Why hadn't she done that the moment she left home?

She sighed, and turned around, her Potion book in hand and saw the Dark Arts book. She grinned and went for it, turning a corner and walked straight into someone. The impact made her stumble backwards, and she lost the potions book to the floor to regain her balance, saving herself from taking a fall. She looked up to see who she had walked into.

Dimitrius was content with lying to himself as he once again entered Flourish and Blotts. He had left a rather downtrodden Hawke with his parents near the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, citing that he would be home soon enough. After all, the boy could apparate and he didn't need Hawke following after him like a sad pup. Dimitri loved his little brother to death, but sometimes, a little space was needed from the tyke. The boy swore up and down that he could see the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, but whether it was childhood fancy or a simple wish to be magical like his brother, Dimitri would never know.

The only reason he was in the book store for quite possibly the third time this very week was because he loved the smell of the books and everything that came with them. After all, he never had a chance to read at home. He was usually either practicing his violin, or even helping his mother weed her large garden. And when Hawke wanted something, he wanted Dimitri to come and help him right then and there.

He hardly had anytime to just sit down with a good book, which was sorely needed if he wanted to pass his NEWTs this year. Rubbing at his forehead and scratching at his eyebrow, he let loose a wry grin. At least he had gotten all his shopping done beforehand so he could browse to his heart's content. After all, he was fairly certain there were more than enough interesting books within this shop that could catch his attention. Looking around, he failed to pay attention to where he was walking and bumped into someone. Stumbling backward, he heard the distinct sound of a book hitting the floor as he finally locked eyes with the person across from him.

"Oh crap sorry. Here let me help ya with tha'." He said, bending down and picking up the book the girl had dropped before holding it out to her with a smile. "This one is a good book so I'm sure ya will enjoy it verra much. I'm really sorry for running inta ya like that. I'm afraid that I wasnae watchin' where I was going. It's a bad habit o' mine."

Ariel looked at the guy. He seemed to be either as old as her or older. Her bets were on the latter. She thought he reminded her of someone she had seen at Hogwarts. He was probably either graduated or about to begin his final year. She noted his accent and was a bit befuddled. It sounded Scottish and Russian at the same time. She herself didn't have a very thick Scottish accent. People recognized her as Scottish, but it wasn't quite so clear as this guy's. She gave him a light smile and shrugged.

"Don't worry 'bout it. It takes two. I didn't see ye either, so," she said lightly. She looked him over once again. She felt her smile grow a bit truer and tilted her head to the side. "Yer Scottish then?" she asked, letting her own accent show through, "Though you have another accent as well?" She was pretty sure it was Russian, but she couldn't be completely certain. She herself had grown up on the Isle of Skye which meant a thick accent, but her years in Drumnadrochit had dampened it a bit, and hanging out with so many other people at Hogwarts had further diminished it.

Dimitri beamed when he recognized the lilting tones of a fellow Scottish person. He probably shouldn't be this excited since those who came to Hogwarts generally were from Wales, Scotland, or England itself, but meeting someone who had an accent much like his own always brought a smile out of him. Then again, his own accent had undertones of the years he spent in Russia as a young boy, which roughed out the Scotsman inside.

"Tha's right," he said happily. "Mother grew up in Iverness, where we currently live, I used ta live in Moscow. All ta way up in Russia. Tha's where Da is from. The other accent you're hearing would be that. Now, if'n ya meet my younger brotha Hawke, well, e's a Scottish lad through an' through. Wasnae that old when we moved from Russia back to my mother's homeland."

Dimitri had just expected to be surrounded by books for the rest of the day and here he was talking with a girl who might have been familiar around Hogwarts. He couldn't say for certain because he saw so many people everyday while in the large castle but... "Oh forgive me horrid manners, m'lady. The name is Dimitrius Starikov, though I usually just go by Dimitri."

As the guy talked about his family, Ariel briefly wondered why on earth he was sharing all this with her now. She had never spoken with him before, hell, she didn't even know his name. And still he was telling her his life story. Even about his little brother. Ariel found that she liked this openness. There weren't that many people who could show this sort of trust in others. He probably didn't blindly trust her, but he blindly trusted her to be a person who would either; not note what he was saying at all, or; be a kind person who would never hurt someone.

Of course, people were normally one of those two kinds, but a Wilde could never think like this. Ariel hated having to be careful who she gave her last name to. Though it mostly only concerned Germans and Dutchmen, this was also why she hadn't introduced herself to this guy. "Sounds like quite the family. I've always wanted to go to Russia," Ariel said with a grin, "My family are completely Scottish, all of 'em." She didn't mention how she was born on the Isle of Skye and then moved to Drumnadrotchit where the family manor was.

She smiled as he called her m'lady. It was very formal. Almost too formal. But nice nonetheless. "It's wonderful to meet ye, Dimitri. I'm Ariel," she introduced back, "And people don't call me Ari," she added with a grin. She then tilted her head to the right. "I guess 'tis obvious we don't know each other at Hogwarts. So, do ye still attend the school, or are ye a graduate?"