InsaneJournal

Who: Lydia Winters and Gilderoy Lockhart.
What: An accidental meeting.
When: Wednesday 20th July, afternoon.
Where: Diagon Alley.
Rating: PG.

There wasn't, Gilderoy had discovered, a great deal to do being a match-maker. He wasn't travelling, collecting stories, nor was he holed up in his writing room crafting vivid and elaborate descriptions to tantalise his readers. Instead, he was mostly sitting in the plushly decorated shop front of Lockhart's Lonely Hearts, waiting for people to come and sign up. Of course, waiting was inherently boring and even when people did show up, all Gilderoy really got to do was smile and write their name down on his list and talk about fees. So, against the advice of his team, Gilderoy had closed up at midday and was taking the afternoon off.

It had been glorious. The sky was forget-me-not blue, the clouds were gently drifting. Gilderoy had treated himself to a lavish afternoon tea at Rosa Lee Teabag, where he'd thoroughly enjoyed writing out a journal entry and chatting to a few of his fans. He'd capped that with an hour or so in Madame Malkins, discussing some new robes in striking jewel tones (pastel, Gilderoy informed the woman whose job it was to know fashion, was so last season).

The last stop on Gilderoy's afternoon jaunt was Scribbulus, where he picked up some small travel quills in teal and violet. It was this long, flat package that he dropped as he exited the shop. Before he could stoop to retrieve it, a dog bounded over, giving one excited bark. Starting back, Gilderoy nearly whacked the animal's nose before he caught himself and looked around. He spotted a young woman hurrying over, evidently in pursuit of her pet. "No apologies necessary," he called in what he thought of as his most magnanimous tones. "She doesn't appear to have done any damage."