((Hi, guys! Just a couple of ground rules to keep things running smoothly:

1. When you join in, just add your response to the end of whatever the most recent post is, to keep just one string of sequential posts. That way it should be easier to keep track of what's going on and we can all respond to each other easier. When the string gets too long, we'll come back to the top and start a new one.

2. Don't worry about your characters being "late" if you can't get here straight away. This is the PPC and people live in their own time warps. :P Turn up whenever, we're in no rush.

3. Keep posts in the past tense. It's easier to read, and it'll make it much easier for me to put together if I think it'll make a good interlude.

4. No controlling other people's characters (unless you have explicit permission). (I did get kgarrett's permission to use Miriam in this post, by the way. :P )

5. And of course, OOC stuff gets marked somehow, but you all know that. ^_^ Here we go, then!))


Three people surveyed the Really Very Tiny Auditorium. It was covered with a rather odd mix of Potterverse- and Lord of the Rings-themed decorations, but then again, "odd" was a matter of perspective here. The birthday girl had picked them, after all, and it made perfect sense to a five-year-old to put the Great Hall of Hogwarts next to the Shire. The party snacks, which had been... er... obtained from outside sources, were set out on a number of trestle tables along one wall. There was a stereo set up for music in a corner out of the reach of grabbing little fingers, and a playpen in another corner for any particularly small children who might arrive.

"Well," Cara said, shaking back the cape of her Dunedain Ranger outfit, "I think it's looking like a success."

"I still think having William do the decorating was cheating," her partner pointed out. Miriam had elected to come dressed as Frodo, though she had decided not to wear any fake feet. The last thing she wanted was to have small children standing on them all day.

William, who had refused to wear a costume on the grounds that being a Potterverse native was enough (and had then been bullied by Cara into at least ironing his normally creased robes), just laughed. "If it means not having to watch you teeter around on ladders putting up the banners, it's worth it."

This was met by a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I guess so. Safer, at least." Miriam fiddled with the One Ring replica she was wearing, and then looked around again. "When is everyone arriving again?"

Cara shrugged. "I just said for people to turn up as and when they could make it. The important thing's having fun - isn't it, Steph?" She paused, and then looked round. "Steph?"

The little girl, wearing a bright red robe with the Gryffindor crest, was sitting on one of the Auditorium seats nearby, her head in a book. It had been Miriam's idea, to keep her distracted enough she wouldn't be getting in the way of the decorating or trying to steal bits of the food.

"Steph-anie," Cara half-sang, amused by the look of concentration on her daughter's face.

When this got no response, William took a more direct approach and headed over to pick the little girl up. "Hey, mischief, your mum's talking to you."

Stephanie squirmed a bit, but quickly dropped her book in favour of cuddles from her uncle as he carried her back to the others. "What's it?"

"I just wondered if you think we're ready, because people are going to start arriving soon." Cara gestured around at the Auditorium. "What do you think?"

There was a prolonged silence as both the question and the room were considered. "Yep!" Stephanie wriggled to get down, and William obliged with a chuckle. "Can I have a sausage roll now?"

Cara rolled her eyes. "Just one until everyone else gets here."

As the little girl dashed off to get her treat, William murmured, "It shouldn't be long, at least." He looked towards the door almost hopefully.