Now that school had started again Humphrey was starting to slowly get used to being around so many people. It would never be comfortable, but he'd learned at Hogwarts and last year how to tune it out enough that he could manage. Having a program that he thoroughly enjoyed helped with the motivation it took to keep up the steady effort it required to do so. One day he was walking by the great hall, and that was when he noticed a flyer for a welcome masquerade ball. The young man couldn't stop from wincing upon reading it, because it had completely slipped his mind. Humphrey had nothing at all planned for what he was going to wear or even if he was going. That was when an image of Alcyone tackling him on sight flashed through his mind, and he knew that she would expect him to come. "Why do I put myself through this?" he asked quietly, before he smiled slightly. Answering that was easy, she was the best friend he could have hoped to find. Feeling somebody looking at him, he turned and saw Mackenzie, the girl he'd met in the music room last year, watching his reaction. He simply made a face and crooked his head in the direction of the notice before walking off.
Two days later, and he still had no clue what he was going to wear for the ball. Mulling things over, he thought that he would need some help with this if it was going to work. Sure, regular clothes he could find himself; but, when it came to fancy stuff he really didn't know where to start. Finally an idea came to him, maybe Kenzie could help him out. If he had to guess he imagined she wasn't excited about this either, so maybe if they went shopping together it would help them both. Since it was at least better than wandering stores by himself and bugging the busy workers for help, he decided it was his best shot. Humphrey waited for her to finish up a lesson and waved to her. She hesitated for a moment before coming over and he gave her a small smile. "Hey, I was wondering if you could help me shop for something to wear for the ball. I could try to help you too, if you need it. What do you think?" he asked, biting his lip a little while he waited for an answer. About a minute passed while she thought about it, but she let out a sigh and nodded. "Maybe if we stick together we'll survive." she said. He couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. "Saturday, then. We'll meet at the London Eye, it's a giant ferris wheel in muggle London, let's say at one. Can't miss it." he explained, since he wasn't sure if she'd know. Once he received another nod of acknowledgement he headed off to find at least a small list of places to try shopping at.
Saturday rolled around and Humphrey had a list of three shops in London he thought might have something they could use. If those didn't have it he assumed they would be in an area where it would be easy to find others to look through. After a small breakfast he headed off for a walk through the forest in hopes it would help calm his nerves some. The familiar woods did indeed help, and he wasn't quite as anxious when he made his way off campus and apparated to London. There was a bit of a walk before he got to the London Eye, but Humphrey had always enjoyed going for walks and taking in the sights. By the time he got there it was about fifteen minutes til, and he got himself a soft pretzel before finding a seat and waiting for his friend to show. Being punctual meant being early in his book, but he realized he wouldn't mind if he had to wait a while. This was a pretty nice place to wait for someone, which was he'd chosen it in the first place.
(ooc: did have the permission for the small godmods)
