But the time that Michelle was seated in the puffy pink horror that was Madam Puddifoots Tea Shop, she was happy to get off of her feet. Shed been walking all morning with Luke in new heels, and her feet were not pleased with her at all. It was pleasant, however, to notice that the St. Valentines Day cupids were no longer hunting down unsuspecting patrons, and she didnt see any ghastly pink food lingering about on the tables.

When Luke announced that it was all on him, Michelle raised up her menu to hide her smile. He was showing off for his sister, in Michelles opinion, and it was terribly cute. Not that Michelle had planned on paying for her own food at Puddifoots anyhowLukes birthday or not.

Smiling under control, Michelle laid her menu down and picked up her purse, opening it up. The inside was much larger than the outside appeared, and she pulled out two packages. The first, a flat, bright red box, she slid over to Plum, offering a ginger smile along with it. It had been very difficult for Michelle to decide what to bring for Lukes sister, although it had been easy to know that she wanted to bring a gift of some sort. In the end she had decided on a lovely, fashionable scarf. It was an iridescent silky fabric with a scalloped edge all the way around, a sort that she had always wished to have for herself. Inside the package was a card explaining how it worked.

The scarf that suits every robe in a witchs wardrobe! Simply tap this scarf twice with your wand and tug it with your hands to lengthen or shorten it to any length that you want. Tap your wand to another article of clothing and then give the scarf a single tap, and it will instantly change colors to match. Three quick taps returns the scarf to its original color and size. The most versatile accessory you will ever own!

The other package was for Luke, of course. Michelle had abandoned all ideas of making another gift for him. Her last attempt at that had not turned out so well, spewing vulgar messages at him over tea, and so she decided to rely on a much more traditional kind of gift. Not, of course, that she really had any idea of what was traditional to give your boyfriend for his birthday. She finally settled on something, though, and had it in a silver box about the size of an apple, and encircled several times by a simple blue ribbon that was tied off in an elementary bow.

Inside the box, underneath as much tissue paper as could be crammed inside, was a watch. The watch itself was silver, and the face was a pale blue. The timean important feature for a watchwas indicated by two silver arrows, and the quarter hour marks on the face were represented by a Quaffle (12:00), two bludgers (3:00 and 9:00), and a Golden Snitch at the bottom (6:00). It wasnt terribly big, and it certainly wasnt anything like the more expensive, nicer kinds of watches available, but she hoped the sentiment would make up for that. It had been quite a wrench spending money on Appleby Arrows paraphernalia, but in the end Michelle decided that Luke would like it better than anything else she could think of, and she finally sent off for it.

Michelle closed her purse and set it aside. Well, go on and open them up, Michelle said. And happy birthday.