Kalina closed her eyes and inhaled, taking note of each and every single scent that she could identify. Scribbling away on her small Muggle notepad -with a Muggle pen for ease- she gave as vivid a description as she could of everything. There was no way she'd be able to complete her latest assignment for the SOUP Editors otherwise. She felt as if she'd won the Muggle lottery when she was given the task of touring Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley.
Her auburn locks had been wrapped into a tight bun and covered with some sort of hairnet thing, she wasn't sure what the poor kid had called it as he stuttered a bit here and there. Kalina had been unable to secure an interview with the current owner, a grandchild of Florean's, and had instead been told she'd be meeting with the owner's eldest child. The wizard, Aiden, looked to be about 19 and did not appear comfortable with talking to the seventh-year witch.
Looking at her notes, the intrepid reporter grouped together the few spells that he had claimed were being used as part of their security measures. Basic ones such as Homenum Revelio to ensure that the store and back rooms were all empty before locking up each night and an ingenious version of the Colloportus that the family had long ago altered to make certain that things like Alohomora or Finite didn't work.
Then there were spells that Kalina felt made perfect sense when it came to actually making the frozen treats. From Incendio to melt down the chocolate to Diffindo to cut some of their treats into their proper size to a slightly odd -yet effective- use of Immobulus to force each treat into its proper shape before casting Glacius. At that point, Kalina had made a really corny joke about how they should consider using Petrificus Totalus instead. He did not laugh, in fact, Aiden looked rather terrified now that she thought of it. The Slytherin witch quickly began to gush over the use of a variation of Impervius on the containers to help combat things like freezer burn before she knocked into a table and sent a few glass phials of some sort of slightly viscous liquid crashing to the ground. She stood there, properly mortified as he cast a quick Tergeo before erupting into a burst of laughter that brought a tear to his eye before he explained that he'd done the same thing the first time he'd been brought back to learn things.
Feeling a bit better about things, and having broken the ice so to speak, the two continued their interview and tour. With a much more relaxed atmosphere, they had been able to get even cornier with their jokes. There was one about using Locomotor Wibbly to make the ice cream dance like Muggle Jell-o and another about using Engorgio for obvious reasons. Giant ice cream sundaes anyone? Yes, please. The sugar coma would absolutely be worth it.
Kalina then proceeded to make a joke about needing someone to teach her a wizarding version of Repello Muggletum, as she would need it in order to keep some of her friends like Lugh or Phoenix from stealing her treats. She wasn't sure if they were eating them, or experimenting with them for future pranks. The entire idea made her quake in fear as well as bounce with excitement. It was a rather curious reaction. She turned pink as she recalled Aiden's joke about how she should include a paragraph about how he'd used Obscuro to prevent her from seeing the location of their work rooms and a few of the more secret processes they used.
The young writer then cast a quick Tempus and panicked, quickly shoving all of her supplies into her bag. If she didn't go back to her rooms now she'd never be ready on time for her date -with Aiden. She got to tour her favorite ice cream parlour, learn how they did a fair bit of it, and scored a date with a Fortescue. Talk about luck!
Knowing that her bosses wouldn't be pleased if she failed to turn in her articles on time, the witch set a reminder in her planner before placing it in her bag. Tomorrow. She would finish up both articles tomorrow. Tonight? That was going to involve good food, conversations about charms, and laughter. Lots of laughter. She was sure of it.