It had been a long week for the bride-to-be redhead; she had many more days ahead with planning, as the menu wasn't complete and the guest list had to be completed a much as they could on their end. With the impending new guests - apparently the rest of the villiage wanted to attend their wedding now - there were a lot of changes to make.

It was because of one of the additions to the music selection that Aurelia found herelf sitting outside of a bakery and coffee shop that afternoon. Besides picking up a baker's dozen rolls for their dinner later that day, she had promised to meet Aiden for a drink (tea for the expecting mother) to discuss a few things for her big day.

Bag in tow, Aurelia sat just inside the shop, waiting for her company. She wore a long knit tunic with a cow neck, ivory in color. With it, she had a pair of black pants and a comfortable pair of boots. The weather was chilly and she was dressing more for comfort than style these days. The redhead put off ordering anything until her company arrived.

Aiden had been contemplating all of the preparation needed to get ready for the wedding. She wasn’t exactly sure what they should wear, what Auri and Hugh expected them to play… The band was going to have to spend quite a bit of time getting ready, but they were up to the challenge. So, she used the messenger bird that brought them their invitation and sent the redheaded bride a quick note requesting a small meeting of sorts to just go over the details. She was excited to hear back from Auri so quickly, despite how busy she must have been. The two had not really sat down and had a good chat in a while; not really since Aiden was kicked out of St. Mungo’s a few years previous. No, the pair of them hadn’t been particularly close during school; they obviously knew each other, mostly due to Liam being friends with Hugh and Chase. But working together later on brought them a little closer. It would be nice to see Aurelia and just get to talk, even if only for a little while.

Dressed in a pair of dark jeans, knee-high boots, and a warm, black trench, Aiden departed from the flat that the band currently shared. She apparated from the apartment into an alley not too far from the shop. It was always a little bit of a shock when apparating from indoors to out, especially when the temperatures were so different, but it only took her a second to acclimate herself and begin her walk to the shop.

When she reached her destination she spotted Aurelia’s red hair through the window, and then the young woman herself, seated just inside. A bell hanging above the door let out a soft tinkle when she entered. She went straight of Aurelia’s table, beginning to unbutton her coat while she walked. She gave the redhead a wide smile as she approached; glad to see an old friend. Never mind an old friend who was getting married.

“It’s so good to see you!”

Aurelia was happy to see Aiden; it really had been too long, two years at least, if not more! It was such bitter parting with her and the hospital, but Aurelia had been happy to know she’d found a more suitable career. Besides, the redhead didn’t think the hospital was ever the ideal thing for Aiden. Still, at least she had a fall back profession.

“Oh Aiden. It has been ages!” She stood and left her bag at the table, moving to meet her friend with a warm hug.

“We need to catch-up. There’s so much to talk about.. Shall we get a drink or food first?”

Aiden was still smiling brightly as Aurelia stood to greet her, enveloping her in a hug. She returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around the redhead’s thin frame. Once they had let go, Aiden finished removing her trench and draped it over the back of the chair across from Auri’s before pulling it out from the table and sitting. She was genuinely excited to be able to spend a bit of time with an old friend. Aiden was so excited about the wedding and just genuinely happy for her two friends; they had always been so right for each other. When she heard the news, however many weeks ago it was, she had been ecstatic.

When asked what she would like first, food or a drink, Aiden pondered for a moment.

“I think I could go for a bit of tea right about now,” she replied with a small nod. She reached up to rub her nose, trying to bring a little bit of feeling back into it now that she was out of the cold. Sweeping her long dark hair away from her face she looked to Auri.

“So, how are the plans coming?” she asked. “Are you pulling your hair out yet? I mean, there doesn’t appear to be any missing…” her voice trailed off with a kind of playful smirk. Aiden hadn’t even really begun her own plans, but at the moment she was almost afraid to. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how stressful planning a wedding must be and wasn’t sure if she was up to the task yet. Aunt Gwyn had told her some interesting stories about her mum when she was planning her own wedding. There just seemed to be so much one had to consider when planning a wedding; things you wouldn’t normally pay even the slightest attention to, like the upholstery of the chairs at the reception, for example.

With a quickness, the pair got their tea and found a pair of chairs to settle in. They were close enough so they could talk, but far enough away from the crowd of people that occasionally drifted in and out of the shop.

Aurelia sipped at her drink for a moment before curling up in the chair. She looked to Aiden with a grin and let out a small breath.

“No, all my hair is still on my head, thank goodness..” She went on to tell Aiden about her planning. It really hadn’t been as hard as she would have thought; though she had a bit of help. Everyone was so excited for the event that they helped a great deal.

“I sometimes think they’ve been waiting for it as long as I have been.” She joked, shaking her head. It was rather funny, how accommodating everyone was to her schedule and helping.

Aurelia mentioned how she’d managed to get everyone she wanted to see to agree to come back from abroad to join in on the event. She’d even wrangled Darren to give her away at the wedding, since she had no siblings or relatives to do the job. Mildred would have offered, but Aurelia would rather a gentleman do it, and Mildred’s male companion wasn’t a big enough influence on her own life to do the job.

“I’m glad I could talk you and the group to play a few songs though; but you’ll get to enjoy the reception too. Hugh is talking about having like, two other acts; someone to play during the ceremony, and to relieve you and everyone when I need someone to tear the dance floor up with me.” She laughed and took a drink.

Goodness, it had been ages since she’d sat and talked to Aiden. The redhead looked up from her drink and gave a small giggle. She leaned in to Aiden. “I think there’s a pair of fans eyeing you up darling.”

They each got their tea – Earl Grey for Aiden, of course – and sat. When Aurelia replied to her earlier question Aiden giggled. She was glad that her friend wasn’t letting herself get too wrapped up in the plans. She didn’t think that she would be able to say quite so levelheaded. But then, as the wedding drew closer Auri’s attitude might change, though Aiden hoped she wouldn’t worry herself too much. She listened to the redhead talk about her planning, sipping her tea slowly so as not to burn her tongue.

“I sometimes think they’ve been waiting for it as long as I have been.” Aiden grinned at her, watching Auri over the top of her cup for a moment before lowering it back to its saucer.

“Maybe that’s because everyone has expected it since we were in the fifth year,” she replied half joking, half serious. Any sane person could see that Hugh and Auri were made for each other, even when they were still in school. They were just the cutest.

Sitting back in her chair, the singer continued to listen. Aurelia discussed how all of these people were coming home for the wedding, even Darren Liten, someone Aiden had not seen in years. Then she began to delve into some of the details involving the reception and the band. She was glad that they wouldn’t be the only ones; she enjoyed dancing. Ike wasn’t exactly a fan, but she would have Cay to dance with, so all was well. Of course, one dance with Ike would be a must.

When the redhead pointed out the fans staring at her, Aiden turned her head slowly to see. Sure enough, there was a teen couple, no older than 16 seated against the far wall. They were dressed in the typical dark clothing of Andronicus fans and they couldn’t seem to take their eyes off of her. She smiled at them and gave a tiny wave. The girl’s face turned bright red and she quickly looked away, probably afraid Aiden would think they were a pair of fools for staring. Her friend just kept staring, looking Confounded. She turned back to Auri and let out a giggle.

“Fans like that remind me of me when I was in school. Remember how awkward I was?” she asked with a smile, lifting her tea to her lips.

Aurelia gave out an almost sharp laugh at mention of her wedding being expected some ten years ago. Goodness, it really had been a matter in the making, hadn't it? And to think, if it hadn't been for some random boy at Hogwarts now; there was a real posibility that the two of them wouldn't be joining in marriage or expecting childen. For merlin's sake, she could be sitting in her lonely house right now. No, she would be at work.

"Oh. You know I had this all planned out from our first kiss, right?" She winked and took a long breath. It was rather silly. She was glad her life had managed to fix itself and work out for the best.

Pulling out a slip of paper, Aurelia handed her notebook and pen to Aiden. "You simply must make their day Aiden. Just scribble something nice." The redhead flashed a pretty grin. Those kids would be beyond thrilled to have their day made by having such an icon to them actually send them over a nice note.

"You were akwkward.. But I mean, do I have to remind you how awful my attire was until my sixth year.. Thank Merlin's for Hugh, or I fear you'd find me in some awkward magazine for 'worst dressed' date for some awful quidditch player." She laughed a little and settled in her seat.

As Aurelia passed her a notebook and pen, Aiden lowered her teacup and smiled up at the redhead. She opened the notebook to a blank page, uncapped the pen, and paused with her hand hovering over the page. She always hated just writing something impersonal like “best wishes” so she liked to think about it before she ever signed anything. The singer let out a laugh as her companion mentioned her old school wardrobe. No, Auri might not have been the most coordinated, clothing-wise for quite a while, but Aiden hadn’t been all that much better with her baggy, unflattering garments. Luckily that had fixed itself as she got older as well.

“Yes, thank goodness for Hugh,” she agreed, still grinning. Glancing down at the blank piece of lined paper in front of her Aiden tilted her head slightly to the left as she thought. Before long she figured out what she was going to write and just scribbled out the quick note. It wasn’t incredibly long, but it wasn’t very short either. She had the time to write out something nice, so she might as well. Usually when she did autographs it was at a table somewhere and she barely had time to write her name before the next photo or piece of paper was shoved at her.

Once she had finished she signed her name and motioned to the waitress. Aiden handed the girl the piece of paper and asked that she deliver it to the couple by the wall. Once that was done she leaned back in her chair and looked back up at Auri.

“So… shall we discuss the wedding?” she asked, eager to talk about music.