On the Streets Where You Witch

Harpreet was glad to be out of the school today. After what transpired Monday she was ready to leave the Tower behind and do a little shopping. Yes, there was the matter of getting the telescopes, but that would only take about 20 minutes of her time, and she wanted to pick up a few new things for the coming winter--

This was the first time she'd had to escort 1st Years in a while. The last time had been April of last school year, and this year she'd had the first weekend meeting students and the second collecting orders. Which is normal, she thought. There was nothing hard about it. Mostly they were easy to handle. They knew this was a real privilege, and if they messed up they'd be locked inside the Institute's walls the rest of the school year.

Her three charges were Cromwell, Krum and Malibey. The last two she remembered well from the first class. A cute--dare she say it?--couple. She'd overheard one student mumble "lovey dovey", but they weren't a normal "gaze into each others eyes tweenage crush" lovey--no, there was something else there . . ..

As for Cromwell, she was late for the first class. And late getting her order in. Harpreet didn't like to remember students for that.

As they stood before the carriage station she told the students, "I will need to go to Flourish and Blotts to place the orders for the telescopes. Please hold out your hands." As they did she touched them each, charming them. "There. I will know where you are and be able to contact you. And should you get into mischief someone will be able to contact me." She pointed out different shops along the avenue. "I will return to here in one hour--that should give you some time to do a little shopping on your own. After that we can decide where to go from there. Agreed?"

Annie was willing to agree to almost anything for an hour on the streets of Dunwich. She adored their new school and was settling in nicely, but small town shopping was just the right fix for a girl with cabin fever.

She eyed Quality Quidditch & Quodpot Supplies, and thought that might be a good place to start. When Professor Bashagwani was assured everyone was on their best behavior and was off on her way, Annie turned to Kerry and Lina, her eyes gleaming with excitement and anticipation.

"Want to check out the quidditch place first?"

Kerry was all about shopping--now that they had a little time to themselves, and now that he had Annie alone . . . well, almost alone. "Sure," he said. "We can look around, pick up that--kit, right?" The kit I know nothing about, but I'll learn, he thought.

And there was also the chance to see other brooms that he hadn't seen already. Or maybe some new flying gear . . . maybe something nice for Annie.

Annie took his hand and let him lead her into the shop. The quaint little store was full of brooms of every description, hanging in every spare nook and cranny. The odor of varnish and lacquer mixed with leather and musk hung thick in the air. Annie breathed in deeply and smiled.

"This shop will do nicely," she said, making her way around the cluttered sales floor and checking out what they had to offer. As she made her way further back, she found a small display table with what she needed and called Kerry over.

"This is exactly what you're looking for." She picked up one of the black leather cases and flipped the latch. Neatly contained inside was a large jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, a pair of silver Tail-Twig Clippers, a brass clip-on compass, and a Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare.

Looking over the objects, Kerry was understanding that keeping a broom in good condition was much the same as with a car--even when it was magical it wasn't simply a case of hoping on and running off.

"This is all pretty nice." He about the store and noticed some of the flying gear. "Wow," he said, walking over to aviatrix's outfit done in a soft crimson with pinkish trim. "This stuff is so steampunkish," he told Annie. "But I could see someone looking nice in that."

Annie blushed as Kerry admired the outfit. "Why don't we work on trying to keep me on the broom for longer than thirty minutes without complaining, before we start playing dress up," she giggled and kissed his cheek, slipping her arm casually around his waist.

"Did you want to check out some of the other brooms? This store is really well stocked. My father would be impressed."

"I like it here, but . . ." Kerry cast an eye over at Lina. "I think she's bored." His grin was warm and about as charming as they came. "Besides, I've got a new broom and if I start drooling over another here . . . well, that's not right, is it?"

Kerry started to head up towards the counter. "I'm wondering what sort of shopping Lina might like--besides books." Though that last wasn't all that uninteresting to Kerry either, but he had something else on his mind--

Annie wondered about Lina and considered bringing her along to Twilfitt and Tatting's. She wondered if Kerry would mind keeping himself entertained without them, while she dove into the racks of the clothing store.

"Would you hate it if I went with her to look for new pj's. I kind of wanted them to be a surprise anyway."

Bingo. Just the opening he needed. "If it's a surprise I'm going to see tonight, then--" He leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "I'll probably head to the book store for a bit. I can bug them about advanced transfiguration, dark arts, divination . . ." He giggled. "All the stuff we can come to know and love."

He held up his items for just as second. "I'll get this and then met you guys in front of the carriage station when we're suppose to." Kerry nodded back to Lina. "That way you guys can do girl things and not worry about me barging in on you."

Annie raised her eyebrows and stared up at him. That was easier than I expected.

"Okay," she said. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him close and hugged him. "I'll see you soon, then."

A few moments later, she pulled away and decided above all to search for something a soft crimson with pinkish trim... She smiled and set off to Twilfitt and Tatting's with Lina by her side.

Waiting until the girls were out of store, Kerry went up to check out his items and was surprised at the cost. Keep in mind everything is a tenth of American money, he reminded and thought a quick stop at the bank might be a good idea before heading off to the next store--

"Excuse me, Sir?" When he had the counterman's attention, Kerry asked, "Could you help me? Is there a store that you'd recommend for . . . jewelry?"

Lina was glad that they had left the Quality Quidditch & Quodpot Supplies store; she felt a bit strange being in the store especially since she knew next to nothing about Quidditch, and her family traveled by either Floo powder or by Muggle means. The only time she had ever watched a Quidditch game was when her family went to visit her grandparents and watched the Toyohashi Tengu play against the Yamaguchi Yokai. She eyed a few of the products there, but over all, she wasn't all that interested.

It wasn't until Annie suggested that they leave the store that Lina smiled and walked willingly with her. Once they left the store, Lina turned towards Annie and mentioned, "That was a nice store. It's a little over my head though; I have no idea how to know if any of the Quidditch items are good or not. How about you? Do you know a lot about the sport?"

Annie grinned at Lina's question. It has to be my luck to bump into people who are completely oblivious to who I am. Not wanting to give up her secret, she said, "I know a little about it. I think Kerry will be a fair flyer; he has a thing for racing...I can see that when he flies.

"What about you? Do you think you'll ever get used to the broom?" Annie laughed and added, "My bottom can't take more than thirty minutes."

"I don't know; today was fun, but it was a bit tiring." Lina giggled, "But I'll never know unless I practice, right? Besides, I'm sure it'll be more fun once we're used to it." She smiled as they walked down the street. It wasn't until they past a few stores before something rather important came up, "Annie, what store are we going to again? I know you mentioned it, but I don't remember what it's called."

"Twilfitt and Tatting's," she said, stopping in front of the shop. "I think you'll like this place. You'll find a little bit of everything unusual. Maybe you can help me pick out a new pair of pajama's for the Madness tonight?"

Madness? she questioned to herself. The puzzled look on her face went straight to realization "Oh, you mean that event that they have every weekend in the Great Hall? My roommate told me about it, but I wanted to catch up on some reading." She opened the door so that the two of them can go in. "and I'll help you pick out some cute pajamas, it'll be fun. But in return, you have to help me find a deck of Self-Shuffling cards, deal?" She smiled as the two of them walked into the store.

"It's a deal," she said, smiling. When they entered the store, Annie noticed that there were a few other older kids from school in here browsing the racks.

"So, who are you rooming with? I haven't met a lot of other kids outside my own coven, but maybe I know her?"

"Oh, you might have met her, she's in our History class. Her name is Emmalene Neilson, but she goes by Emma. She's really nice, but she really likes to talk; she's funny like that." Lina giggled at how Emma would go on and on about a subject. It never bothered Lina, though, she thought it was interesting the subjects Emma would bring up. "I think you'll like her, she's really an interesting person."

Annie stared at Lina when she mentioned Kerry's flying partner. "Emma is your roommate?" Really, it can't be that easy, Annie thought as she ran a finger over the soft brushed cotton pullover she had draped over her arm.

"You have to invite her to the Madness and come join Kerry and I tonight, Lina," she said, and smiled. "I think he would enjoy her company."

Annie moved on, selecting a few more items from their massive inventory. Her wardrobe was suddenly feeling a bit...plain. Standing next to Lina, she examined her own faded jeans and pale blue hooded sweatshirt. "I think I need some help finding a few things that are more...feminine." She felt her cheeks flush and giggled. "Help?"

"Nn," she nodded, "I'll ask if she's up for going to the event tonight. It'll be so much fun." Lina carefully looked at the clothes on the racks, eyeing some of the more normal looking tops and dresses. Maybe I should wear outfits at won't make me stand out so much, she noted to herself.

She turned her attention to Annie when she asked for help on finding more feminine clothing. "Um, well, I guess the first thing you should do is find out what you like to wear, then after that, you should choose clothes that happen to be your favorite color. Um, for example, I like wearing Lolita-style outfits and, occasionally, jeans and a nice blouse." Lina looked down at the dress that she was wearing and quietly giggled to herself, "Although it may not look like it, my favorite color is green, not pink. Anyway, that's a start, I guess."

Annie eyed Lina's outfit. "I think I might enjoy wearing more dresses. I'm partial to reddish-brown tones, and greens too. My wardrobe back in my dorm is stuffed with jeans and blouses. The only skirts I own are my uniform ones.

"Back home, it's more practical to wear jeans outdoors; but here..." Annie smiled. "There is more incentive to look nice."

Annie stood in front of a round rack and began inspecting the clothing that hung on it. Each item wasn't quite what she was looking for. "What about you, Lina," she said, pulling out a simple yellow sundress. "Has anyone caught your eye yet?"

Caught my eye... Lina trailed off. She was always busy keeping her eyes stuck in a book, and she rarely talks to anyone, except a handful of people, that she rarely notices anyone else that's around her. The only time she noticed any form of 'like' towards anyone had been those with blue eyes. She had seen the fourth year girl from Monday around the Commons a few times, and although Lina never talked to her, she noticed how blue her eyes were. The same thing could be said about Raven and the boys that she tends to sit with, more particularly to the one that looks closer to her age. I do like their eyes; they're really pretty, she admitted.

Coming to her senses, Lina simply shook her head, "Not really; I haven't met anyone that catches my attention." She looked at the rack next to the one Annie was looking at and saw a multi-color, floral sundress that looked like it could easily be worn as a top. "Oh look Annie," she said as she took it off the rack, the one in her hand had blue flowers on it, "I think this would look cute on you. And they even have it in green and red."

Annie couldn't help but notice Lina space out for just a second before coming back with an answer she thought might not be the whole truth. I don't blame her though. We've only just met. I can't imagine talking with her about what went on behind the owlery... She tilted her head and wondered why Lina kept herself busy with books. She didn't seem awkward or shy, and Annie was having fun shopping with her.

Annie fell in love all over again when Lina pulled out the top. "I love that," she squealed. "I think I'll try the red one."

She disappeared into the dressing room, pulling off her sweatshirt and slipping into the sundress. "What do you think, Lina?" She stepped out of the small changing room and twirled. "I'm thinking Kerry will like this one." She giggled as she admired herself in the full length mirror that flanked the small changing room she just emerged from. "But he probably won't be able to enjoy it until the summer or appreciate it until I've got something to dress it up..." She turned sideways, held her hands up to her chest and grinned.

She poked her tongue at her own reflection and then disappeared back into the dressing room to change. When she popped back out, she noticed Lina's mood had gone quiet.

"How is Raven?" she asked, wondering about the blonde girl she chatted with during charms...and who earned a huge bouquet of yellow roses from Kerry. She guessed they might be on more friendly terms since she'd spotted them together in quite a few of their classes.

"What do you think, Lina?" Annie stepped out of the small changing room and twirled. "I'm thinking Kerry will like this one."

Lina, who was leaning against wall, saw as Annie walked out of her changing room and smiled, "Awe~ Kawaii ne! Totemo kirei ni miemasu ne. It looks really good on you Annie! I bet Kerry would like seeing you in it."

"But he probably won't be able to enjoy it until the summer or appreciate it until I've got something to dress it up..." Annie turned sideways, held her hands up to her chest and grinned.

Lina went quiet again when she waited around waiting for Annie. She thought about the events of that day and realized that it was fun being around friends. Lina didn't realize how long she was daydreaming, until Annie spoke up, "How is Raven?"

She snapped out of it and asked, "Raven? What about her?"

Annie giggled. "You really are out of it. Is everything okay?" She wondered if maybe Lina wasn't into shopping and might want to go looking for her cards instead.