Getting To Know You

A small hand was placed on the wooden door leading to Weasleys Wizard's Wheezes, or that's what the sign read above the door in large letters. Gabby turned her head towards the cobblestone laid streets, noting the bustle behind her. It all looked so strange, the items sold in the shops, the dress people were wearing, the only thing that looked remotely the same was the light blue sky that filled the upper landscape. It was the only thing that told her that she was still alive and not dreaming. In her other hand she held a piece of parchment, wrinkled and ripped, but not illegible just yet. It held a list of shops and items that she was to buy for her first year at Hogwarts. She didn't know what emotion to feel, all of this had happened so fast, and there was no time to think about it now. Sucking in a breath she pushed on the door with her free hand, triggering a bell to ring in the corner as a soft light filled her eyes.

As soon as she had opened that door and stepped inside the shop sound erupted in her ears and a show of lights appeared before her eyes. It was a little overwhelming. A mix of children, adults and people her own age took up the empty space that wasn't filled with bewildering contraptions, sweets and toys. Gabby couldn't help but almost let a smile peek through her usually stubbornly sorted out emotionless face. It was almost like a store you would see in London where a child would beg his mother for something, except this... Was more grand. The word beautiful almost appeared in her mind to describe the scene.

Once the shock and amazement had subsided she shimmied out of people's way and into a section that held bizarre looking candies clad in colourful wrappers. She took one in her hand and rolled it over with another finger, studying the wrapper, not bothering to read the name on the box, instead trying to guess what could be inside.

Trisha wasn't always one to visit joke shops like WWW, but something about the atmosphere lifted her mood. Frankly, Tris got far too involved in the relationship of the characters in her books or Muggle television shows. Because of this, she had been down since she finished the second book in a series. Obviously, she knew it was silly. That didn't stop the feelings, though.

With that in mind, the young Ravenclaw pushed the door open and made her way into the shop. Something that Tris considered unfortunate was her adoration of anything sweet. This, of course, led her to the candy section. Another girl who seemed about Trisha's age was also looking through the selections.

Looking more closely, Trisha was fairly certain the girl was a fellow Ravenclaw. Not usually one to talk to those she didn't know, Tris decided to man up for once and go ahead and introduce herself. "Excuse me," She began, "My name's Trisha. I think I've seen you at school?" Hoping this girl wasn't one of the ones who disliked her because of her family, she smiled a half-smile.

((Jack won't approach them until she has a reason to))

Gary had been unable to come in as he came down with dragon pox - and as Kirsty was in India for vacation, Jack found herself donning the Weasley's brightly colored robes and stepping into the place of general employee. The owner didn't mind it - until she had gotten hr current three employees, Jack had found herself pulling ninety eight percent of the weight of the business. With Kirsty, Gary, and Andy behind her, though, she found she rarely had to help out with the menial work.

Still, she enjoyed it. It brought her back to the creativity of her school-age years, where she was constantly concocting the newest prank, the newest stunt. She had grown out of her pranking lifestyle, but it was still within her, and she loved equipping youngsters with the resources and ideas to assist them with their own tricks. So, she found herself vaguely pleased with the situation as she moved about the store, quickly cleaning up the shelves as they were ravaged by students rifling through the products.

Gabby heard a voice in her ear and twisted her head around, her eyes wide; surprised. She forced a smile onto her face for a quick second, the moment quickly subsiding. She put down the piece of candy she had been fingering and turned fully towards this person. The voice had belonged to a girl, and the looks of it a couple of years older. Gabby took an exapserated breath before speaking in a rushed voice, taking a step back, "Oh, I've only been on the grounds of Hogwarts once to see what it was all like. I'm sure you must have been mistaken," She turned back to the candies for a second, picking it up again and then quickly putting it back down, turning to explain more, "I'm going into my first year." She put her hands in front of her stomach, twisting them before putting them behind her back to work out the kinks in her nervousness. She hadn't been nervous per say because, of meeting someone new or someone older than her; it was because this seemed like a whole other world. It was a whole other world. One that she wasn't entirely used to and she didn't know how to react to it all. All of this was new to her and who knew what was dangerous or not, rumors were flooding the streets even before she had come to know what the Wizarding World was.

Of course, the one time Trisha decided to be friendly, she was dead wrong. Didn't that just figure? "I'm so sorry," Tris said, a blush coloring her cheeks rapidly. It just figured.

Reaching to pick up one of the candies, just to have something to do with her hands, Tris was surprised that the younger girl continued to speak. "First year? Oh, this must all seem crazy." Trisha said, understanding that fully. "I'm from a family of Muggles, so coming into this was nearly frightening at first."

Looking at the younger girl, Tris was rather surprised to find that she was rather like herself a few years ago. "My name is Trisha. I'm a Fifth Year Ravenclaw." She offered a hand, unsure if the younger girl would be at all interested in shaking it.

Looking at the hand out-stretched in front of her, nearly flawless she took it in her own hand. With a gentle shake she let go of her hand, not sure whether to be relieved or careful. Both. Both would be smart.

Muggles... Where did I hear that before? Gabby wondered to herself silently. It hadn't been long since she arrived here and the termonology was definitely strange if you could call it that. Slowly, her eyes drifting around the room for clues she deciphered from the depths of her memory a recollection of the term and felt a warm pang in the bottom of her stomach. Almost, she almost smiled again, this time not all too fake, but one of a genuine and sincere nature. They were alike. Something that she could count on besides the sky being blue every day. There was almost a tangible connection in the air and with careful proceedings she thought that it might become real enough to actually touch.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Trisha. My name is Gabriel, I go by Gabby," Her eyes ventured to the same type of candy she had held earlier, that was now in Trisha's hand and knitted her eyebrows together, genuinely interested, "Um, do you by any chance know what that actually is?," She bit her lip with her teeth, hoping not to induce a picture of stupidity on herself in this older classmate's mind.

Jack always felt strangely at home in the store and she never seemed to have the reservations she had outside in the real world to jump into conversations. Outside of Wheezes, Jack liked to remain to herself, ignore those around her, and just get on with her life, dealing with as few people as humanly possible. But something about Wheezes brought out a friendlier side of Jack somehow - she did not know what it was, but she seemed less cynical and bitter and more positive and care-free just entering the building. She just seemed to relax surrounded by the good-hearted chaos.

Jack strode by a pair of young girls and caught on to one of them asking about one of the candies. Jack wasn't one to jump into others' conversations, but she liked to be of help in the store, and the girls seemed like good-hearted, well-intentioned patrons, rather than the rowdy hooligans who seemed intent on making a mess or stealing or something of that sort. She smiled and leaned in. "Those are new. Ink Tongues. They are like jawbreakers, but they turn your mouth and tongue black."

Before Trisha had time to answer, another voice entered Gabby's mental frame almost right on cue. Gabby raised her right eyebrow and smirked at the description and name of the odd candy. "Like a jawbreaker, huh? I don't think they have those in London." She carefully placed the piece of candy back on the shelf box where she had gotten it from and turned towards the new person, stretching her mouth into a straight line smile, "Thanks for letting me know before I turned my mouth an abnormal color." Truly she was grateful, but one of those could make a good prank she decided in her smile with an invisible smirk.

Trisha lifted an eyebrow as someone who she guessed worked their came over and explained what exactly they were looking at. Eyes wide, Tris replaced the candy she had picked up as well.

Nodding as Gabby thanked the woman, Tris added, "Seriously, thank you." A tiny laugh escaped her at the idea of having purchased one and ended up with a ink-colored tongue.

"We've had a problem with that," Jack said, a small smile curling onto her face. She reached up and pulled on a sign that had curled up onto itself like an old piece of parchment. "This is a prank courtesy of my dear employee Andy. I tell him to put out the signs and he does this so he isn't technically disobeying but still manages to trick people when they test out the candies for themselves. He calls it theft control." She rolled her eyes.

They seemed fine now, so Jack clapped her hands together and smiled. "If you need anything else, let me know. I can help you out."