Who: Katie Bell (narrative) When: Saturday, 22 November [backdated cause I FAILBOAT] Where: Pips' Market in Hogsmeade What: Miss Bell re-emerges in the Wiz World and gets a job! Rating: G Status:COMPLETE
Was there ever such a depressing sight as young children throwing snowballs in the street?
If the street tumbled down a hill and eventually halted before the large, wooden doors of a dull, ancient castle - then no, there wasn't. If the children were pretending to play 'Harry Potter vs. The Dark Lord' - then no, there wasn't. If at every corner all you could see were once happy memories fading to gray as you remembered the night the entire world crashed around you - then certainly no, there was nothing more depressing.
Adjusting the collar of the large, Muggle coat to better shield herself from the cruel wind, Katie Bell forced herself to take another step into a world she had vowed to never speak of again. Her father had died in the cold arms of the Wizarding judiciary system, and so many more barely a mile from the exact spot in which she was standing. How could she have a reason to be back after spending five years of self-inflicted solitude in the Muggle world? A beloved cousin, the blonde told herself. Corinne was a Third Year now at the same school she had once attended. A Hufflepuff, like her Da. Unfortunately, dates had been crossed and the traditional 'Hogsmeade Weekend' had already come to pass, so there was no chance of seeing the smiling little witch's face today. Or anyone's, for that matter, what with the harsh wind kicking up so much snow.
While visiting her cousin may have seemed a good excuse, the real reason for her return involved the pursuit of steady employment. Freelancing articles for various Muggle publications had worked fine while her Mam was at home. Now that Meagan Bell was off on another whirlwind adventure to save baby seals or whatever creature she fancied was more important than family (in Katie's opinion anyway), the bills were piling up with barely half the income as usual to pay them. Since no Muggle establishment would credibly accept a degree from some mysterious boarding school in Scotland (not that she had one, anyway, considering the war had distracted her from sitting NEWTs) that only left the Wizarding World for possibilities.
To escape the onslaught of frozen water, Katie ducked inside the nearest establishment - a grocers, from the look of things - and fought the urge to attempt Apparation then and there. Splinching herself would do nothing more than aggravate her already deplorable attitude. Instead of pulling out her old wand, she unfurled her muddy brown scarf, tucked her arms close to her chest, and set about wandering the isles of the magical foodmart. Corn could be quite interesting when one was trying to avoid thinking about exactly where she was.
It didn't take long for some occurrence to draw her attention. A bushel of cabbages came barging down the aisle, followed closely by a pair of little feet and a shrill voice screaming about how she "Told you not to touch anything!" and "Pain in my arse, Mathias!" Katie stopped one of the rolling heads with her foot as the mother picked up her son and carried him away, leaving the mess sprawling on the floor; a mess no one seemed keen on picking up. Where were the bloody employees? Figuring it would only take a second to move the bruised vegetables out of her way, she began picking up the heads and tossing them into an empty box near the stand they had been sitting in.
"Excuse me," said an elder witch. Katie shifted out of the way so she could get through and tossed the last of the cabbage into the bin. "Miss?" The lady said again, with more emphasis. Katie turned around to look at the old witch, who stared up with a sweet smile. "Could you get the pickled eye of newt down for me, dear? I left my wand at home." Blinking did not make the witch go away, nor did attempting to explain to her that she did not work at this market, perhaps she should find an employee. "Oh, it's just over here, dear, with the ingredients..."
After helping the persistent witch - and having her wand backfire, twice - a couple came up asking where the cereal was, then a bloke wanted to know why there were no licorice wands on sale. She did not mind at all when he stormed out at her snippy reply of, "Honeydukes is just down the street," and was about to do so herself when a tall, bumbling man came tripping around the corner and nearly threw a large box on her head. Instinctively, Katie raised her arms in defense and helped the man lower the box of fruit to the proper container three aisles over.
"Do you always hang around markets when you're bored, lassie?" he asked, storing his wand in the pocket of his trousers.
"Not really," Katie snipped. The idea of splinching herself seemed more appealing the longer she remained trapped within the store. She should have just sucked up some of the Gryffindor courage she supposedly possessed and Flooed straight to the Prophet offices in Diagon to ask for her job back... if only the thought of stepping into the building where her Da had worked for so many years didn't still send lighting bolts up her spine.
The man folded his arms - was he mocking her stance? - and regarded the girl with a thoughtful eye. "Coulda fooled me. You seemed to know yer way around the place well enough." Unable to see where his babbling was headed, Katie spun on her heel with every intention of leaving before he suddenly called out, "Care for a job?" The inquiry halted her exit long enough for him to continue, "We're a bit underhanded as it is, and what with the hols coming up... those blighters from Hogwarts eat enough for a giant's feast, let alone the regulars...."
Working for a wizarding grocer was far from any idea of a daily career Katie could think of, but within five minutes, the rambling bloke - who she came to learn was 'Mac. Not Mic, not Mickey; just Mac' - was handing her a hastily scribbled schedule, a guidebook to 'peruse' at her earliest convenience, and instructing her on how to pick up some new journal so she could communicate with her fellow employees. "We'll set you up with Adrian for training at the end o' next week. I'll let him know to contact you," Mac said before heading off to help a customer with a load of frog spawn.
Finally managing to escape the bizarre market, Katie stuffed the pieces of parchment into her pocket and trumped back up the road toward the Three Broomsticks. She had gotten the job offer she had come for, albeit one she wasn't too thrilled about, but at least it could pay the bills. All she wanted to do now was Floo home and curl up on the sofa with one of Tolkien's works.