InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Nowhere special..."

stitchcraft (stitchcraft) wrote in tinworth,
@ 2009-10-28 00:32:00

Entry tags:

!complete, character: npc, character: sarah fawcett, date: october 2003, place: w: diagon alley

Characters: Sarah Fawcett and OPEN
Locale: Madam Malkin's, Diagon Alley
Date: October 28, 2003
Open? Yes! To any and all still needing Halloween costumes!
Warnings? Nope!

Oh, it had already been a loooooooong day and it was barely half-one in the afternoon. Wednesdays were traditionally Sarah's day to have the afternoon off, but Madam M had been struck with her first bout of what the staff privately called the "Holiday Horrors." When "the horrors" hit Madam M mandated that everyone work overtime, and her temperament took a distinct turn for the crabby, though Halloween was actually a piece of cauldron cake compared to the combined crush of Christmas and New Year's. Sarah heard her employer's voice shrieking in the vicinity of the back stockroom and shuddered, and turned her attention back to the costume she was supposed to be hemming. Yep, a very long day.

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npc1
2009-10-29 02:12 am UTC (link)

Neville could not make a subtle entrance into Madam Malkins with a bell jingling over the door, or the clutch of student Healers giggling and pointing at him. He blanched, tugging nervously at his robe collar, before he realized that it wasn't him they were interested in at all, but the bolts of reflective fabric hanging on the wall right behind him.

Gulping, Neville made his way to the counter, where there was hardly space enough to speak to anyone, with all of the families and young witches and wizards talking hurriedly about their plans for their costumes.

Why had Hannah insisted they dress as, her words, "something couple-y"? To be fair, Hannah could hardly insist on anything, but she may as well have. It would break her heart not to float alongside some Robin Hood, or Lancelot, or Godric, and upsetting her was the very last thing Neville wanted to do.

"Excuse me, ah, I could use some help?"

Help in telling my girlfriend I haven't worn a costume since I was eight, because Gran dressed me as a krup every year.

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stitchcraft
2009-10-29 02:27 am UTC (link)

Sarah looked up at the customer's hesitant question, simply glad at first that it wasn't another squealing thirteen year old girl longing to dress up as the latest Wizpop sensation. Then when she looked at him closely, she smiled warmly in recognition. She didn't know him personally, but Neville Longbottom's face had of course become pretty well known over the last few years.

He already seemed a bit nervous, and she didn't want to make him more uncomfortable, so she didn't let on that she'd recognized him. Setting down the costume she was hemming, she moved to help him.

"Of course! You're looking for a costume, I assume? Do you have any general ideas of what you want?"

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npc1
2009-10-30 01:37 am UTC (link)

He should have anticipated her question, but all Neville could think of was what he didn't want.

"Well, you see, I'm actually, ah," he stumbled in trying get the words right, his strengths never having tended toward articulating himself. Gryffindors were men of action and few words, right?

"My girlfriend wants us to go as a couple. In costume, I mean."

There.

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stitchcraft
2009-10-30 01:51 am UTC (link)

Sarah smiled encouragingly, but didn't press him as he searched for what he wanted to say. Once she'd begun working at Madam Malkin's she'd found out very quickly that with hesitant customers, it was better to let them talk and listen for clues than push them in one direction or another too fast. You were more likely to get them something they were happy with more quickly that way.

Ah, there's the root of the problem.

"Well, we have quite a few couple-oriented costumes, but I'm guessing from the way you sound that you're not too keen on that idea, yeah?"

She began to guide him towards a nearby robe-rack. "Let's see if we can find a compromise, okay?"

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npc1
2009-10-30 02:11 am UTC (link)

Neville breathed a considerable sigh of relief at this response, wondering if he'd somehow managed to convey what he'd meant, or if this shop girl could read minds. It was probably the latter.

"She does like compromise," he offered, grinning nervously. Just last week they'd talked about the sort of pet they'd like to have, if they were in a position to have a pet, and though Hannah had wanted a krup and Neville a fern, they'd finally decided that a kneazel or a bird might be best of all. Not that they were getting a pet. That was a big commitment.

And kneazels, Neville imagined, had bigger appetites than your usual magical potted plant.

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stitchcraft
2009-10-30 02:21 am UTC (link)

Judging by the strength of the sigh he heaved, Sarah knew she'd guessed correctly. Just to be sure, though, she decided to test the waters by showing him one of the more over the top costumes first.

"I hear it's the key to a successful relationship," she smiled again. "Now, we have some that are a bit on the naughty side...like this Adam and Eve . What do you think?"

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	npc1 2009-10-30 02:32 am UTC (link)
	If Neville had been uncomfortable walking into Madam Malkin's and considered himself recovering, he felt now as though he had walked into the shop completely naked and asked to borrow a robe for the night. "Not exactly what I had in mind," he said softly, his chuckle breathy because he'd forgotten to breath. Hannah was going to break up with him for sure. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

stitchcraft
2009-10-30 02:56 am UTC (link)

Sarah bit her lip at the expression on Neville's face. I think his brain might have melted a little bit there. Coughing to cover a chuckle, she moved on. A little teasing was all in good fun, but she didn't want the poor bloke to hyperventilate. And I do want to make the sale, after all.

"Alright. Not naughty then. Perhaps something more...humorous ? She gestured to a food-themed costume that was more in the Muggle style.

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npc1
2009-11-02 10:37 pm UTC (link)

While Neville was slightly more comforted by the idea of wearing slacks and a jumper with a minimum of effort, he couldn't imagine that Hannah would be thrilled at the idea of going as bacon or eggs.

He slapped a hand to his cheek and it rolled slowly down.

"I'm no help at all. Listen, you've probably got real customers..."

Hannah would want to look pretty. Neville didn't think she had to try, and he'd told her so - haltingly - a dozen times, but she'd just grin and carry on. His eyes fell on a swathe of butter yellow fabric that had a nice shine to it, like the ribbons she'd worn in her pigtails at Hogwarts.

"What's this?"

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stitchcraft
2009-11-03 02:55 am UTC (link)

Sarah smiled encouragingly at Neville. "You're plenty real! And besides, I've had it up to here," she gestured above her head, "with tiny tots and overbearing parents, as well as squabbling teenagers rushing about all day. It's nice to wait on an adult."

When he fingered the soft, diaphanous yellow gown, Sarah mentally slapped herself. How could I have forgotten?! "Oh actually, I think you've found the perfect thing! This is from our folklore line. It's a Goddess of Spring gown, and I think..."

She dove towards the back of the rack energetically, "...that there's a Jack O'The Green that goes with it. What do you think?"

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npc1
2009-11-03 03:07 am UTC (link)

As she produced the leafy fringed affair, Neville brightened considerably. Sure, it wasn't Godric, but it was him, and Hannah liked him, right?

"It's perfect, I'll take them both!"

He was fumbling in his pockets for coin before the shop girl could persuade him further, or another costume hunting hopeful could put a bid in. His girlfriend would be the only Goddess of Spring this season, and every season thereafter, as far as Neville was concerned.

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stitchcraft
2009-11-03 03:22 am UTC (link)

Sarah took both costumes off the rack and cradled them carefully in her arms.

"Wonderful! If you'll just follow me back to the counter, we'll get you all paid up and on your way to a Happy Halloween!"

At last. A successful sale that hadn't made her want to lock herself in the fabric storage room and scream into the plush velvets. Maybe things are looking up after all.

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