Christmas Shopping in London ((Jamison))

[sammy]

Catherine looked around London. The city was full of bustling crowds, all looking through frosted windows to see what the stores held inside. She clasped her heavy leather coat tighter around her slim shoulders and prepared to go back outside in the cold. Giselle had stayed home, claiming she had a belly-ache and the cold would make it all the worse. Daphne frankly said she wished not to get her clothes dirtied over silly presents, and Daddy was off at work. Cathy had ended up going all alone on her Christmas shopping, but oddly she didn't feel alone. She had done this before many times and although her family felt little regret for her, Cathy felt sorry they couldn't enjoy London at the most prosperous time of the year. Lights that adorned every house and shop twinkled in the dusk that put a dark cloak over the city. A little snow where the grass between shops used to be sparkled but had mud on the edges, making it look not so brilliant.

Cathy pulled her hair over her shoulder and looked across the road. Everyone looked so happy and excited, joyous. Laughter echoed up the street and a small band of people were singing Christmas carols at the square. Catherine let a small giggle slip through her lips but nothing more followed. She paused and looked through a misty window. Toys tinkled inside and many different toys for small children lined up near the window, hoping to find the right owner before the other next to them. Cathy didn't have anyone small to shop for so she directed her attention away from the small shop to a bigger, more crowded one. Many different items were inside, so she walked over there slowly, dodging here and there through the crowd. As she neared the door and put her hand out, someone ran into her shoulder and she suddenly slipped on the icy side-walk and fell hard into the snow.

[cdc]

"Wendi, no!" Jamison called as his happy little sister ran over to sing Christmas Carols. "Please?" She insisted batting her dainty eye lashes all the while as Jamison approached her. Wendi was such a happy child and couldn't resist spreading the Christmas joy around the city. "But, we are supposed to be buying grandmother a present." He told her calmly as she spun around like a dancing doll. He couldn't help but laugh as the little Hufflepuff gave him her cute puppy face. He had seen it so many times before and always gave in to it. After a minute of her constant begging, Jamison gave in. "Oh, alright just be careful. I don't particularly want to leave you alone and we only have an hour to shop." He told her thinking of what their grandfather had said. Grandfather never really wanted the children out with their uncle lurking about the city searching for them. It was a sad situation, one that Jamison had now learned to make the best of. "The shop is only right there and I will stick to the square. I promise Jami." Jamison sighed as he gave in again. "Ok, be safe." He said. She nodded and turned smiling at the fellow carolers and wishing them a marry Christmas. He smiled at her and turned towards the shop. Jamison adored his sister and wished for nothing to ever happen to her. She was such a precious child and the world would certainly be lost without her joy. Wendi meant the world to Jamison as they had always been very close. Their lives had always been difficult, but they always had each other and Jamison never wanted that to fade.

Jamison stepped on the layer of snow and ice. It crunched before his feet and he picked them up so he wouldn’t slip. The snow was no longer pretty as it had been days before when it was freshly fallen. It was now hard and dirty. Many children turned up the thought to play in it and it seemed like such a shame. Sure, it might not be the prettiest thing in the world, but it was still there. Jamison did over analyze things a bit as he was a Ravenclaw. Actually, he never really liked to be characterized by his house or any other house. People were who they were and houses didn’t matter just like blood. Maybe the Slytherins thought that, but of course that was also stereotyping. Jamison thought that if the children didn’t care what it looked like, they would have a great day looking past its appearance. He then stepped through a pool of icy water that had seemed to be newly melted even though it was still frigid outside. Maybe many people have walked on the ice making it a cold liquid. But, of course now Jamison was examining the little things. It was something he tried very hard to not do. Jamison seemed to have two sides. One of them was a quiet little book nerd that was also a gentlemen. The other wasn’t the same at all. The other Jamison was social, funny, and quite charming with the ladies. It seemed like he would be one or the other some days, but also sometimes he could be both. It might be a bit strange, but of course Jamison couldn’t change himself.

He was now on the opposite side of the street as Wendi. He didn’t yet look back knowing she would think he didn’t trust her. Of course Jamison did it was others he didn’t trust. Wendi was such a bright, polite, happy child and Jamison’s life would be so much different without her. Wendi was a big part of Jamison. Perhaps she was the greatest part of him. She was all he had at times and they grew close at those precious moments. He knew his uncle wanted custody of both of them. Mainly, he wanted custody of Wendi. Why, no one knew the exact reasons. Jamison of course knew Wendi was a brilliant girl, but he didn’t know what use she could be to Keith. He really didn’t want to know. Jamison of course was convinced he was a Death Eater, but that was uncertain in reality. It wasn’t exactly written on paper, but most of the family suspected so. But, this day wasn’t about Keith. It was about Jamison’s grand-mother and finding her the perfect present. She had after all taken care of Wendi and Jamison all those year. Jamison would be forever grateful of that and of course wanted to find her something she really wanted. Before entering the store, Jamison decided to sneak one glance at Wendi just to be totally sure she was fine. He slyly made his way to the door. He didn’t even notice a girl pulling the handle. He turned back suddenly, but while doing so belt himself know into the girl pushing her to the dirty snow. Jamison flinched and turned to her instantly. His gentlemen side kicked in and he felt terrible. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” He said. Jamison reached down to offer her his hand. He hoped she would take it as he felt very sorry for his actions.

[sammy]

"Umm...." Cathy mumbled, her face turning a deep crimson. She had really done it now. She was a ballerina and here she was, losing her balance. Cathy kept her face bent in complete embarrassment but was happy that the guy she had knocked into was offering to help her stand. Cathy would have pushed herself back up, but was grateful to have a helping hand, and didn't want him to be offended if she didn't allow him to help her. With a sigh, she managed to pull herself up by holding on to his hand. It proved slick under the snow and she nearly fell down again. Somehow, she ended up clinging to the guy about the same age as her as she wobbled precariously. "Oh," Cathy breathed as she turned an even deeper shade of red. She backed away when she got balanced and shot a glance at the boy.

"It's...um... okay." Cathy said, trying to make the flush on her face go away by mental urging. She still felt hot in the face. "I'm sorry I grabbed you like that. It was slick under the snow." She felt the need to give some evidence, so she moved away the snow with her foot to reveal a layer of ice. With a small, apologetic smile, Cathy turned away from the dirty snow and surveyed the damage. Her leather coat was awfully dirty on her back and her jeans were muddy at her knees, which was where she had fallen. She looked at the boy more closely, trying to see if she had known him from somewhere. He did look familiar, but he could have come from anywhere, not just Hogwarts. Cathy smiled at him warmly, getting over the shock and embarrassment of falling over.

"It wasn't really your fault," Cathy said quickly. "It was more my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going and even when you did run into me, I should have been able to balance myself out more." Cathy turned around as best she could to try to get the mud off her back but it just smeared over her leather coat, which had been very expensive. Daphne would faint if she saw what had happened to it. Cathy didn't bother trying to wipe at her knees; it would have the same result as her back. She shrugged and turned back with a slightly raised eyebrow only it was a friendly, inquisitive motion. "So...um... what's your name? I'm Catherine Dumas and I live down the street...there." She attempted to point to it but her mansion was out of sight. She had hoped it would be in sight. "Oh... it's just pass that red house there." She explained, feeling silly for mentioning it anyway. She grinned and held out her hand as a greeting.

[cdc]

Jamison held her hand stationary as she attempted to get up. The ice seemed slippery underneath her feet and she almost fell again. He didn't want her to fall again and become even muddier than she already was. Finally, she made it to the standing position without falling. It wasn't her fault at all since Jamison had run in to her and the snow and ice were slippery. He watched as she backed away and Jamison felt very sorry that he had knocked her down to begin with. That wasn't his intention at all and Jamison wasn't usually so clumsy. He listened as she gave an excuse. "oh, I understand it is very slippery. No problem at all." He said nicely. He really hadn't minded. He was glad she did that rather than falling to the ground once more. Jamison looked at the mu and snow all over her. "I'm really sorry about that." He said referring to the damage he cause on her lovely clothes.

Jamison stared at her as she told him it wasn't at all his fault. "No, it really was my fault. I should have watched where I was going. You balanced perfectly, it is I who needs a lesson in balance and clumsiness." He said nicely offering a smile. "I was just looking back at my sister." Jamison turned around pointing to the small brunette that was now handing out hot chocolate. He offered Wendi a smile as she saw him and gave him a joking Look what you did look. He then turned back to the girl he knocked down. "I don't really like to leave her alone you see. She just insists I quit treating her like a baby." He gave a weak laugh knowing she really did need the protection. Wendi was so tiny anyone could lean over and pick her up on the spot. They would probably get away with her before anyone could hear a sound and that frightened Jamison.

Jamison looked at the girl. He wondered if she was a muggle or also attended Hogwarts. Her face seemed a bit familiar, but she could just be a neighbor. He didn't want to alert a muggle of who he really is, if she is one, so Jamison decided to say nothing for the moment. He offered a smiled as she introduced herself as Catherine. "Jamison Parson." He said in his normal friendly tone. "And that's Wendi." He said pointing towards his first year sister. Jamison then turned back to face her as she explained where she lived. "I live over that way." He turned in the opposite direction as Catherine. "You can barely see it. It's the white house with a red door." He said pointing to it. His house wasn't huge, but a good size two story. It had room to supply shelter for his many relatives at times. Jamison watched as she held out her hand. He shook it warmly. "Nice to meet you." He said. Jamison then looked back at her dirty clothes. "You know, I should really pay you for those." He said pointing to the clothes that he caused to be stained. Jamison waited for a response.

[sammy]

Cathy smiled, looking relived. Lots of boys would think she had clung to them for a single purpose, or at least all the jerks she had met around London. Giselle's type, in other words. This guy seemed more of the gentlemen type, which Cathy was eternally grateful for. She couldn't keep the smile on her face as Jamison said it was his fault. "No," she protested. She then giggled, knowing they both sounded silly fighting over who's fault it was. "It was both of ours." She relented after a thought. "But I still should have been able to stay on my feet." Always, Cathy was the stubborn one. She gave him a friendly smile and looked around at where they were. The small group of people that had passed in time to watch Cathy fall had all gone a different direction, thinning out into nothing. Thank goodness. Cathy felt the heat slowly diminish on her face.

"Oh, I see." Cathy said quickly as he explained about his sister. She felt the need to watch after Giselle as well, even though she was, in fact, three minutes older then Cathy. Giselle was like a balloon though; once you let her loose, she would float away until she was unable to be caught again. Cathy was afraid of letting that happen, so she kept one eyes on her twin. It was a good thing Giselle wasn't here with her; she would get a kick out of the whole scenario and would probably scare Jamison away. Jamison. What a nice name. Cathy smiled at him when he shook her hand and also introduced his sister, Wendi. She did look to be about twelve years of age, while Jamison appeared Cathy's age, around fifteen or sixteen. She contemplated Wendi for a moment before turning back to Jamison.

"Ditto," she said in response to Jamison's nice to meet you. She smirked to herself, knowing full well that Giselle hated that saying. Why couldn't you just say, 'same here?' Giselle would always ask, and Cathy would always shrug or reply 'it saves breath.' She again thanked the havens that Giselle hadn't accompanied her. There was a blessing in every movement. She looked back at Jamison thoughtfully. Before answering, she looked back at her jacket, which looked wearable, but Cathy was sure it would be in the garbage by the end of the day. She would wear it if she was allowed to. Why waste an article of clothing that cost a lot of money? "Oh," Cathy said as he said he should probably pay for it. "No, I don't think that's necessary. It costs a lot and I'm sure there's a better way to pay it off." She looked around the square and her eyes landed on a small coffee shop. "Maybe pay for a drink of coffee and a small snack?" She asked, thinking it was a better way to do things anyway. She was thinking it would be nice to get to know Jamison better anyway. She pointed at the ideal shop and turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Does that sound fair to you?"

[cdc]

Jamison nodded politely. "Yes, that makes sense." He said with a big grin on his face. It was relatively true, they were both at fault in a few few ways. Jamison hadn't meant to knock her over and maybe Catherine was right and could have kept her balance. However, Jamison didn't really like to disagree with anyone too much. He was raised to be a gentlemen and he was. Most people often said the Parson family is almost like a pure-blood Slytherin family except they like everyone. Jamison had only ever met Slytherins he hadn't liked and even then he tried his best to accept them. Jamison watched as the crowd of people that had watched the fall went away. Jamison was pretty sure they had noticed and that is had embarrassed Catherine. Embarrassment was never a fun thing to endure and Jamison was sort of upset he caused it.

Jamison then smiled when Catherine looked at Wendi. "Yep, my sister. Maybe a bit different than me, but I love her all the same." He managed to laugh as Wendi gave him a goofy face. She was now quite comically chewing on a candy cane and her mouth and lips were cherry red. It was a hilarious look for her and Jamison laughed even harder as she licked her lips like a kitten. He then looked back at Catherine. "However, sometimes I don't like to admit that we are related." He joked. It wasn't really true, but sometimes Wendi could be a bit silly, funny, crazy, and anything else. Perhaps that's why she was such a perfect Hufflepuff. Jamison waved as a few of his muggle friends walked buy and then faced Catherine to hear what she was saying.

He laughed softly as she said ditto. It was a humorous phrase to Jamison. He seldom ever said it, but sometimes couldn't help himself. Jamison watched as Cathy said paying for her clothes was unnecessary and perhaps too easy. Jamison smiled at Catherine's suggestion of just paying her a coffee and a snack. "That I can do." He said with his usually grin on his face. "This way m'dear." He joked turning towards the coffee shop and waiting for Catherine to join him walking in that direction.

[sammy]

Cathy smiled softly as Jamison talked more about Wendi, who seemed to be the cute little girl across the street. "However, sometimes I don't like to admit that we are related." He said and Cathy turned toward him with a blank face. "I get that feeling a lot," she said sadly, looking down at the street. She kicked a spare piece of ice back into the snow. "My sister usually says that about me too, but," Cathy added, hoping she wasn't putting a damper on their moods, "I usually tell everyone I'm her sister just to embarrass her even more." She smiled as if it was funny, but ti wasn't. It could never be funny when two sisters truly hated each other. Maybe it was comical on the side lines, but inside in the game, Cathy felt unloved and not-good-enough. Giselle just had that power to make people go from happy to abruptly angry and disoriented. And Cathy sometimes hated her for it.

Cathy barely caught on to what Jamison was saying when he suddenly started walking toward the coffee shop Cathy had pointed out. She followed quickly, walking side-by-side with him until they reached the small comfortable shop. She slipped in right behind him and looked around. The twinkling of the bell had announced their arrival to all the people inside already. A few heads turned their way, but other then that no recognition went through the shop. It was dainty and clean, thank goodness, very much unlike the Hogs Head. Cathy hated that place, but Giselle went there often when she couldn't stand the people in the Three Broomsticks. Stools and tables were in the middle of the shop and on the sides were booths. At the back was the counter, and the server behind it was cleaning off the table. A row of stools went along the side like a bar. About twenty people were inside, all of whom were chatting animatedly with their friends or family. Cathy walked up to the bar and sat down, smiling at the man.

"Um, could I have a cup of coffee. Black, please? And a.. um.." She shot a glance at the menu. "How about a small crab cake?" She had been feeling like eating sea food for a while now, so here was her chance. The man then turned toward Jamison to take his order. Cathy looked around the shop again, just confirming that she did, indeed, not know anyone. Most of the people appeared in their late twenties early thirties. Such young people. Cathy turned to Jamison as he seemed to be done ordering. "So...er... which school do you go to?" Cathy asked, thinking that if she asked first, she was the safer one. She was also very interested to hear the answer.

[cdc]

Jamison nodded while Catherine talked. It was sad what she was saying. Her relationship with her sister didn't seem like a good one. Jamison could never imagine feeling that way about Wendi. They were far too close for that sort of thing. They were practically best friends and they needed each other more than they knew. Jamison didn't really know how to respond. He had been joking and truly Catherine hadn't. He merely meant that sometimes Wendi could be a bit much, but still fun to be around. They were walking at this point and Jamison continued to listen intently. "Wendi can be a bit much at points, but I still love her." He offered. That's all he could really bring himself to say. He gave a weak smile as she walked beside him to the cafe.

Inside were all sorts of people. Some faces seemed a bit familiar because Jamison knew many residents of the area, but others he couldn't remember. They all seemed to smile when the little bell rang and Jamison smiled back. Catherine and Jamison made their way to the counter with the sever behind it. He listened as Catherine ordered and thought what he would order for himself. "I'll also take Black Coffee and maybe a small cup of tomato soup." He said politely as the man nodded and proceed to the register for them to pay. "I'll pay for both." He said nicely as he paid the sum of money. The man nodded, gave him a receipt, and then headed to the kitchen to have the order filled.

Jamison listened closely to Catherine's question. How exactly was he supposed to answer that? He couldn't truthfully give an answer. Jamison looked at her and tried to think of something to say. "Um, I don't go to a local school." He offered nicely as he realized he had to say more. "I go to a boarding school north of here." could he even tell her the name? Was it safe to even say it? If she truly was a muggle then she wouldn't know what Hogwarts was. What if she was a witch? Jamison thought that over and it seemed unlikely that he lived near a witch and never knew it. He couldn't remember her face from school, but she could obviously be from another house. Their orders were almost finished now, but not quite done yet. Finally, Jamison thought of something to say that might trigger her thoughts if she was truly a witch."It's a lovely school free of muggles." He said softly. Jamison waited for her to say something, but before she could their orders were ready. "Thanks." He said to the man. Jamison searched with his eyes for a table and watched as Catherine followed. He said down and placed hr meal in front of her still waiting to see if that triggered anything.