Gizmos and Gadgets Galore! ((Clarissa))

[zoeyshay]

She felt like a little kid again as she stood at the window of the Quidditch shop in Diagon Alley, her face close to the glass, so close, it was fogging. The Dragoneye seemed to just call her. “Zoey! Zoey! Oh, how much is that broooomstick in the window?” it seemed to taunt her. It was perfect, and Zoey was so close, so close to buying it. She stepped away from the glass, her intentions on marching into store, hanging them her galleons and sickles, anything she had and buying it. Surely she’d be fastest one on the Quidditch team. She hoped so. She took one last glance at her new broom, but she froze. Her eyes were big and her jaw dropped. The price was so…big. So expensive. It was way out of her reach. It was like telling the crew of a sunken submarine that were stranded, miles from the surface of the ocean to grab onto help, a rope that was hung in the air from an airplane. Immpossible.

Zoey felt like bursting into tears, all her hopes, her plans, ruined. “Two hundred twenty two galleons?! And fifteen sickles! Ridiculous!” she said loudly, before shaking her head and walking into the store. If she wasn’t getting the Dragoneye, she’d surely get something else, another broom. “Watch it be rubbish…” she mumbled, running her fingers along the brooms on the rack. She smiled at the feeling of the smooth, glossy handles under her fingers as and stopped at the Firebolt. It was getting outdated, but it was better than her Nimbus.

She lagged at times in speed during Quidditch. Even though Gryffindor was good last year, this year they needed to be better. She needed to be better. No more slowness or failures. She was determined to get it together and be one of the best this year. Zoey nodded at the Firebolt and looked at the price tag, shrugging. It was 150 galleons cheaper, and only 5 sickles instead of 15. It was in her budget, but it made her realize: she needed a job, and she needed one soon. She decided she’d get a job over the summer and then she’d be able to get a great broom, a more in date on. She called the employee over and got it rang up. “Er, could you deliver this around the middle of the day in a box in a muggle fashion? My mom’s a muggle and we live in a normal suburb…” she asked, biting her lip. “We have you covered. It’ll come in a box in a delivery truck or something. We do this all the time.” He smiled, winking at her. “Thanks.” Zoey said, paying and walking out.

Zoey walked out smiling, not bothering to look back in the window. She wasn’t going to risk her good mood in order to look at something she was probably never going to have. She walked around a bit before walking into a small wizard gadget store, just to look around to see what they had. She might be a witch, but she was still part muggle at heart. For 11 years she was around only muggle items, never knowing of the wizard world or any of its gizmos and such. Things were still new for her. She smiled, running her hands on the items and smiling at she approached the candies. She saw chocolate frogs, licorice wands, Bertie Bott’s, everything that was on the trolley to Hogwarts. She turned around, wishing she could buy all they had, but unfortunately, she had little money left. She walked out of the store, accidentally knocking shoulders with someone as she passed. It was hard, well, hard for her. She almost fell and she staggered for balance quickly before turning to the girl “I’m really sorry. I’m just kind of wandering, not paying any attention…” she smiled. “Are you okay?” she asked, hoping so.

[Clarissa Carter H5]

Long black tresses spilled down the back of the fifteen year old as she stood in Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. The place was booming with business and had been in the last few years of it’s life...actually it had been quite busy since the beginning of the shops opening, even though the return of the Dark Lord and the near complete destruction of Diagon Alley. Lucky though it seemed everything was finally back to normal in the wizarding world and as such so was Diagon Alley and the novelties within. Standing here in the middle of the day Clarissa Carter was musing over what exactly to get her boyfriend on their two-year anniversary. Jace Donovan was the love of her life and at the same time a kid at heart. He loved these sort of pranks and stuff, not that Clary didn’t…she just preferred keeping her pranks to her friends and family, not to the whole world. Besides…the Weasley twins were infamous at Hogwarts. No one has ever come close to equaling their talent for mischief, at least to Clary’s knowledge no one has. The twins were right before her time, which was unfortunate…Clary probably would have found them quite delightful if she’d been a bit older to see their antics.

Of course that was beside the point now anyhow. She was fifteen years old now…going in as a fifth year, with a magnificent boyfriend who loved her more than anyone else ever had. He was even beginning to fill the hole that her father had left in her with his continued long hours at work. Jace did things to her that no one ever had. He made her soar and fly and run and fall and everything all at once…it was like she was always having an adventure when she was with him, which just made everything that much better when she was with him. Like her mother, Jace was Muggle-born and absolutely adored the Muggle world as Clary did. The only difficult thing about shopping for him was the fact that he loved the mystery of the wizarding world a lot. There was still so much he didn’t know about it and there was only so much that Clary could teach him on her own. That was probably why she was standing in front of a Muggle Magic Trick Gift Set…the only problem was Clary was fairly certain Jace wouldn’t be as thrilled over the novelty item as much as she, herself, was. Which meant that she needed to get on with her search. Their two-year anniversary was only two weeks away and she still hadn’t found anything. Everyday he was pestering her for hints on what she had gotten for him and everyday she had to remind him that he’d find out in two weeks. By now she was fairly certain that he had figured out she hadn’t found anything yet.

A deep sigh escaped her full pink lips as she turned from the gift set. She wanted the perfect gift…something that would stand out to her, something that would scream Jace when she saw it. Unfortunately nothing in Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes was doing that today, which meant that she had to move on to the next store. She didn’t want a cheap gift…didn’t want something she knew Jace wouldn’t want. She loved him too much to just buy him anything. She wanted it to be special, from the heart. Now if only she could find that thing that made her feel like it was from the heart and not from the pouch of Galleons. Slipping through the crowd around her, she found her way to the door and stepped outside. At least the day was beautiful and it would only be another three hours until she met Jace at the Leaky Cauldron for dinner. He said he had some sort of surprise for her…she hoped he wasn’t planning on giving her an early anniversary gift, because that would just make her whole failed shopping trip even worse! She’d just have to make sure she found something and fast…that way she’d be prepared if he did something like that. He was always so unpredictable…and now it was really starting to wear on her.

It was about this time as she passed the next door that suddenly Clary was met with a force that knocked her backward. She managed to keep from tripping over her own to feet and falling, but she couldn’t help but rub her shoulder where she had impacted into a girl that seemed about her age. Recognition was slowly dawning on her face. She was a fellow Hogwarts student, but her name escaped Clary. Names always escaped Clary. Faces were always familiar, but names had this way of disappearing off the cliff in her mind and never returning until they were said over and over again in her mind. So standing there, rubbing her probably bruised shoulder she nodded at the girl. “Don’t worry about it, it’s just a shoulder. Nothing to worry about, I have another one,” Clary said with a smile as she made a mental note to stop rubbing at her arm. It was probably making the girl feel bad. “You attend Hogwarts correct? You seem quite familiar to me I must admit and yet I can’t for the life of me remember your name. I’m Clarissa Carter…but please call me Clary.” She held out a hand to the girl as one did during introductions. Clary was always in the mood to meet new people and it seemed that this one was brought to her by fate, else wise how would you explain two random strangers colliding in the middle of the walkway outside a door?

[zoeyshay]

Zoey stood, feeling awkward as the girl just rubbed her shoulder. She herself didn’t hurt much; she was used to getting bumped, bruised, hit, and almost anything imaginable. It was like an adaptation that she, and probably all other short or abnormally small people had. She and she assumed other people, had also gotten used to the bumping into, overlooking, pushing and shoving that came with the curse of short heights. The world grew, along with the people in it, and she was stuck in a small and fragile body. Zoey’s eyes slid form the shoulder being rubbed to the face of the girl. Her expression didn’t show any anger or hurt. It was more of a blend of shock from the sudden impact and something else, recognition? Zoey didn’t really remember her, nor have that odd feeling of familiarity from her, but she figured that the girl must have seen her around or something while at Hogwarts. Where else?

The more Zoey thought, the more familiar the girl became. The odd, awkward feeling silence shattered at the girl’s voice. Her words made Zoey smile, along with the feeling of the wave of relief that rippled through her body. Zoey hated seeing people upset in any way, whether ir be angry, depressed, anything, let alone, have the certain person or people, upset because of her or her stupid, clumsy actions. The girl stopped rubbing her shoulder thankfully. It was beginning to sort of taunt Zoey. She looked up to the girl, nodding as an answer to her question. “Yeah, yeah. I’m a fourth year there. Zoraida Shay.” She smiled, taking the outstretched hand and shaking it while showing a friendly smile. “But I’m better known as Zoey.” She smiled.

It seemed kind of weird that she had bumped into-not really bumped into, more of half way talking the poor girl, Clary, while not paying attention and she turned out to be a nice person. It made her wonder- what house was she in? What year? Did she play Quidditch? Was a half-blood like her? What was she like? All these questions spurred in her head, racing like bubbles in ginger ale, rushing to get to the top. “What house are you in, Clary?” Zoey asked, her eyes sliding from Clary to the window of the Quidditch shop. She looked at the Dragoneye again, wanting so bad to buy it and zoom across the field of Hogwarts, showing it off and being one of the fastest ones playing. She’d easily get to a free Bludger or get the Quaffle on that. She shook her head, her black curls flying as she focused back on her conversation with Clarrissa.