What'd you do with my money?

[Amber Cavales]

Boredom is the state of being weary, restless and generally having nothing of interest to do. This is exactly how Amber was feeling as she sat on a reclining chair, under a shady tree on the beach. Most people would call this a relaxing vacation day, Amber had done this sort of thing almost on a daily basis for the last several years and, sad as it sounded, the enjoyment was wearing a bit thin. Having to only work two or three days a week had given her enough free time to travel to many exotic places around the world and take in many of the great sights. She was particularly fond of visiting ancient castles throughout Europe, some of the most fascinating were the many in the Loire Valley. While there, Amber got the distinct impression that Beauxbatons school was very close somewhere as there was a large number of wizarding teenagers running around. Though she enjoyed it there, she was also not keen on returning anytime soon as the local Frenchies weren't overly welcoming. Of course Amber could have guessed she'd get that sort of welcome after Ireland thumped France in the last scrimmage match a month ago.

The sun was now hanging high overhead baking the beach with heat and sending most the people off into the water seeking refuge. Amber pulled out a book from her bag and attempted to read but found there was simply too many distractions around for her to concentrate on reading. Instead she took to watching the people walking about the beach and the pier, they were always in such a hurry. A pair of teenagers walked past her both carrying something that smelled very good. Looking back over her shoulder she saw the vendor who had just recently opened his beach front eatery. The tantalizing aroma suddenly reminded Amber that it was in fact lunch time and she grabbed her coin purse, but then paused. For a moment, Amber had to think about where exactly she was today.... Italy! It finally hit her, and as she dug into her coin purse she came to the frightening realization that she had no Italian muggle money, she'd used it all three weeks ago when she visited Rome. Not knowing where the nearest wizarding bank was, Amber decided to instead head back home.

Gathering her items she walked to the muggle restroom and washed her hands for about three minutes while waiting for the restroom to clear out. She was deciding on where to eat while waiting when it hit her, Catalina had opened up her shop and Amber hadn't gotten around to seeing it, after all Amber had put up almost all of the money to get the shop started. As the last group of teenagers left the restroom, Amber Apparated out of the restroom and into her family's den with a loud BANG! Tossing her bag down onto one of the couches, she walked over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. As she'd never been to the Cubby before, she couldn't possibly Apparate there as had no reference image to use. Tossing the powder into the fireplace, a green flame erupted and she entered and in a flash was off to the Cubby.

Amber emerged from the fireplace into a store, the Cubby to be precise. It wasn't overly crowded, but it had a nice atmosphere and there were about a dozen customers throughout the shop. Taking her time to peruse the items Amber took note how most of the items were things Catalina would eat, or use herself. Walking across the shop she noted the employees and found most of the to be teenagers, most likely Hogwarts students hired on. There were also a couple of girls that Amber recognized as Catalina's friends whom visited during the summer.

The employee lounge was located behind the cafe counter where the deli sandwiches, ice creams, pies and cheesecakes were. That was not much of a surprise to Amber, it'd figure Catalina would be close by. Walking past the counter, Amber stood in the doorway of the employee lounge and saw Catalina sitting with her back to the doorway, "So give me a tour already. Show me what you've done with my money" Amber said as she leaned against the doorway.

[Head Girl Andi]

Catalina was busy trying to complete a mail in order when she heard Amber behind her. "I thought ye were nev'r goin' ter come and see te' shop" She said as she stood up and walked over to the doorway. Catalina then led the way back out to the shop for a grand tour. "OK, ye know here we hav' all te boxed chocolates on t'ese shelves, I'm tryin' ter come up with some mor' types of chocolates though so we can add some new box types." Next Catalina walked turned from the chocolate boxes and went to the Quidditch section. "And we hav' te Quidditch robes, Hogwarts and professional teams, and we hav' scarves for Hogwarts and professional teams, and t'en also banners and posters also." She next moved right next to the Quidditch shelf where a large bin was, inside the bin had been cut into dozens of sections. "Here are all te' Quidditch figure toys, each team has their own bin now, we had t'er keep t'em apart, t'ey kept pushing and trying ter hit each oth'r. Te' Slytherin ones were te' worst, t'ey kept pushing and hittin' te other houses and even te' professional ones so we had ter make bins for each team." She bent down and reached into the box and pulled out a chaser wearing a purple robe, "see, it's you!" Catalina said as she handed her sister her miniature self.

Next Catalina walked to the counter where all the music items were. "We have lots of music wireless items, people like te' little ones a lot, the bigger ones too but we sell more of te' little ones." She then moved over to the stationary aisle. "Lots of Hogwarts students like t'is section, we hav' scented quills, writers, coloring quills and t'en journals and notebooks and coloring books." Next Catalina moved to the back of the store were a large shelf spanned the entire store and on it were hundreds of stuffed animals of all shapes, sizes and colors. "T'is is te cuddly section, we hav' just about every kind of stuffed animal ye could want, lots of sizes and lots of colors too." Catalina reached out and picked up a Ravenclaw Raven and handed it to Amber. "We even have Slytherin serpents, but I dun know why people buy t'em, how can ye cuddle wit' a serpent?"

The next stop on the tour was the jewelry case, which was locked. "We hav' lots of nice necklaces and pendants, we had ter put t'em in the locked glass case though, we didn't want anyone ter try and steal t'em. We also have mood rings, they change color when ye are happy or sad or angry, ye kno?" Catalina said as she spun a ring rack on top of the case, it was the only jewelry that wasn't locked up.

The final stop on the tour was the cafe itself, located on the other end of the store. "Our cafe is mostly for desserts, ice creams, pies, cakes, but we also hav' some sandwiches so ye can eat regular food too. Ye can eat inside the Cubby, we hav' some tables inside and t'en we have some more outside if ye want ter be outdoors." Looking at the clock it was lunch time and Catalina was actually a bit hungry, "Aye, did ye eat yet? Are ye hungry?" She asked as she walked behind the cafe counter and took out a honey wheat roll to make herself a sand which.

[Amber Cavales]

Amber followed Catalina around the store looking at all the displays and noting the way she'd decorated the place. Most of the merchandise was old news as Catalina had brought samples of everything home for her to see and lots of things ended up just staying at home. The Quidditch section was a nice mix of the teams and Amber peered into the many bins and saw many of the miniature players sneering at her. Shaking her head at them she took her miniature Catalina had pulled out and looked at it. The uniform was accurate and the hair too, the face was a close resemblance, but Amber looked at the doll some more and realized that it had quite a large rear. "Hey Caty whats the deal with this?" She asked but Catalina had already gone onto the next display. Looking at the little miniature again, Amber pressed the rear end a bit hoping it'd get smaller but the doll's only reaction was to shake a tiny fist at Amber's rough treatment.

Amber next moved to the enormous section of stuffed animals, it was just like her sister to have a huge section like this. Many of the animals she'd seen laying on her sister's bed back at home. The jewelry section was small but had a very nice selection of necklaces and bracelets. "Very nice shop you have Caty" Amber said while following Catalina over to the food once more where she immediately began to make herself a sandwich. "Sure I'll take one too, I was going to eat in Italy earlier, but I didn't have any of the right currency, I'll take half of a turkey sandwich, on a wheat roll, no mayonnaise, cheese or onions, extra lettuce and tomatoes, and a butterbeer." Amber then set down the little miniature of herself and looked as it crossed it's arms and stared at her. "Actually, make that a glass of water instead." Amber's eyes set back on Catalina and her enormous sandwich that she was making for herself no doubt she'd finish it off with a milkshake or pie as well. "God Caty, slow down will you, you're going to be a gigantic piggy if you keep that up" she said with a grin and took a sip of the iced water.

[dana]

It was time to work. Pulling on a skirt with a green dragon charmed to slither on it, bursting out fire form time to time as it climbed around the skirt Dana pulled on a fitting blouse. Hopping into a pair of slip on shoes Dana hopped onto the railing and glided gracefully down to the first floor of the apartment. “I’m going to work, see you all later!” Dana shouted as she grabbed a handful of floo-powder wondering with only half a mind whether someone actually was home? It didn’t really matter much one way or an other so Dana threw the floo-powder into the fire-place and stated “Catalina’s Cubby” clearly.
The green flames flared and a moment later Dana was already calmly stepping out of the fire-place in the Cubby. Brushing off a bit of ash from her sleeve Dana looked up and smiled at a friend who was rushing forward. “Dana! I know you still have half an hour until you start, but could you do me a favour? I really have to run – family dinner you know. We have some old relatives. Think you could replace me?” a shout came almost immediately and turning her head Dana smiled at her friend while stating her agreement.
“Great, there’s a cake in the oven that should be ready in a few and we need a new batch of cheesecakes too,” Dana received a quick hug and a moment later her friend was gone.

Grinning Dana moved swiftly through the cubby restaurant part entering the kitchens as she glanced at her watch. The cheesecake should be ready quickly. Looking up Dana saw Cat and her older sister in the kitchen. “Good day Cat, hello,” Dana said with a bright smile and a nod in greeting. She had met Amber previously, but they hadn’t really had too much of a chance for conversing very much.
Not bothering to pull on an apron – Dana hated aprons. She could cook, but she wouldn’t spoil her appearance during it with an apron – Dana bowed to glance into the oven. Pulling the oven door open a little Dana evaluated the state of the cake. It indeed needed a few more minutes. Moving quickly and surely around the kitchen Dana pulled out the required dishes. An egg-shell cracked against the edge of a pot and Dana separated the yellow and white part into two pots easily.
“How has the season been going for you, Amber? Cat, I’ve been wanting to ask you. What are you going to do about your workers when Hogwarts starts again? That means the weekdays will be closed and can you get allowance from Dumbledore for the students come and work even when it isn’t Hogwarts weekend?” Smiling at the sisters Dana started mixing the batter for cheesecake quickly.