Decoration of Gnomes? ((Hope))

[kael]

It was going to be a quiet day, Kael could already tell. His dad was working - an unusual occurrence during the summer as his father usually took two weeks off work to take the family on holiday - and his mother had disappeared - to where, Kael could only guess, and probably end up with the wrong answer - only a few minutes after Lynnette had flitted away with her friends for the day. They had offered to let Kael go with them but a day at the spa, or wherever they had told him they were going, doing girly...things wasn't really his idea of fun, thank you very much. "What is it that attracts girls to spa's anyway?" Kael wondered out loud, ignoring his mirrors snide comment about him being insane for talking to himself so often. "I mean, Mum goes and then, a week or so later, Lynn decides to go. And she's not even a proper girl," Kael scoffed. "She cares more about flying than what she looks like, and yet she still goes to a spa? You were right," Kael added, looking at his mirror and rolling his eyes. "I'll never understand what goes through a girls head."

Kael clapped his hands twice, summoning a house-elf and accepting the piece of paper it handed him. It was summer, they had house-elves and yet he and his sister still had to carry out odd chores. No other pureblood teenager had to do that, Kael was sure. Hah. Kael snickered quietly. Lynne had gone out without doing her half of the chores, as was shown by her side not being crossed off. His sister was definitely going to be in trouble if she didn't get back in time to complete them. But that wasn't his problem; Lynnette was old enough to take care of herself now. "Collect the three books from Flourish and Blotts." Kael raised an eyebrow inquisitively as he read the instructions. "Which books? It isn't sensible to not list the books I need to get, you know." He complained, ignoring the fact that no one was around to hear him. "Flip the paper over, dummy." Well, almost no one. Could the mirror even be counted as someone, even if it did talk? Actually, getting it to shut up was the hardest part. "Ah." Kael nodded intelligently, blinking at the list of books on the other side of his parchment. "That makes sense." Kael admitted sheepishly. Grabbing the pouch of floo powder from his desk, Kael stepped into the fireplace and stated his destination, struggling to keep his balance. "Evil, evil powder of doom," Kael shot a glare at the fireplace when the journey had finished, hurrying out of the Leaky Cauldron when a witch standing in line to use the fireplace shot him an odd look.

"Two out of three books isn't bad, right?" Kael bit his lip doubtfully. He was still missing one book, and he had looked all over the store. In every section, just in case it had been misplaced. "How is a book about decorating muggle garden gnomes so hard to find? Does a book telling people how to do that even exist?" Kael questioned the bookcase, not really expecting an answer. What did his parents want with that book anyway? "We don't even have muggle garden gnomes. Or even wizarding garden gnomes, for that matter." Kael grumbled, restarting his search for the elusive book helplessly. Maybe he had been right. Maybe his parents were slightly...eccentric.

[hope]

Hope sat with her knees raised to her chest and her chin sitting softly against them, her dark brown hair pooling around her as she watched the outside world slowly tick by. This would be the last time she'd have to worry about being alone, the last time she'd know what true loneliness was. With her Hogwart's acceptance letter clutched in her hand she found the small bit of strength that she had lost since her grandmother passed away. Time seemed immortal as she sat there watching the small stream that ran through their property. The water gurgled and bubbled along its path as Hope just continued to stare at it, enamored by it's beauty and peace. How long she truly sat there she wasn't sure, but it seemed like hours, of course everything seemed like hours to her.

"Girl," a voice sounded behind her and Hope gently turned to look at her mother standing in the door way. "Go do something different than just sitting in here with that depressing look on your face. Oh and take this, go buy something useful with it."
"Yes, Ma'am," Hope responded as politely as possible as she unfolded her legs and stood. The sound of the bag of galleons hitting the floor drew Hope's attention back to the door where the quick appearance of her mother was gone as quickly as it had appeared earlier. She sighed to herself. At least she had seen her mother today, it had been a while since she remembered even seeing her show the slightest bit of concern for Hope. Then again Hope seemed to bring out people's ability to have tunnel vision.

Hope slipped on her shoes and pulled on the latest jeans and blouse she had bought with the little savings she had from her parent's money. It was a muggle outfit, but one that she preferred over the wizarding robes that she would be forced to wear later in life. Hope grabbed up the bag of galleons and stuffed it in her pocket as she took off for the fireplace. At least she would be doing something fun today. Her hand shook slightly as she took the powder and threw it into the fire. How she hated the Floo Network, but with that she jumped into the fire and called out clearly. The ground dropped out beneath her as she spun through the fireplaces one by one until reaching Diagon Alley. She stepped out of the fireplace, brushed herself off and headed toward Flourish and Blotts, the store she always made the first visit to.

Once inside the cozy, little, wall-to-wall, book store she started meandering around. She was a fan of the unusual books. Anything that sorta cried out strange, for instance the first book Hope came across, Dummy Wizards Guide for Finding More Gold With Your Pygmy Puff. Hope smiled at the title as she continued on her search, until her eyes fell across a book she just had to have. She didn't know why the book struck her as humourous, but she just had to buy it. She pulled the book off the shelf and read the cover A Guide to Decorating Muggle Garden Gnomes. She smirked as she started flipping through the pages, looking at the pictures in delight.

OOC: Sorry I didn't interact with Kael, but it seemed more entertaining for me to do it this way, besides Hope's not the kind of person to start a conversation.

[kael]

It was nowhere. Kael had come to terms with that fact almost half an hour ago. But his parents wouldn't accept that as an excuse, meaning that he had to find that book or not go home at all. For a second, Kael entertained thoughts of staying with a friend for the remainder of the summer holidays before remembering that he had few friends due to his dislike of people, and that the few friends he did have were out of the country. Because it was summer. If it wasn't summer, he wouldn't even be stuck in this stupid situation. "Summer should just die," Kael grumbled irritably, kneeling down to check the bottom shelf of the bookcase he had been surveying with great thoughtfulness. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and wincing when he felt its length. Darn it, why hadn't Lynnette told him it was getting too long? She knew he wouldn't think about it unless she said something. What else were twin sisters alive for?

There was nothing else for it, absolutely no other option. Kael had no other choice but to ask one of the shop assistants. Not only did he not like the patronising air most shop workers carried around them - like they were crowing over the fact that they knew something more about the shop than he did - but it was such an odd book to be asking after that he was sure to receive more than his fair share of odd looks. "Do you have any books on decorating gnomes?" Kael reached out to stop one of the workers, ignoring the curious look he was sent. "Yes, we do have those books in stock. Try towards the back of the store, that's where we store our...less asked after books." He suggested helpfully, amusement gleaming in his eyes so brightly that Kael couldn't help but to dislike the man.


"Back of the store. Ahah!" Kael strode forward quickly, spotting the book he needed instantly. How could anyone miss it when it had such a glaring bright cover that jumped out at you? "Excuse me, please. Um...excuse me. Miss? Oh forget it. Move it, lady." Kael snapped, shifting from one foot to the other in anticipation. "Why do people have to move so slowly?" Kael sighed exaggeratedly, his temper fraying quickly. "Why are young people today so rude?" The woman sniffed haughtily but moved aside to let Kael move past politely. Kael stopped in amazement as he neared the bookshelf he had searched for for so long. There was actually a girl reading the book, a girl younger than himself. Amazing.


Actually, Kael corrected himself. There was a girl reading the last copy of the book he needed. When did his life become so difficult? Probably when his parents started to be interested in randomly named, odd books that they most probably wouldn't read anyway, Kael admitted soberly. "Ah, excuse me. Are you going to buy that book?" Kael asked the girl awkwardly, feeling rather stupid. Was he really going to argue with a little girl just to keep out of trouble with his parents? Kael paused, recalling the last time he had failed to complete one of his chores properly. His parents had made him feel ridiculously stupid because he hadn't gotten the correct amount of herbs for his mother, even though the Apothecary hadn't had them in stock so it hadn't been his fault. So yes, he was certainly going to argue with this girl if he needed to. "See, I need it for my parents. They sent me out to get it for them, and they'll be so disappointed if I return without it. And that's the last copy in stock," Kael wheedled hopefully, absolutely determined to get that book into his hands.

[hope]

Hope was entranced by the book, delighted by it. There were so many strange things a wizard could do to decorate an ordinary Muggle garden gnomes. One picture portrayed invoking a spell that made the gnome lifelike, making it blink and actually turn its head. Hope looked over the animation on the page with admiration as she tried to comprehend why one would do such a thing, but still she found it rather entertaining and knew that one day she'd try it just to say she had. Brown eyes skimmed the page, before turning to the next one, watching the small animation that accompanied each spell and smirked at the sight of the garden gnome's transformation.

"Ah, excuse me. Are you going to buy that book?"

The sound of a voice ripped through Hope's ears, through to her brain for interpretation and then back down to the rest of the nerves that would be needed for a response. Her eyes had dimmed a little and the smile was suddenly gone. How it appeared and disappeared so suddenly when people invaded her small space. She glanced down at the book in her hands and then back up at the tall boy before her. Hope didn't know him, of course that didn't mean much, since she didn't know anyone really. Her parents had pushed away long enough that most people didn't even realize that the King's had a daughter and most of them didn't really care one way or the other as long as Hope stayed out of the way and out of sight. Her fingers caressed the book lightly as she closed it softly. After a second of thought she turned her eyes back to the boy in front of her.

"I don't see why it's so important for you to get this book. Besides I found it first and was planning on buying it," Hope said as she pulled the book into her body and crossed her arms over it. She wasn't about to let some stranger that had rudely interrupted her take away the one book that she felt she had to have right then. It was a small joy to her, one that she didn't get very often. Not only that, but who did this guy think he was? You don't just walk up to someone reading a book and ask them if they're going to buy it and if they aren't to hand it over to them because they need it. No that wasn't how you went through life. Hope felt the need to teach this guy in front of her that lesson in life, but at the same time she was rather nervous. She was only 5' and this guy in front of her seemed to be at least a foot taller than her, or so it seemed. He was much older and that in itself gave him an advantage over her. Especially since she was not used to being seen by people or even talked to for that matter.

[kael]

His parents were insane; incredibly, absolutely, incurably so. Kael had come to terms with his parents - most notably his mothers - oddities a long, long time ago, even if his twin sister was having a slightly harder time with facing the facts. But that was her problem, not his. So why was he the one forced to deal with them, today of all days? Even the small spark of cruel amusement that he had felt at noticing that Lynn hadn't completed her list of chores - expecting him to do them for her, no doubt - had faded away after the first half hour of not being able to find that stupid book. Who really wanted to decorate gnomes? Especially when they had none? Where his parents going to decorate a strangers gnomes in the middle of the night? Or perhaps they were planning to practice on Lynnette or himself?

The temptation to slam his head against the bookshelf was just too tempting, especially so when he heard the kids response. "It's important for me to get that book for reasons that you don't really need to know," Kael responded stonily, pushing back his urge to simply grab the book and run when he realised just how stubborn the girl was going to be. But really, why should he have to explain himself to anyone? It was a simple request. If she was really planning to buy the book - and not just being childishly stubborn - then fine, but if not then why shouldn't she hand it over so that someone - like himself - could actually buy it. Besides, it wasn't like she could actually cast any of the spells listed in the book, he complained mentally. After all, she was like, what, nine?

He had gone about this in the wrong way, Kael realised, something clicking within his mind. This girl was like a miniature version of his sister - perhaps all girls were the same at the age? - and he had to treat her as such. Annoying, most certainly, because he didn't have the patience to deal with such stubbornness, but it had to be done. Bribes always worked. But what could he bribe this child with? Kael eyed her thoughtfully, noticing the protective stance she had, her arms hugging the book to her defensively, and felt a small ripple of guilt tear through him. His shoulders slumped in defeat. No wonder he couldn't refuse his sister anything when he couldn't even demand a book from the clutches of a stranger. He was weak when it came to refusing people anything unless they demanded to read one of his fictions. That, he could easily refuse. "Fine," Kael shrugged easily, his disappointment and frustration not showing on his face. "You take the book, and show me one of the gnomes when you're old enough to decorate one, okay?" Kael paused just before he was about to walk away, really not wanting to return to his parents lecture when they heard he hadn't gotten the third book on the list. "Want an ice-cream?"