Neither Pain Nor Pleasure ((Ed))

[Carey Brighton H5]

Carey had been stuck in business meetings all day and she was getting pretty antsy. She had been a bit freer lately, and it was starting to get to her. Her father had started to realize it and he was trying to nip it in the bud, but Carey wasn’t having that. She was finally growing into herself without the whole idea that she had to be the business woman all the time. It was still a huge part of her, yes, but that didn’t mean it had to be the only part of her. Carey was realizing this, and her father hated it. Mallory, her sister, loved it. Jeremy had no opinion on it, and her mother? Carey’s mother was just mirroring her father. She was so weak. Carey hated that, and she had about had it with her mother’s spineless ways…but she wouldn’t tell her that. She wouldn’t ever tell her mother how she felt about her actions. Carey was open minded, but she wasn’t cruel and heartless.

“Well, I believe that’s all the meetings for today, Carey,” her father was saying as he packed up his briefcase and the clients filed out of the board room. Carey nodded and stood, straightening her papers and then setting them in her briefcase, too. “We’re going to head back to the house, and go over the books for this month,” he told her as she lifted her briefcase off the table. She looked at him, sizing her father up. He looked much more intimidating than he was, “Actually, I already did that last night. I’ve cleared your schedule completely past these meetings, Father, so you and Mother can spend some time together. I’ve got to head into Diagon Alley for some school supplies,” David looked at his daughter and then nodded slowly before leading the way out of the boardroom, “Fine, but tomorrow we’re back on schedule.” Carey wasn’t surprised to find that her father wasn’t thankful for the time she had set aside for him and her mother. He wasn’t a family man. He was a business man, through and through.

They made their way out of the building and apparated (Carey by side along) once they reached the apparition destination. Instantly they arrived home and David went into the sitting room where her mother was. Carey set her briefcase down on the table by the door and made her way up into her room to change out of her business clothes. She slipped into a pair of jeans and a comfortable t-shirt with a pair of flats and then grabbed her wand just in case. She dodged her sister and her mother and headed toward the fireplace, throwing floo powder down and stating Diagon Alley as her destination. She was soon spit out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron and instantly Carey looked around the pub. She really hadn’t any need to get her school supplies yet, she couldn’t considering the letters hadn’t been sent out yet. She was just lying to her father to get out of the house for a bit. She was getting better at that.

Carey sat down at the bar and ordered a butterbeer, setting down a sickle as the bottle appeared in front of her. She took a sip of it and stared into space, lost in her own thoughts for a moment, that she didn’t realize someone had approached her and was trying to get her attention for one reason or another. Finally, she snapped out of her daze and looked over, “Sorry?”

((Sorry it took so long, but it is up. )

[Edward Summers R6]

The waist high grass swayed slightly in the wind, causing it to dance in a mesmerizing way. The mouth to an underground cave stood amongst this large dance. Large, dark and imposing it diswayed most travels from choosing to enter it. There it sat, quiet, surrounded by the dancing grass, unmoving, and showing no signs of life. Just than, small speck of light emerged from deep within the cave. It slowly began to grow larger and larger as it drew nearer to the caves entrance. Soon the dark silhouette of a tall wizard could be seen making his way to the entrance of the cave, an owl perched comfortably on his shoulder. Edward Summers stepped out of the cave and into the light of the afternoon. He sighed, glad for the sight and shielded his eyes with his hand as he looked up at the sky, glad to see the sun once again. Ed extinguished the light at the tip of his wand and raised a hand to pat the owl on his shoulder. "There there Nipper. I told you we would make it out of that one no problem." He said grinning as his owl nipped at his ear gently.

Ed wore a mixture of wizard and muggle clothes, any passerby would think he was an odd sight indeed. His muggle and wizard clothes resembled clothes that an archaeologist might wear. He looked slightly like the muggle fictional character, Indiana Jones, with a wizard twist of course, and no hat or whip. He sighed and patted the large rucksack on his back. The cave had been rumored to hold many ancient artifacts and tomes and the rumor had said that they were guarded by a very powerful spirit. Ed didn't know about any spirit, but he had found many old looking items and books, and with the amount of magical enchantments he had encountered in the cave. He felt that they were valuable. Finally it was time to return home.

"Hold on tight." He said as he turned on the spot and with a Crack disapperated. "Ooof!" Ed had never quite mastered flawless apperition. He had hoped to apperate just outside of the Leaky Couldron, but apperantly he had missed that mark. He was a bit down the street from it, and he had ran into a small fruit shack. Slamming his stomach on the shacks corner. The man in the shack turned to see the new customer and grinned, immediately breaking into his sale pitch. Shaking his head and offering many kinds of "No thank you"s Ed scrambled away and soon stood outside the door of the Leaky Couldron. "Almost home Nipper." He said as he stretched, wand held aloft. Nipper seemed to think this was the time to play.

He took off from Ed's shoulder, grasped his wand firmly in his beak and took off. Ed stumbled in surprise and watched the owl take off with his wand. "Hey! Nipper no! Come back." His words died away as the owl disappeared from site. "Oh........no..." He muttered. Without his wand he wouldn't be able to apperate, or open the secrete path to Diagon Alley. He looked around, what to do, what to do? Suddenly the thought struck him, Diagon Alley would be filled with many witches and wizards. Perhaps he could bother one of them to borrow their wand. Ed stepped into the pub and scanned its occupants. There were many mean and grumpy looking witches and wizards, none of them looked like the kind to share. Finally Ed spotted a young witch, she looked to be about Hogwarts age.

He approached her. "Um, Excuse me Miss?" She didn't appear to hear him, and it took him many tries to finally get her attention. "Hi. I'm sorry, but um......" He felt rather embarrassed to be asking this question. "But could I borrow your wand for a few seconds?"

[Carey Brighton H5]

Carey looked at the man who had been trying for so long to catch her attention. He seemed young, but not a student - possibly a graduate. She smiled at his question and looked quite taken aback, “My wand?” She repeated with a hint of confusion in her voice. Of course, it was odd to be asked if someone could borrow your wand because each wizard should have their own. Someone else’s wand wouldn’t work as well as their wand, and Carey knew this but she still hadn’t any idea why the man could be wanting her wand. She took a sip of her butterbeer and turned around in her seat to look at him face to face, “Don’t you have your own wand?” She asked in a polite tone of voice. She didn’t want to sound snappy, which was why she finished off her butterbeer and stepped off the stool. “You can borrow it,” Carey pulled out her wand and handed it to him, watching the dark violet wood slip between her fingers and into the man’s outstretched hand, “but don’t you leave my sight. I’ve heard of people stealing wands and I rather like mine, thank you.” She gave him a bright smile to let him know she was teasing and then sat back down on the stool.

She wondered why the man didn’t have a wand. Actually then, Carey let her imagination go. Perhaps he was in an outrageous duel and was disarmed and his opponent took it. No, that was…well, actually, that was rather possible – but she didn’t believe that had happened. This guy didn’t look like he would be much for duelling. Maybe he dropped it down a sewer. Yeah, that could happen, but then wouldn’t he have gone in after it? And that thought led to Carey wondering if the Ministry could track down wands to find if you lost them and give them back to you. She knew that if you broke your wand you could buy a new one, but why buy a new wand when your old one was perfect…it’s just lost? She chewed on her lower lip a moment, eyeing her wand with a wary look now. If the guy could lose his wand, she didn’t want him to lose hers as well. How did someone come to losing their wand? Obviously they roll, so I suppose you could drop it and have it roll away from you but even then you could end up chasing it. Carey sighed and shrugged as she looked at the man for a moment longer before looking around the pub instead.

Carey didn’t quite like the Leaky Cauldron. It gave her a feeling like she was in a filthy place, perhaps because of how dim it was. The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade gave a much friendlier feel and she liked to have lunch there more than she liked to have lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. In all honesty, the only reason she was eating their today was that she had spent so much time at Hogsmeade lately that it was so weird going there without meeting up with Loki. Carey smiled at the thought of Loki. It was safe for her to say that Loki had become probably her best friend over the summer. A part of her was worried what would happen when school started, though. They would undoubtedly drift apart. Loki had his friends that probably entertained him more than Carey did, and she had hers (although she’d admittedly say that none of her friends could compare to Loki). Carey was afraid, but she wouldn’t ever talk to him about it. If things happened, they happened and Carey would adjust. She was good at adjusting to things that she didn’t quite want to adjust to.

She pulled herself back to the present moment and offered the guy who had borrowed her wand a bright smile, “What do you need it for anyway?” she asked with a curios tone of voice.

((I want to point out my owl that I put up for everyone I post with. Please read it. )