Bored and books. (Esmeralda)

[Thomas Lightfellow G7]

“I'm running.” Thomas thought to himself as he ran around through a dark forest. “Why am I running?” He thought again to himself as he slowed down to a walking pace, Thomas heard something behind him and turned around. It was fangs claws aiming right for his head, he tried to reach for his wand but it was gone. He looked back up then suddenly it was all gone, it was replaced with image of his room. It was morning and the light was going directly into his window and poured all around his room. “I swear...” He muttered to himself as he sat up in his bed and leaded against the backboard. He hadn't had a nightmare in months and then suddenly there was one disrupting his wonderful night. Thomas sighed as he rolled out of bed and stood up, stretching as he yawned loudly. “I hope today gets better.” He said in a lazy tone as he walked toward the bathroom and toke a shower. He spent half the time just standing there letting the water hit him as he relived the nightmare.

He couldn't explain why he would have a nightmare without something triggering it, like a memory or a full moon but nether of those had happened. It was twenty minutes before Thomas exited the shower and everything in the bathroom was covered with steam which surprised him slightly, he hadn't realized just how long he had been in there. Thomas toke his time as he got dressed he had no reason to hurry, he had the day off from work. Things at work were pretty boring when a full moon wasn't even close, he normally just sat around or helped out the people in the Werewolf Registration office. A few minutes later Thomas emerged out of his room into a main hall of the second floor. He sighed as he made his way down to the kitchen. Being the only person besides the house elf in a mansion wasn't as pleasant as some people thought. Thomas didn't like how quiet the house always seemed to be but there was no cure for this, it was just him here.

The idea of getting roommate had crossed his mind once or twice when he first moved in but the idea of strangers just walking around his old house didn't sit right with him. He liked the house the way he had it even it was a bit lonely but that's why he normally went out when he could. Thomas had made two of the rooms into two quite large studies full of books but Hogwarts library still put his collection to shame. Aside from that the rest of the house remained the same aside from a few changes here and there. Thomas kept quiet as he made it to the kitchen and looked around then sighed yet again as he saw there was no breakfast. Normally the house elf made something but last night Thomas was planning to sleep in for once so he told her not to bother making anything.

He sighed one last time as he started to make something for breakfast. After a few minutes his search turned up something edible and he sat down to eat breakfast. He wondered where Mooky, his House elf, might have gone too probably cleaning in some other part of the house. How a creature can clean all the time and never relax somehow still baffled Thomas slightly. He finished breakfast then cleaned up after himself, he only gotten Mooky because he felt bad for her. She was crying on the fourth floor of the Ministry when he found her, her last home kicked her out and she needed a new home and Thomas needed help cleaning a mansion that had been empty for five years. He didn't need her to do everything for him.

Thomas walked around the mansion slightly bored which was starting to get annoying, he rarely got a day off and here he was wasting it by just walking around the house. With that thought he checked his pockets and make sure his wand was there and a couple coins, his wand was always by his side unless he was sleeping then it was on the nightstand. With that he closed his eyes and thought of a couple places till Hogsmeade came to mind and with that he apparated right into one of the normally empty alleys. “Nothing worse then apparating right into someone.” Thomas said with a slight laugh as he walked out of the alley and saw quite a few people walking around Hogsmeade. It was just another busy day at Hogsmeade he thought as he made his way to the first place that held any interest for him, the bookstore. Thomas was slightly obsessed with new books, he loved learning new things even after he was out of Hogwarts.

Thomas entered the bookstore and the first thing that hit him was unmistakeable smell of books, it was a wonderful smell unless they were old books. He looked around and saw that only a few people were in the bookstore so luckily it wasn't packed in anyway. Thomas slowly started to walk down the shelves that lined the walls and eyed the books hoping one of them would catch his attention. Nothing attracted him there so he looked through some more till he found his way back to the door, which opened as soon as he got there and in walked a girl probably a year or two younger then him. He wouldn't have said anything if he hadn't been so bored and she hadn't been so cute. “Hi I'm Thomas Lightfellow and if you need any help please ask me.” He said with a smile acting like he actually worked there for a second. The joke would have gone on much better if a real store clerk wasn't right behind Thomas. “You don't work here sir.” The older man said looking right at him, Thomas could hear the attitude in his voice and the way he looked too. “Well that doesn't stop me from helping her does it?” Thomas said laughingly as the man just huffed away annoyed it seemed. “Where were we?” He said now looking back and smiling at the girl.

[Esmeralda Mendez]

Esmeralda and her daughter were quickly adjusting to their new London lifestyle. They were able to spend a lot of time together since she didn’t yet have a babysitter for her daughter Mari, so they’d spent the past few days exploring the many parts of London. Today, Ezzie was going to sign Mari up for pre-school near their new apartment so she could focus on Mercy Street. Ezzie was actually thinking about making up a presentation for Hogwarts so she could teach the children of her old school about all that she had learned since the events at Mercy Street in her fifth year. What an amazing thing it would be to be able to touch the hearts and lives of the kids who were just first and second years while she was struggling in school. It was amazing how much she had changed within the past few years. She was no longer than angry depressed teenage pop star that was constantly under the limelight. Now, Esmeralda had values and a better hold on life. She knew she was in the right place and she knew she was doing the right thing. She had her daughter, her happiness, and her faith. That was all she needed in this life.

Even though Esmeralda would have been perfectly content living in the two bedroom suite at the hotel she used to work at, she knew the money in her account would eventually run out, leaving her and her daughter with no place to stay. So of course, Ezzie called up her old agent the day after she got back to London to set up an interview of some sort. The hour long interview had been a bit of a difficult ordeal to handle with a four-year-old squirming in her arms, but the adoptive daughter made for good publicity. Sometimes the questions got a bit personal, but for the most part they were pretty easy to give honest answers to. Things like “what did you do for all those years in the Caribbean” and “what are your plans now that you’re back on the radar” were pretty easy to answer. But then there were questions about Carson, TJ, and other things that were part of her very painful past. It was during this interview that Esmeralda realized that her ex-boyfriend TJ Turner was to be released from jail in about a month’s time and would be trying to make a comeback into stardom by hosting some sort of reality dating show. Just the thought admittedly made Ezzie sick to her stomach. But then she remembered a quote that she’d read aloud to her daughter one night about forgiveness. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you are heaping burning coals upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” The verse was powerful, and it was undoubtedly true. Ezzie shouldn’t feel sick that TJ would finally be put out of the misery of imprisonment. She should feel happy, because while the law might believe TJ got what he deserved, Ezzie believed there was a higher power who had yet to show him the price of his actions. Ezzie sighed, thinking about the interview she’d endured yesterday and the sleepless night and burdened morning that had followed.

Ezzie hadn’t seen or spoken to her two best friends in years. Ezzie felt guilty for this. While she was away in the Caribbean, Carson and Casey were suffering by themselves. For all Ezzie knew, Casey could be perfectly healed by now and they could be living happy lives just like Casey had always dreamed. But Ezzie didn’t know that for a fact. She was sure that regardless of the situation, Carson was angry with her. Carson McGreggor just wasn’t a forgiving person by nature. He held grudges, and he held them for a very long time. She needed to go see him, but she felt guilty just showing up at his door with a kid in her arms and an apology in her eyes. She had a small idea to bring him some sort of peace offering before just arriving at his home (wherever he even lived now) and Mari was begging for some new story books to read anyway, so she figured a trip to Hogsmeade was in order.

Esmeralda was a bit nervous to go to Hogsmeade with Mari for the first time, but she did have to go. She also had an appointment at Hogwarts later on to propose her idea for a Mercy Street presentation, so she figured she’d have to travel with Mari to Hogsmeade. Mrs. Jacobs had offered to care for Mari and let her play with little Gwen and Alex when Ezzie was too busy, but today the twins were at some private pre-school interview, so Ezzie was left to try apparition with her muggle four-year-old. “Now Mari baby, we’re going to go someplace special today. I’m going to buy you some more books and then we get to go to my old school. We’re going to use mami’s special way.” Ezzie said as she entered her room wearing her summer robes, where Mari was drawing on the large hotel bed. Seeing Ezzie’s robes, Mari looked up and smiled widely. She knew whenever Ezzie was wearing her robes and started mentioning the “special way”, magic would definitely be used and Mari would get to see something cool or go someplace interesting. Sadly though, the feeling of apparition was not the most comfortable of feelings—especially not for a four year old.

“Quiero ir!” She squealed excitedly, putting her sparkly pink sandals on in a rush. Ezzie couldn’t help but giggle. She took Mari in her arms and hugged her tight to her chest, letting her wait long brown hair loose around her. “Ready?” She asked her worriedly, hoping she wouldn’t have to drag a screaming little girl into the bookstore when they arrived. Mari nodded and Ezzie brought the image of the bookstore into her mind. A moment later, they were standing in front of the bookstore. Esmeralda looked down at her daughter. She seemed fine. Mari looked up at Ezzie blankly as if she was missing out on something. Letting out a sigh of relief, Ezzie let Mari down so they could walk hand in hand inside the store. Just as soon as they’d entered, a kind looking young man not much older than she was asked if she needed help. At first, she thought he was someone who worked in the store, but a moment later she found that he was just another costumer like herself. She shrugged. She didn’t mind either way, as long as he was offering help. “Well thank you Thomas. I’m Esmeralda. I was just looking for some storybooks for my daughter Mari.” Ezzie spoke, suddenly a bit embarrassed by her heavily pronounced Spanish accent.

Translations:

-Mami’s :: Spanish. Mommy’s
-“Quiero ir!” :: Spanish. I want to go!

[Thomas Lightfellow G7]

The first thing Thomas noticed was her accent, it was obviously a Spanish one which was rare to hear in Europe and the places around it. French, German and a few other random accents were very common but Spanish was rare. It even toke him a second to realize what kind of accent it might have been but he quickly pulled up Spanish in his mind. The second thing he realized was that there was a little girl right behind her who he hadn't even noticed. Probably because he was looking at her mother and because of how short she was and he didn't even look down that far. He was slightly embarrassed for not noticing her but that passed quickly as he just smiled down to her. “Well hello to you too.” He said with a warm smile then looked up to the mother once again. She seemed too young to be the mother but then again his own mother was only seventeen when she had him so she might have been even younger when she had her daughter.

“Note to self, watch my mouth there's a good chance she's married.” He thought to him for a second as he looked to the woman and now the child. He normally started complementing woman after awhile when he started talking to him. Once he figured out if they wouldn't be offended was when he normally started but even still he tried to never be that way with married or even possibly married woman. He just didn't want to get caught in some crazy love triangle that he would sooner or later come to regret. “Storybooks, yeah I just passed those a few minutes ago. Just follow me.” Thomas said with a laugh as he turned around and slightly started to walk to the section he had passed moments ago. It wasn't that far just a few feet away.

He stopped as he reached the section then turned to the child and mother and smiled. “Well here we are, pretty much from here and the next couple of shelves are all storybooks and other stuff for children.” He said with laugh as he noticed that he was now actually doing the store clerks. This was his day off and now he was helping someone do their job for free. He was sure the clerk probably still had an attitude with Thomas but if he realized the same thought Thomas just did he might just be laughing at him from behind the counter. He just shrugged the thought off, after all he did offer his help and helping people was fun too even if someone already had the job. Thomas did his own survey of the section as he looked around, he hadn't paid it much attention when he first went through here but now he was.

He recognized a few of the books from when his mother or one of his grandparents read them too him. They always read to him just before he went to bed, it was one of his favorite memories of his grandparents. They always came in with cookies or milk or something like that and they almost never forgot to read to him. They seemed to enjoy it just as much as Thomas did. He couldn't help but pull one out and look at it for himself, he remembered that it was one of his favorites when he was growing up. “If your just picking a random one, I personally like this one.” Thomas said with a warm smile hoping he wasn't being too creepy. A grown man helping someone find a kids book might give off that effect even if he didn't mean too. “My mom used to read it to me all the time, it's about a dragon with a tree branch stuck in it's foot.” Thomas said holding the book up and smiling slightly as he remembered how his mom used to read it too him.

[Esmeralda Mendez]

Esmeralda smiled at the man, blushing slightly because of her heavy accent. She supposed this was what three or four odd years away from England did to her way of speaking. He seemed like a decent enough guy, just looking for something to keep him occupied on a free day or something of the like. Ezzie could definitely respect that. She liked to think that she had a pretty good sense of who was genuine and who was just a downright creep. When she was with Mari back in the Dominican Republic, Ezzie was very trusting of the people and setting that she and Mari lived in. However, London was definitely a much different place. If Ezzie had even the slightest notion that this man named Thomas was up to no good, she would have had Mari out of here in a heartbeat, simple as that. But she felt pretty comfortable in this little Hogsmeade bookstore. Mari seemed to have liked it to, because she was fascinated by the books that were flying around the shop of their own accord. She smiled.

“She’s very easily fascinated by the magical stuff.” Esmeralda told Thomas, not drawing her eyes away from her daughter who had taken a seat on the floor and was admiring the pictures in some storybook about a magical pot. “Mari is a muggle, you see. She’s still getting used to all the magic. I got so nervous apparating her here, but she really toughed it out. I don’t even think she really noticed what was going on.” Ezzie said fondly, leaning on a bookcase. She smiled at the man who had been kind enough to help her and Mari out. She extended her arm to take the book he’d suggested and bent down to speak to Mari in Spanish telling her that the book might be of interest to her. She smiled, placing the other book down and admiring the pages of the new book Thomas had given her. “Dile gracias, Mari.” Ezzie reminded her, but she was already absorbed in the moving pictures of the story. Esmeralda rolled her eyes. Mari mumbled the words “Thank you” and continued on to admire her book. “It was very nice of you to help us out, even though you don’t work here. It was very kind of you.” She said thankfully.

But then Esmeralda remembered the other reason she had come to the book store. Carson had always enjoyed a bit of light thought provoking reading from time to time, and she figured it would probably be a good idea to give him some kind of book. But what kind of book did you give to your best friend who had been there for you since the beginning and yet somehow you couldn’t be there in his time of need? Should she get him a book about artists and their struggles or musicians and they’re lives? Or should she get him a book about friendship and remind him once again that she had been a terrible friend to him? The dilema made Esmeralda frown in spite of the generally light situation she was in. “Would you mind if I asked you something? You know, since you’re in such a mood to help in all?” Ezzie asked timidly.

Esmeralda couldn’t believe she was about to share her current life problems to a man who she’d only met about a minute ago. But Ezzie was smarter than to turn down help when it was offered to her. “There was another reason I came down here. I’m…looking for a book. I’m not sure what kind of book, but one for a very close friend of mine. He was always like a brother to me, and I…did something to him and his girlfriend that I’m not all too proud of now. I wanted to give him some sort of book as a kind of peace offering of sorts to come to terms with him, but I wasn’t sure what kind of book. He’s also a huge fan of music and the arts. Think you’d be able to help me out with this one? It’s fine if you can’t of course.” She told the helpful man reassuringly, praying he really would be able to give her some sort of answer.

[Thomas Lightfellow G7]

Thomas just laughed slightly as the woman explained that the girl was fascinated by magic then looked down to her and saw she had already found her way into one of the many books around them. She seemed to be totally focused on all the moving pages of the book. “Well I can't blame her.” Thomas said with a smile as he looked back up the women. He had always been the same way when he was little, he couldn't take his eyes off of anything magic related even if it was something small and unimportant. He just had to watch it happen or figure out how to do it, yet back then he was to little to do any of it so it was pointless but he still tried all the same. “A Muggle?” He asked himself in his head as he thought about it. Either the child was adopted from a Muggle family or she herself was a Muggle too, those were the only two ways he thought someone could already tell there child didn't have anyway of being a witch or wizard. He didn't really feel like asking a this point and didn't want to seem too nosey about her life.

“Really, well that's brave of her. Sometimes apparating with other people can be such a pain on both people, I have to do it a couple times every once a month.” He said with a smile as he looked at one of the shelves and looked down it to check out all the books. Apparating with another person could always be such a hassle, especially if that person happened to be a werewolf at the moment but it couldn't be helped. There was no other reasonable way to transport one all the way to the Ministry for safe holding till the sun came back up, you couldn't carry them on a broom and carrying them around wasn't very possible. Plus the risk of them waking up after being knocked out was always there so apparating was the fastest and easiest way to do the job. Even though the creatures of his work normally followed him in a nightmare every now and then he loved talking about work even if it was a small comment like that. It gave him a weird sense of pride whenever he did.

He just laughed as the woman handed the girl the book then spoke to her in Spanish, he couldn't make out one word of it. He then just laughed again as the girl mumbled thank you then the woman thanked him too. “There's no need to thank me, I was just randomly walking around here bored. I should be thanking you two, you gave me something to do for awhile at least.” Thomas said with a smile to the woman and noticed That Mari probably wasn't even listen as she was too preoccupied with her book. Thomas would have been the same way and he probably was when he was that age. Thomas was starting to feel like he had over stayed his welcome and was just about to go so the two could look at books without him being around till the woman asked him if he could help her once more.

“Sure I'd love to help, I'm just a big house-elf after all. Living to serve and all that.” He said with a slight laugh as he joked around with her a little. He listened as she explained her situation which Thomas wasn't expecting it to be like. Maybe a simple 'help he find another book' or something. He didn't plan to be helping her get a friendship rolling again. He didn't really mind, he had already agreed anyway and if he hadn't he still would have helped. Thomas never could turn down someone in need of help. “Well it's going to have to be something not many people have. Can't just grab a random book off a shelves for something like this I'm guessing.” He said with a slight laugh as he tried to think of something. He didn't have many books about art or anything involving music. All Thomas's books were about magic and ranged from any possible subject that even came close to magic.

Thomas stood there thinking for a second, he didn't really come up with much. Normally he was quick on his feet but he guessed that didn't apply to thinking of gifts for other people. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw the same store clerk from before and had a wonderful idea. Thomas thought they might have kept some of their really nice or rarer books in the back for safe keeping. “Hey sir.” He said to the man to catch his attention, he seemed to still be in bad mood from before. He made his way closer to Thomas then just looked at him and didn't say anything. “Yes, I'm looking for a book about music or art. Do you have anything in the back?” Thomas said with a warm smile trying to cheer up the man if possible and it appeared it wasn't possible. “How about Sonnets of the Sorcerer, it would be a wonderful read for you.” The man said in a dry tone as he recommended the cursed book to Thomas. “Your not very pleasant you know that, right?” He said with a smirk on his face slightly as he tried to hold back from laughing slightly. The man just sighed as he nodded his head then said he would go check for them then walked off to the back of the store. “Hopefully they keep their really good stuff in the back.” Thomas said with a smile as he looked back to the woman and the child, she was still reading on the floor.