3 Oct 2019, 02:10
Leading the Blind (part 2)
Thursday: April 26, 2018
After 4:00 pm
Once safely across the street, Heather answered, "Yeah, that's right. We moved here; I want to say about a month ago. Maybe a little more. My birthday was about two weeks ago, and we moved here a few weeks before that. I wasn't too happy about that. I think the place is called Worcestershire, but I don't know how far that is from London."Previously in Leading the Blind (part 1):
ReducioLearning what Heather's disability was, didn't bother Andrew at all, and it certainly wouldn't deter him from getting to know her better, like he would with any other ordinary person. In fact, it was kind of interesting… He wondered what it was like, "seeing" or rather, sensing things from Heather's perspective.
"Glad to be of assistance," Andrew said with a jolly tone, stepping out into the street as he guided Heather along. His focus then shifted to steering the both of them carefully yet swiftly across the center lane of traffic. Once they reached the other side of the street, Andrew felt at ease to pick up their conversation again.
"So, you're from America? And you just moved here, to England right?" He gave a pause in between for Heather to answer each question. "How long have you been here? Where do you live?" --He followed up quickly with-- "I'm from Romford, if you know where that is. Havering. It's about an hour's drive from here. I take the Floo though, if you know what that is. Pretty much, you just step into a fireplace, throw down some Floo powder, say the name of the place you want to go to, and then poof! You're there! It's like teleportation. That way my parents don't have to drive me here every time."
A little ways farther, and they'd be at the post office. An airy building lined with plenty of windows, home to dozens of owls, some of them perching for a rest, but mostly a steady stream of them swooping in and out with parcels and envelopes clutched in their beaks and talons. Andrew had to duck slightly to avoid getting whacked in the head by a box-shaped package, as a large brown owl zoomed past him on its way out.
Once Andrew got his hands on a slip of paper and a quill pen, he'd turn to Heather and say, more or less uncertainly, "You can write though.. uh, right?" He wasn't sure how near-sighted she was, if Heather could see things up close. Either way, Andrew was prepared to write the note for her, addressing it to Grandpa Bob, letting Heather's guardian(s) know that the pair of them would be waiting at the Magical Menagerie. Andrew would write down his own name too, first and last. In case Heather's folks wanted to scan his identity or something.
Andrew would then scribble down a separate note for his parents as well, letting them know that he had purchased his vials and would be home a little late, since he was spending time with a friend.
He'd pay a few knuts to have the two owls delivered, and then Andrew and Heather would be on their way, to the pet shop.
She blinked in confusion at him as he mentioned Floo. "The only 'flu' I know about is the sickness. You know, that nasty bug that leaves you too sick to do anything for weeks. Wizards travel by fireplace? I would've thought they used brooms, but I guess that would stick out too much, huh? That sounds pretty cool. But what do you do if the place you want to go to has more than one? Or if it doesn't have a fireplace at all? Most people nowadays use them for decoration, or else have gas pipes and block up the chimney, if they have one at all." She suddenly had a mental image of Santa Clause stepping out of a fireplace and giggled to herself. "Sorry, you just got me wondering if Santa is a wizard and uses floo to get down chimneys," she explained.
As they entered the post office, Heather couldn't help but stop and stare around in amazement at all of the different owls, so much so that she barely avoided getting whacked by the same owl that Andrew had ducked. She had only ever seen one on tv in nature shows. It took a great deal of self-control not to reach out and pet the closest feathery blur, but she managed it by tightening the grip on her cane and sticking her free hand into her pocket with her school supplies list.
Andrew's next question distracted her. "Huh? Oh. Yes, I can, but I'm slow at it, and it's pretty sloppy. I do much better with typing braille." She took the offered pen--and stopped to run in between her fingers for nearly a full minute. Was this an actual feather quill?! Shaking herself out of the trance, she tried not to splatter the ink while dipping the quill and writing out the note. It wasn't as easy as she had thought, and despite her best efforts, the page was still stained by the time she finished and signed her name. Handing the note to him, she watched curiously as he paid for the delivery and handed the notes into the two waiting owls' beaks.
As they made their way to the pet shop, she asked, "What kind of pet are you hoping for, anyway?"
Failed 1st Year at Hogwarts at age 11. Is repeating 1st Year classes.
Andrew Vance
15 Oct 2019, 06:54
Leading the Blind (part 2)
"Really? Happy late birthday," he congratulated. "My birthday is March third, I'm eleven. If we didn't have your folks to worry about, I'd say we go to the ice cream parlor to celebrate, but maybe another time. . . I've never moved before. Been at the same house all my life. Guess you must miss your old home then. Made any new friends here, so far? Except me, of course. . . Worcestershire, that's a few hours away. Maybe we can visit each other sometime.""Yeah, that's right. We moved here; I want to say about a month ago. Maybe a little more. My birthday was about two weeks ago, and we moved here a few weeks before that. I wasn't too happy about that. I think the place is called Worcestershire, but I don't know how far that is from London."
Andrew shrugged uncertainly. "I dunno. How do owls know where to find people when delivering letters to them? Answer to everything is just 'magic'. Everything works out magically. I suppose the Floo wouldn't work without a fireplace… Maybe Apparition, but that's stuff's really risky. Apparition--" He'd tell Heather, trailing for words-- "It's like teleportation. Only wizards and witches can do it anywhere, no wands or anything, they just vanish and reappear wherever." He chuckled in embarrassment at his muddy description. The concept of Apparition hadn't exactly been clarified to him either; only briefly mentioned to him before, once or twice. "Meh, I don't know everything. Technically, I've only been a wizard for a month, so I've still got plenty to learn. . . Anyways, you got a fireplace at your new house, right? All you gotta do is sign up for the Floo Network, and then you can travel here whenever you want. Pretty sure your Grandpa Bob can help you with that. He's a wizard too, right?""The only 'flu' I know about is the sickness. You know, that nasty bug that leaves you too sick to do anything for weeks. Wizards travel by fireplace? I would've thought they used brooms, but I guess that would stick out too much, huh? That sounds pretty cool. But what do you do if the place you want to go to has more than one? Or if it doesn't have a fireplace at all? Most people nowadays use them for decoration, or else have gas pipes and block up the chimney, if they have one at all. Sorry, you just got me wondering if Santa is a wizard and uses floo to get down chimneys."
"I remember when I got my letter," he reminisced. "My friend Emma gave it to me. She's a second year at Hogwarts, but I had no idea that she was a witch until she and her parents gave me the letter. Me and my family have been friends with her and her family for a few years now, and we never suspected a thing until they gave me the letter, and then Emma's dad did a magic spell with his wand and told me I was wizard -- It was really crazy. Some days I still wonder if it's all just a dream. . . Anyway, Emma's the one that's been helping me get ready for school, so.. She's been teaching me everything. Mostly."
"I'd love to get a cat. I have two at home, Duchess and Princess. We got 'em from my Aunt Cynthia when they were kittens. They're about three years old. Duchess is gray and Princess is white, and they both have green eyes. They're sisters too. . . Do you have any pets? Oh, what about siblings, do you have any? I have a little brother, Kyle, he's eight; and an older sister, Stacy, she's thirteen. I wish they could come with me to Hogwarts, but…That's just the way the magic world is, I guess…" he trailed off, a bit downcast. He still didn't understand why Muggles had to be excluded (as much as possible) from the wizarding world. As the only wizard in his household, the overwhelmingness of it all sometimes made him feel lonely. Which did nothing to ease his nerves about the upcoming school year, knowing that he'd have to do it all on his own, without anyone in his family to guide him. Exciting yet frightening."What kind of pet are you hoping for, anyway?"
But now wasn't the moment to be depressed or thinking about his worries, especially in front of a newcomer. Andrew perked up. "Oh, and you can't forget your wand." Reaching into his knapsack, he pulled out a foot-long chestnut red shaft of wood, holding it out for Heather to examine. "This one's mine," he said proudly. "It's made of applewood, with thunderbird tail feather core." His giddiness arose, recalling the moment he and his wand had connected for the first time. "Every wand is different. There's so many combinations! You’ll probably get yours at Ollivanders, that’s where I got mine. I wonder which one you'll get. . . Trust me, once you have it…You'll feel it." His eyes twinkled knowingly.
Arriving at the pet shop, Andrew announced, "Here we are", and pushed open the door, enabling him to lead the way inside while holding the door open for Heather. A tinkling of a bell overhead could be heard simultaneously as the two of them entered the store, signaling their presence to the shopkeepers, Mr. and Mrs. Witticker. Andrew was already familiar with the elderly couple. He had visited the Magical Menagerie many times within the few trips he had made to Diagon Alley, and even though the Wittickers were aware that he had no intentions of buying anything, they were more than kind to let Andrew browse over their selection for as long as he wanted, even letting him play with or tend to a few.
"Andy, welcome back," Mrs. Witticker greeted with a warm smile. "Cookies on the counter, if you're hungry. Oh, and Rocky was sold yesterday, just so you know."
"Aw," Andrew pouted slightly, recalling the spunky brown tabby kitten he had fallen in love with, secretly hoping he'd get to adopt the little guy when Christmas break came around. But it was first come, first serve at the pet shop. Nevertheless, he was happy that Rocky had been placed in a new home.
"And I see you've brought company…?" Mrs. Witticker turned her gaze to Heather, as Andrew reached over to pick out one of the freshly-baked cookies from the plate on the counter.
"Want one?" He'd offer to Heather. "They're sugar cookies. At least they taste like it. They're really good. Mrs. Witticker makes them. Homemade," he said admirably.