^{Sunday || June 23, 2024}

Two nights ago was the month's full moon. While the transformations have not gotten easy, Colby had a sense of relief. For nearly a year, her transformations have been being by herself in the basement of her home. Starting next month, she was beginning camp and soon after, Hogwarts. Her relief is a new setting, but it did not mean that she was not nervous for the unknown. What was it going to be like to transform with others?

Luckily, she had a good month before needing to confront those thoughts and feelings. Colby pushed them to the back of her mind after her parents had shared that they were going with her and her brother to get Colby school supplies for Hogwarts. Colby had experience of being in school, and it wasn't that engaging to her, but maybe having various subjects like magic or flying can shift her mindset.

Colby dressed for the summer with a green v-neck short sleeved shirt and high-cut blue jeans with a tad bit of flare on the bottoms. This was a new outing for the family as Colby, being the oldest, was now preparing for Hogwarts. Her brother, Darius, now seven years old, seemed to be excited for the outing as well. Both children were at the door, waiting for their parents to get their final belongings before heading out.

Some walking and a couple tubes later, the family had arrived at the wall of Diagon Alley. The wall opened and they walked in, seeing the hustle and bustle of the wizarding culture. The alley was extremely crowded. Colby's mother urged their family to the side of the alley to make a plan. She took out Colby's school supply list and handed it to her. Colby looked at it and, for a second, was overwhelmed about how many things she had to obtain for one school year. After a minute of scanning, she put the list in her own pocket. "Let's go to Flourish and Blotts. I need more things there than other stores," she planned. Her parents nodded and they all stayed together making their way to the popular book store.

"POTIONS FOR SALE!"

"BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!"

As they walked, shopkeepers had been blurting out their deals to anyone who would listen and react in the alley. Some had caught Colby's attention, but her father had reared her to keep going with their plan. "But it's buy one get one free. I want to know what's free," she argued and her father gently pushed her away from the shop and towards the book store. "Let's check it out later," he said, possibly lying to get her mind off of it.

Finally, they had made it to the book store. Colby looked up at the sign and was about to walk in when her brother had seen the ice cream shop nearby. When Darius had his mind on something, he would do whatever he could to get it. "There Darius goes again," she said, rolling her eyes. Both of her parents gave a matching scowling look at Colby, already overwhelmed with their seven year old forcefully making his way to the ice cream.

"Honey, why don't you go in the book store and we will help Darius. Here, take some coins. We'll be out here," her father said, urging her to go in the book store and get whatever shopping done while they handle a difficult tantrum. Colby knew that Darius was going to get what he wanted and she did not want to be a part of it. She shrugged and held her hand out, taking the coins and slipping them into her front jean pocket. "Good luck!" she teasingly sang before walking into the store.

It was like walking into a different world. Every nook and cranny was decorated with books. Books were horizontal or vertical on all shelves. Were things in an order or just shoved in wherever they fit? She thought, wondering how long it would take to get all that she needed. Colby pulled out the list from her pocket and looked at what was first on her list:

Books
- Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger;
- Book of Spells by Miranda Goshawk;
- Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling;
- The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble;
- Hogwarts, A History by Garius Tomkink;
- A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot;
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander.

Going in order of the list, Colby began to look for "Magical Drafts and Potions" by Arsenius Jigger. As she searched, nothing seemed to be in any category order. Who the heck put this shop together? They suck. she thought, her emotions running high with irritation. She began to look to the left of the shop and scanned bookshelves finding this one book (of many). By the time she got to the middle, Colby had found the book! Problem? It was on the highest shelf and she was unable to reach. That did not stop Colby. She found a small step stool and grabbed it, bringing it over to where she needed it to be. She stepped on the ladder and alas, was too short to reach. "Damn it," she swore, still trying to reach for the book, her feet on her toes.

@Jude Lumiere

Colby continued to stretch her arm as much as she could towards the book that she needed. It did not help that it was not only on the top most shelf, but also pushed in all the way, making the tips of her fingers yearning to feel the book's spine. Come on..., she urged herself as she felt her feet pinch from being on her tippy toes.

"Need some help?"

Colby did not move an inch. She looked to the side with just her eyes to see that someone was nearby and had offered to help her. While it was a kind gesture, Colby was not a charity case. She was going to do this on her own and wasn't going to have someone help her. "No," she said, sounding constipated as she was continuing to stretch for the book. After a few seconds, Colby put her arm back down and came down to the soles of her feet. She sighed and crossed her arms, turning her waist to look at the girl who wanted to help her. Colby looked her up and down and rolled her eyes.

"Pfft. How would you even help? You're not much taller than me. You'll struggle just as much, if not, worse," Colby asked bluntly, her eyebrows raised while waiting for an answer. There was no way in hell, whatsoever that this pretty blonde-haired girl was going to do something better than her. Colby even judged her appearance of guessing she would not even reach the top shelf as much as Colby could.

Colby looked over to the salesperson to find that they were busy with other customers. So having her or Colby reach out to them would not be an option. Well, it was an option, but not one that gave a quick solution. There had to be a way to get the book. She looked around and saw on the floor that there were books piled high like decoration. It gave her an idea.

"If you really want to be useful, you can find me a really thick book. Maybe two of them," she said, seeing if the person would go out of their way to help them. If not, then she would know that it was just 'being nice' and not actually meaning it.

@Jude Lumiere

Perhaps there was more to this girl than Colby had thought. The way she glued her gaze on Colby for a long period time showed that she had a lot of confidence in herself. Colby respected that. Not many were able to hold eye contact for that long to make a statement. Of course, it did not stop Colby from looking right back. When she felt it was long enough, a small smirk was painted on Colby's face.

"I guess you can be useful," she said, while quickly getting off the step stool to place the two large, thick books at the top of the stool where she had just stood. She placed them carefully in the middle, making sure that it was balanced on the stool and the books looked 'safe' enough to climb on.

"What's your name?" she asked, taking step by step on the stool and lastly a big step to get on the books. Before fully having the step take on her entire weight, Colby tested it by having one foot on and seeing if the books moved even the slightest. So far, so good. Using the shelving in front of her, Colby lifted herself onto the book with all her weight; her two feet standing on them. Secure. Perfect. Now to see if her idea had worked.

Colby looked up at her book and reached up again, her feet flat on the books. This time, she was able to touch the spine of the book, but did not have a good grasp on it yet. Edging even higher on her tippy toes, Colby felt the tip of the book and pulled it back, loosening it from its neighboring books. Finally, it was in her possession. She grabbed the book and slowly climbed down.

"Great, I got one out of so many," she sighed, hating the fact that she was going to go through an entire scavenger hunt for these books. "What books are you getting?" she asked, "just a heads up that nothing seems to be organized here," Colby added, while taking out her list. She mentally checked the first box and moved onto the second item. It was the "Book of Spells" by Miranda Goshawk.

@Jude Lumiere

A sense of accomplishment was still jumping through Colby's veins feeling the first book on her list in her arms. She could have put away the large books, but it seemed to fit in with the aesthetics of the room. In other words, it looked completely normal.

Jude. Her name was Jude. Was that a real name? A nickname? "I've never heard Jude be a girls name," she said in passing, while continuing to look shelf by shelf for her next book. "Maybe your name was supposed to be 'Judy'," she added with a shrug. Wow, it was beyond unorganized that Colby couldn't help but to get irritated again. "Anything can be organized," she disagreed with Jude. "Sounds like whoever works here is just lazy."

Somewhat nearby, Colby had found the book she was looking for. Luckily, it was not on a high shelf. This time, it was at eye level. Colby grabbed the book, and held it along with the first book she found. She realized early that this was going to be a heavy run in the bookstore. She began to look around, not for the next book, but if there was a cart or basket that she could put the books in.

"Oh, I'm Colby," she said, not looking at Jude, but instead fixated on finding something to hold her books in. So far, there wasn't anything. How did the shopkeeper expect their customers to buy loads of books? What a terrible marketing strategy. According to her parents, this was the only main bookstore in their wizarding community. How could that be possible?

Colby finally looked over at Jude and wondered how many books she was going to get. If she was going to get one or two books, maybe she could help Colby carry her books. Colby looked to her list and counted that she was supposed to get a total of seven books. "How many books are you getting?" she asked, wondering if her plan would work. It wasn't until Colby saw the book that she was holding. Its title was so familiar. Colby looked at her list and saw that it was one of the books that she was supposed to get. It seems that her plan was foiled. The blonde-haired girl was probably getting the same amount of books as her, and in a way, they were going to be opponents in finding these books within this terrible bookstore.

@Jude Lumiere

Touché.

Colby could not help but to smirk back at Jude's retort. While it was not creative to use the same thing back at someone, it was still a good shot. The name she chose that Colby should have been, Colby did not understand. Now did Colby, that started with the letter 'C' relate to Nicole that started with the letter 'N'? Even more so, they did not even sound alike to her. Colby thought it was just a throw away line to try and get to her level.

Two books were in Colby's hands and five more books needed to be found. If these books were easier to find, then perhaps it would be a cinch. But no. She would have to lug a pile of books around the entirety of the store, looking for each book she needed for school. Her mother, a Muggle-born, had brought Colby and her brother, Darius, to a popular Muggle bookstore called Waterstones Piccadilly. Every book known to man could have been in that bookstore, and the best part? It was organized by genre and the surnames of authors. It made it for easy book searches. And even more best parts? They had a basket for people to use to place the books they want to purchase in. They obviously got their crap together and they weren't as old as this bookstore.

Colby watched as Jude found another book for her, adding her total to carrying two books. She looked at the title and then back to her list. It was definitely one of the seven. Maybe, just maybe, there would be more than one copy nearby that one. Colby walked over to Jude and looked around the shelf that the book had come from. Aside from a slender hole where the book had once been, there was no other copy. "Dammit!" she sighed.

"Well great. If you're getting the same books as me, then we're just going to be here all day finding them," she grumbled, rolling her eyes. "And yes, I'm starting this year. That is, if I can find all my supplies," she answered, continuing to look from shelf to shelf to find the book she needs on her list. It was immediate that Colby had found Miranda Goshawk's "Book of Spells" on a shelf. As she was trying to grab it, she saw that it was for Grade 2, or for second years. She groaned and put the book back, still on the hunt for the first year version.

Colby looked over to the front of the store to see that the shopkeeper was free of customers. She could go and ask the employee for help, or, grunt and moan as she lugs and searches for her books. The minute Colby took a step towards the shopkeeper, a family entered the store and were quick to ask where books were. Another plan as failed.

"There has to be an easier way to get these books. Also, why the heck do we need so many books? My school doesn't have this many. Actually, we don't really have books at all," she said, thinking about it. Most of the books stay at school, and teachers were often quick to give worksheets to their students. "Are you used to this many books?" she asked Jude, not entirely caring for the answer, but the company was helpful in keeping her a tad bit sane.

@Jude Lumiere

It was obvious that this person had very good intentions. She seemed to want to work together and bond than to be out for themselves. Unfortunately, Colby was not the bonding time and her intentions were to get her stupid books and leave this store so that she could go get other exciting items like her wand, for example.

She did question her family's whereabouts, however. Would ice cream take this long? Maybe there was something else that Darius wanted or needed and they bought into it so quickly. It was very much like them.

Colby thought about Jude's question to work together. It was a kind thought and always good to team up with someone to get something done, but for some reason Colby wasn't into it. She just wanted to get out of there and it only meant searching for a book for longer. Colby had thought about the fact that if Jude found most of the books first and she needed to keep searching. She looked at her load of books, and then her green eyes looked at her own load. If one put their books together, that was already four books found. Colby would only need to find three. An idea formed.

"Sure, we can look together," she said, "I'm happy to hold your books for you while you look for the others," she offered with a small smile. Once she got those books, she was going to search as fast as she can in finding the last remaining books in the store. This plan, according to Colby, was brilliant. She waited for Jude to answer, in hopes that she would accept.

@Jude Lumiere

Rolled for Perception:

Reducio

Did it work? Jude was willingly giving Colby her books. Now, she was carrying four books in her arms and although each book on their own was not heavy, it surely was when nestled in her biceps. Now was the time to get as many of the other books as possible and make a move to leave. The problem? Colby had a gut feeling that Jude wasn't the typical "blonde" to just fall for something like this. The way she raised her eyebrow at Colby when shared with the idea, and her tone of voice. The intonation of words was not normal.

As Colby was thinking about seeing how to get away with her plan, her thoughts were interrupted by Jude herself who was asking if she was going to help. Colby made a face to show she was bothered. "What? You need help walking up some stairs?" she asked with irritation."If you found a book, just get it."

Perhaps there was not a good end-game to this plan. Let's say Jude finds most of the books, then what would Colby do? Just grab all seven and leave for the checkout? This was obviously not a perfect plan, and if Jude knew-- which Colby was sure she knew-- then it would only be worse. "Here," she said, giving Jude her books back. "They are too heavy for me." The perfect excuse to end the plan. If she would accept them right there, then Colby would hand her the books in-hand. If not, then Colby would place the books on a nearby tall pile of books closest to Jude for easy transfer.

It was nearing a half hour of being in the bookstore and it felt like too much time spent. Colby just wanted to get her books and leave. To think, she had other stores to go to after this. What was it? Potion supplies? Clothing? Wand? Ugh, it was too much to count or even think of. Colby rolled her eyes to herself and made her way towards the other side of the room to look over the shelves for the next book on her list: "Magical Theory" by Adalbert Waffling.

After some time of staring from shelf to shelf, Colby finally found the book she was looking for. Three out of seven done and more than half left to go. She saw that it was not the only copy of the book. Two of the same book was nearby each other, and it was maybe one of the books that Jude needed. Colby looked away from the book and down to the ground. She had a dilemma. Does she actually help the person or just get what she needs first? As much as she could be an ass to others, she cleared her throat and held her books in one arm against her hip, taking out her shopping list to see the next book. "A book you need is right over here," she said, referring to the extra copy of "Magical Theory", while her eyes were glued to her shopping list.

Next up: "The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection" by Quentin Trimble. Just the thought of that title was interesting to Colby. What did it mean to protect herself from dark forces? What kinds of dark forces? Colby felt like she got a hint in what this year's learning would be like. "What do you think Hogwarts is like?" she asked Jude while looking for the next book. Colby, unaware that Jude was a second year, had thought that she was of her age and entering Hogwarts for the first time this year.

@Jude Lumiere

Colby listened as the blonde girl explained her experience at Hogwarts. It seemed like a magical place. It matched the theme of the same stories that she had heard from her parents. One thing Colby would not be expectant of would be the amount of drama that may occur within the stone walls. Her parents had mentioned something about hags, dolls, and other random accounts that have happened at Hogwarts, but it never phased Colby. What was she to know?

Magic was magic, and there was always a beauty to it that excited many, but also a terror that frightened some. And this year, she was going to experience just that. But first, she needed to get herself ready and finally get those books that she had been searching around for. It could have been close to an hour by now and Colby wondered what was taking her parents so long to see how she was doing. Then again, her parents are probably wondering what was taking Colby so long, too.

Colby only had a couple more books to find. She needed to focus on the books and move on out to the next store. "Well, see you in Hogwarts," she said, giving the Hufflepuff a small smile. Jude was most likely not someone Colby would be spending a lot of time with at Hogwarts. There wasn't a vibe from her and Colby was not someone to force a friendship or vibe with someone. She was also older and had more experience. If anything, Colby would want to meet someone with the same perspective as her and grow into their magic together. But who knows who that would be. It's all unknown.

After another thirty minutes of searching, and in a way, not bumping into Jude again, she had finally found all seven of her books. Some were stacked with books from the ground, some were high on the shelves and others were scattered in the middle of shelves. This place needed a day of organization. It was crazy to think that people found this to be okay. It was almost like it would be a day's outing just to find a book to read. Rolling her eyes from exhaustion, she walked over to the cashier who was just finishing helping another family. Colby placed the books on the counter a little too loudly and the saleswoman began to look at each book. She told Colby an amount, and Colby was happy to pay her whatever it was just to get out of there.

Colby then took all seven of her books and went for the door. Her parents and brother, Darius, were still by the ice cream area. Colby walked over and put her books on the table, looking annoyed. "I want ice cream now," she said, feeling like her book search and find was an accomplishment on her own and she deserved the treat. Her father, looking at the time, and how many books she needed nodded and went to the ice cream stand with Colby. A treat well deserved.

THREAD FINISHED