Summer had passed fast and without a hitch, much like Dorian's school shopping, or so it seemed. The shopping spree had already concluded two days ago, dragging the Vaughan household around Diagon Alley for an assortment of different items. However, Dorian could not for the life of him manage to procure the illustrious remembrall. School was to start in three days time and Dorian remained empty-handed. The time for action was now.

Dorian had found himself split from his family in the midst of the alley, hastily running shop to shop, retracing his steps. Perhaps it was here? Or maybe— Perhaps it was there? the thoughts goaded him further, arriving at the same frustrating conclusion every single time. The growing frustration and the crowded streets proved to be quite the strain on the mind of the boy.

Dorian was on his fourth return to Flourish and Blotts. The quaint quiet that most bookshops kept was calming, and felt like a piece of home amidst the chaos of the crowded street. He'd wipe his teary eyes upon his sleeves, before taking his usual gander around the place for whatever might look like a "remembrall".

...

Of course. Of course it wasn't here! You've been running in circles for the past- how many minutes now? What does it matter? You've been wasting time! The frustration burnt within Dorian's young psyche, as thoughts of scoldings, taunts and what-ifs ran rampant. As another young wizard passed by the boy, an idea sprung to mind—
What if i were to ask for help?
The thought cleared the frustration obscuring his mind, as Dorian was now facing a new challenge: Approaching someone new.

A chill ran down the boy's spine for every step he took in his approach. He gently reached out and tugged at the other wizard's sleeve as they passed. His brain would then scramble to find the right words to say— Hi? Hello, how are you? Excuse me, i've got quite the issue here—

"Ex-uh, excuse me.. I've got quite the co-conundrum, you see..." He paused for a while. Conundrum? Really? Do people even say that?
"Okaysoireallyreallyneedtofindaremembrall" gasp "Doyouknowwhereicouldfindone?"
He blurted out, his words melding together as he nervously mumbled.
Dorian took a deep breath, wiping his teary eyes, composing himself before repeating.

Another day, another trip back to Diagon Alley. Eleanors mother had taken her there to get school supplies last week, but since then she's been returning over and over for one simple reason; books. There are tens of hundreds of books that Eleanor had never read or even heard of! Her goal now was to read and learn as much as she can, studying the books she enjoys to get a better grasp of things such as story structure, character dialogue, world building and so on and so forth. Sadly, however, she didn't exactly have the funds to purchase and read as much as she so wishes.

Eleanor did have one other goal which was bestowed upon her by her mother, who was at that same time off socializing with other parents of the upcoming first years. This goal was extremely simple... meet and possibly befriend one witch or wizard around her age. This may seem simple to most, but to Eleanor this could cause troubles. She wasn't used to meeting new people, as in her town everyone had always known each other, and Eleanor already had her very few friends whom she was perfectly content with. It's not that she is opposed to people in general, it's just that she didn't like most people.

Eleanor couldn't exactly ignore this problem goal of hers, much to her dismay. So while she walked around, exploring Flourish and Blotts, she looked around to see if anyone there seemed to be around her age. First she saw an elderly man, who after quickly picking up a nondescript and decrepit book, sort of like himself, Eleanor thought, he quickly left. Then she saw two wizards walk in, they seemed to be maybe 5th or 6th years, which didn't intimidate Eleanor, but her mother specified that this person she approaches needed to be close to her in age.

So, when she suddenly felt a tug on her sleeve and turned around, relief struck her like the Hogwarts Express. She didn't even have to approach anyone, as this person came right to her! The boy seemed rather frantic, slurring his words, crying and shaking throughout his whole body, it almost felt like he'd rip her sleeve right off. This wasn't the usual person Eleanor would want to befriend, but she would rather take this than have to keep looking for someone else. After the boy finished asking his question with full clarity, Eleanor responded calmly and sternly
"Of course I can help. The remembrall, you say?"

As Eleanor started searching through her mind to remember where she had gotten the remembrall, she quickly realized that it was her mother who had gotten that for her while she was searching through this very shop they were stood in. She was shook. Eleanor had no idea where to find the item that this wet puppy of a boy needed so desperately.
"O-oh, yes, uhm, the remembrall... yes. Let me think..." Eleanor said with a fake confidence and now shaking a little herself, it was as if the boy had cursed her.
"W-well I, uh, I think it was... I-I think it was in..." She continued, now visibly distressed. Trying to keep up her appearance, she somehow got the idea to simply lie to the boy with the most confident voice she could muster up in this moment.

Dorian looked at the stranger, puzzled. His face was a reflection of the mind; a befuddled mess betwixt his ears. Ah, of course. The magic shop! Just the promise of an answer pulled him up from his frustrated state. He smiled at the stranger, content with the answer, nodding frantically in appreciation and answering back.
"Ohh! Of course! The magic shop!"

Dorian turned, ready to embark for this "magic shop". How could he have missed it? It was then that he froze. Was this girl messing with him? Her answer seemed most genuine at the time, surely this would have been a mistake! He slowly turned around, his face turning quite inquisitive.
"Err.. The magic shop.." He repeated.

The angst surrounding the boy had seemingly disappeared, now replaced with an aura of bewilderment, constantly questioning if this girl was messing with him or not. She certainly didn't seem like the type to lie, prank or do any of the sort. She seemed rather pathetic, almost like himself. He snorted, before realizing— If this certainly was a joke, Dorian found it quite amusing.

"Which one?" He retorts, stifling a giggle.
"They're all magic. Are you joking?" He asks, this time with a wide grin,
the anxious mess that first stood there pleading having now seemingly disappeared.
"You're funny." He said, now extending a hand to greet the person properly.
He points outside with his free hand, before continuing. "I've been up and down the street for.. Uhh.. Quite some time? I just need a pointer, or perhaps you could show me where you found it!" His fleeting mind had seemingly forgotten the greeting for a moment.

It's all over. Eleanor thought immediately after giving her rather questionable response, her mind and body no longer corresponding. The first person she'd spoken to other than a shopkeep and she, at least in her mind, had completely ruined her chances. No way this boy would respect her at this point. The Magic Shop? The damn Magic Shop??? As he started speaking, she couldn't even hear any of what he said, but then she heard what sounded like a name and snapped back to reality.

So, instinctively she put out her hand and said with some slight confidence regained "Eleanor! Prichard! M-my name's Eleanor Prichard. And... I don't actually know where to get the remembrall... Sorry." Simply being honest somehow made her feel much better, but also worse in a way. She was hoping to be a guide to this poor boy, but perhaps she can be his friend instead? No matter how this would go, this was her first and maybe only chance.

"We could maybe go around and check together? It might be easier if we put our brains together." Eleanor suggested, dearly hoping the boy would agree so that she could make her mother proud. While befriending this boy would be a nice bonus, the most important part was obviously to make her mother happy, at least that's what Eleanor thought in the moment.

Dorian was disappointed that he couldn't find the answer he was looking for, his gaze averting to the side. The invitation to share this monumental task with someone else was a consolation, if anything. This girl is pretty weird, Dorian thought to himself, his emotions seemingly switching up yet again as his cheery smile left his face. "Oh." He grumbled, with the most distasteful hint of disinterest. A facade he couldn't hold for long, however.

"I'd like that." He says in response to her query, his gaze meeting the girl in front of him yet again, now with a faint smile. "As to where to start? Well.." He then began to list off the shops he'd been to:

• Madam Malkins, and how he's pretty sure it isn't there, but always finds himself checking the winter section to see if the remembralls are stored in the fuzzy, soft winter cloaks. Just in case.
• The Magical Menagerie, and how he'd always take the same route through the birds and lizards section. Surely it had to be there!
• Potage's Cauldron Shop, and how he'd been told off for playing with the scales. He's pretty sure it's not there.
• And lastly, Flourish and Blotts... where he found Eleanor! But no Remembrall in sight.

Once he'd finished listing off the shop's he'd visited, Dorian was overcome by a sense of newfound determination. He took Eleanor, his new acquaintance by the wrist and rushed out the store.