Shape of Magic Chapter 25: School Shopping

<<<Amy Carlson>>>

Looking over the list of supplies they’d need for the new year, she frowned faintly at the various books required for DADA class. It wasn’t much for Taylor or herself given their situation, but still… this was asking a lot from students that weren’t financially secure… either this Lockheart was that good or that big headed.

No doubt Taylor would find out and do as she does. Either expose him or drive him out of the castle entirely, or even both.

Assuming the guy doesn’t do something sketchy that made Skitter rear her head again.

“Hmm…” Amy rubbed her chin, “How about we split up and meet at the robes shop. I’ll get our books and extra pet supplies, you get the potion stuff and some extra wand cleaning supplies,” She offered.

“Oh, sure,” Taylor replied with a smile, “I was thinking of stopping by… somewhere to get you something for you anyway.”

Amy narrowed her eyes, and Taylor just smiled sweetly… she didn’t trust it in the slightest. Though she knew it wouldn’t be anything mean, she definitely knew whatever it is would either fluster her or give her a headache. And knowing Taylor… it’d probably be both.

It didn’t help that Aif was looking smug, she tried to hide it but failed horribly, and Chuck was just shaking his head.

“That’s fine…” Amy said as she looked at her suspiciously, “I’ll see you at the robes shop.” Did she know the name of the place, yeah but… it is what it is.

“Yep!” Taylor replied, giving her a hug, “Don’t worry about it, you’ll like it. Promise.”

“That just makes me worry more…” She retorted, making Taylor laugh and hug her again before taking off with Aif.

Amy just looked at Chuck, “This is going to be embarrassing, isn’t it?” She asked.

“Eh, depending on how you look at it,” He admitted, “I don’t know what she’s planning, so all I can say is prepare yourself.”

“Right…” Amy sighed, running her hand through her hair before they started walking towards the bookstore. “So, any bets for how much of an ass this guy is?”

The expression on his face alone told her that Chuck could give her entire dictionaries of his opinion.

Though ultimately he settled on, “He’s a smarmy, peacock of a wizard and the fact that he was a Ravenclaw honestly beggars belief.” He said succinctly. “He was in my house, I was a Raven, and he wasn’t all that good at magic. He was decent in charms, but how he became a defense professor is beyond me. Unless he’s gotten far more competent than when I was his classmate…”

Amy just blinked, “... Tell me how you really feel…”

“I can’t share that in polite company… or in public…” Chuck said with a snort. “Let’s just say that I hope Dumbledore knows what he’s doing.”

He probably did, sure he acted like senile coot a lot but Amy figured he was a helluva lot smarter than he seems. He probably puts up that act for his own amusement or to catch people off guard.

Probably both actually.

Still they made their way to the bookshop and Amy just… stared at the line, before her eyes went to a sign saying Gilderoy Lockheart was giving autographs.

“We don’t have to do that,” Chuck snorted, “Come on, let’s just avoid everyone and go to the front desk.”

“I know but I wasn’t expecting that…” Amy said as they went into the very crowded bookshop, “Seriously, is he even aware of how inconvenient he’s being to the students?” She griped. 

“He’s always been pretty thoughtless like that,” Chuck said, looking vaguely disgusted himself… probably still processing the fact that the guy’s going to be a professor.

“Maybe we should buy some actual DADA books along with his books…” It wasn’t like they didn’t have the money, and at least she’d prefer if her and Taylor’s grades didn’t degrade.

And the rest of her friends really.

The rest of the school could sink or swim in her opinion.

“So, you wouldn’t happen to have any suggestions for some proper DADA books would you?” Amy asked.

“Well, I have a few titles that’d help.” He said, “I also have my second year DADA books as well with my own annotations I made.”

Amy nodded, that would be helpful. “Oh dear…” She started, looking through the store. The Malfoys and Weasleys were getting into a row.

“Well, I’m not surprised…” Chuck sighed, “Amy continue shopping, I’m going to be an adult…” He added with an exasperated sigh.

She continued grabbing books. “Standard Book of Spells Grade 2, Magical Drafts and Potions…” There were a few repeated books in the year, so she skipped those. “Oh, ‘A Guide to Defeating Curses’ sounds good…”

Then the sound of a door breaking reached her ears and she had to, in a manner of speaking, run to see what just happened.

“Still a nancy boy, even after all these years, Lucy boy?” Amy blinked in surprise at Chuck's words, “Come on then, let’s see you try that with me. And remember, boyo, I’m the one with the bollocks to marry into a fae family! So do your worst, you blimey nancy!”

“Okay, that’s cool…” She definitely knew the Weasley children were in agreement.

“Heh, Chuck really hasn’t changed after all these years,” Arthur commented, “If anything he’s worse. Guess that’s what happens when you deal with the fair-folk on a regular basis.”

Lucius glared at him as he stood up. “Just like a muggle,” He sneered, “I hope you don’t make the Weasleys pay for the damage you caused.” And then he turned to leave, several school books left behind.

Of course Chuck didn’t let him have the last word, “Don’t worry ya limp wristed ponce, I might even have the entire building refurbished!” He called out, “I didn’t have to spend our fortune defending against dark magic accusations! Still a death eater, by the way? You smell like one!”

“Blimey, Amy… your dad is amazing…” One of the Weasleys, Ron she was pretty sure, said.

“He is, isn’t he?” Honestly, she would’ve felt smug knowing Taylor didn’t see it but chances were that she did.

Her powers were bullshit like that.

“Chuck, you didn’t have to do that,” Arthur said as he stepped over shaking his head ruefully, “But, I suppose that was a long time coming, wasn’t it?”

Chuck snorted, “After the hell that was going to Hogwarts with him? He’s lucky I didn’t use magic, my Father-in-Law taught me some very subtle and very legal curses I could’ve used.”

“Isn’t he a Sidhe?” He asked, eyebrow raising, “Those aren’t supposed to have any wand magic.”

“Who said anything about Wand magic?” Chuck retorted with a chuckle, “Though I won’t lie, it was a pain to learn. But it was a bonding experience, I even think he even likes me now!” He added with a rueful smile.

“Think?” He asked, “That doesn’t fill me with confidence.”

“He's Sidhe, what’s a little death threat between family?” Chuck asked, “By the way, since I ruined your evening, how about I cover the books you need as well as the repairs.”

Amy shook her head as she began helping pick up the books Lucius left behind, tossing them into a cauldron. “We’ll help you pay for some of them,” She whispered to the only girl in their family, Ginny if she wasn’t mistaken, “Gilderoy seems to really like having people buy his books…”

“Thanks…” At least she didn’t seem too proud to deny help, given that Chuck was still wheedling Arthur to agree, “How has your and Taylor’s summer been?” She asked curiously.

“Been pretty fun,” She replied with a smile, “I learned how to do this.~” Her hair went through a rainbow of colors before she grinned. “It’s way different than being an orphan, even if we visited a few times.”

“Wow, cool,” Ginny said with a giggle.

“Oh, hey, is this yours?” She asked, picking up what looked like a diary, “Looks pretty old?”

Ginny looked at it, “No, you think it fell in my cauldron?” She asked.

“Maybe?” Amy replied with a shrug, “Maybe it’s Malfoys?” She grinned wide and evil at that suggestion.

“Well, you can take it,” Ginny said, “I don’t want to know what goes on in a Malfoys head.”

“No sense of adventure,” Amy said with a pout before a look of horror passed over her face, “Oh god, she’s rubbing off on me.”

“Hardly the worst that could happen,” Ginny said, “I think Taylor’s cool. Besides, I think I’d need a memory charm if I read it. I don’t even want to know what Malfoy Senior would even write about. ‘Dear Diary, I got my ass kicked by a muggleborn with bigger bollocks that I’,” She mocked.

Amy laughed before checking it and pouting, “It’s empty. How boring. Oh well, I could use a research diary I guess.”

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Getting potion supplies was much less eventful, but the fact Taylor hadn’t said or done… anything she could see through her bugs made her worry. Getting Taylor to stop talking was a pain sometimes, but to have her actually suddenly stop…

“Relax, Amy,” Chuck said, “Don’t work yourself up, Taylor might be focusing on the task at hand?” Amy just looked at him dryly, “Yeah, it didn’t sound convincing when I said it,” He admitted, “But we know she’s safe. Aif is with her. Admittedly, that does make me worry a bit more too, but… for different reasons.”

Amy just snorted. “Perhaps. Anyway, let's get these stuffy robes,” She said, “Maybe they’ll be there as well.”

It didn’t take too long to reach it and… Taylor was there, looking smug as she sat with a long box in her lap. Helping her be smug were a gaggle of younger children getting honey and honeycomb from her.

Amy narrowed her eyes as she walked over, “What did you do?” She didn’t hiss but it was a close thing.

“What do you mean?” Taylor asked, “I found a beehive, the owner didn’t want it there so I helped remove it and got honey out of it. Want some comb?” She offered, the hexagonal mess in her hand did look very honey covered and tasty.

“... Fair enough.” Amy admitted, maybe she was simply too use to being suspicious of Taylor? Still she took the honey comb with a smile, “... Thanks. I’m still watching you though…” She added with a faint chuckle.

“And I have a gift for you!” She said with a wide smile, patting the package with an only slightly sticky hand.

Amy just chuckled and took the package, though she did struggle to hold it comfortably, “Hmm, should I open it now or wait until we get home?”

“Up to you!” Taylor replied with a smirk, “I bought it with some work I was doing on the side, part of practice you know?”

“Hmm? Bug removal?” She teases with a smile before she takes a bite of her honey comb, “Mmm, very nice.”

“No idea what flowers the bees were using,” Taylor said with a shrug, before telling the kids, “And I’m out of it. I heard Sugarplum's Sweet Shop has some good candy, maybe your parents would let you get something from there?” She suggested to the disappointed crowd.

They all groaned at that before they trickled away to bother their parents.

“You know those parents might not appreciate your suggestion,” Chuck said dryly with a chuckle.

“Bah, they should thank me for having entertained them in the first place while they were out shopping!” Chuck just nodded as he conceded that she had a point.

After finishing her honeycomb Amy decided to open the box and pulled out a… broom? Honestly, it took her a moment to remember that they had flying brooms there, outside of her flying lessons she never really did it again

“I figured,” Taylor started, “that since you don’t really have the power to just control life so making something that flies you around would be impractical, I’d buy you something for it! It’s not the best broom on the market, the Nimbus Two-Thousand-and-One takes that spot, but from what I was able to learn it’s a good third or fourth place.”

“... Thanks, Tay. Pretty thoughtful… for you,” Amy teased, though she felt genuinely touched.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!?” Taylor asked with narrow eyes.

“Just that you sometimes just charge ahead without thinking,” Amy replied before giving her a strong hug. “Thanks. I mean it.”

“You’re welcome.” Taylor said as she returned the hug, “So, what’s this I hear about Chuck throwing someone out of the bookshop?”

Chuck had the decency to be embarrassed while Aif laughed, “Now only a handful of people could provoke that reaction. And most of them are locked up so… Malfoy?” She asked.

“... Malfoy…” Chuck grumbled.

“... How much damage did you do?” A very amused Aif asked.

“Just a busted door…” He grumbled, “And I already paid for it! And I'm going to set up something to refurbish the entire building.”

She sighed, “Still less expensive than a lawsuit…” Then chuckled, “I’d have set him on fire. It’s probably for the best I wasn’t involved.”

At that moment, Aif being blonde in Summer made so much more sense.

“Plus, well… it’s always fun to… ‘flex’ I believe on the Malfoys,” Aif added with an impish smile, “After all, we didn’t waste our fortune defending against Dark arts allegations.”

“He said that actually, not word for word but he did say that,” Amy said, “Also called him a nancy boy and a limp wristed ponce.”

Aif giggled as Chuck blushed. “Come along then, let’s get you some new robes. And… you aren’t going to arrest Taylor’s growth again, are you?”

“Nope,” Amy said, “I figured it wasn’t necessary.”

“It wasn’t necessary the first time…” Taylor grumbled, “I can sew…”

“And the good Madame Malkins includes bits for that, you just fold them out after cutting the extra seams. It doesn’t go forever, but…” Chuck shrugged, “Worst case you end up like me at the end of my fifth year. My robes were three inches too short… but it did make me look way more buff than usual.”

“Well I didn’t know that was even a normal thing, Tay,” Amy replied.

“... did you grow an entire foot in a year?” Aif asked, looking confused.

“Growing pains are horrible and they spread throughout the year,” Chuck said.

Taylor blinked before looking at herself, visibly comparing her height to what she knew she’d be able to reach even while half starving from endbringer attacks and roving band of murder psychos.

“... I think I’m going to end up like you did multiple times,” She noted, sounding haunted, “I’m going to be so tall. I’m not going to look like a frog, I’m going to look like a scarecrow.”

“Don’t worry,” Amy said, patting her arm, “Just eat a lot and I can fill you out more,” She added with a teasing smile.

“I’m going to need to eat a lot just to fuel the growth!” She squeaked, “I’m going to look like a pig!”

“Taylor, stop being a drama queen,” Amy said dryly, “Pretty sure we could go to Madam Phomphry for some nutrient dense potions or something.”

“... That is a good idea,” Taylor replied before freezing, “And it would be so useful when making swarms of death bugs! Amy, you’re a genius!”

“See? With you saying that? Now I’m worried,” Even Amy wasn’t sure if she was just teasing or being serious.

And that made her feel concerned.

“Very seriously, I could make so many bees, wasps, spiders…” It was clear she’d be thinking about that all day.

“... Well, at least this year won’t be too boring?” Amy thought.

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