Step into my candy store | Elise

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April was one month closer to Olive being 4 years old. Her birthday was in May and Angie knew it was getting close to time to star planning, however, she wanted to cherish her 3 year old while she still had the chance. The two young blondes walked into Honeydukes sweets shop hand in hand and Angie was greeted by memories as they stepped inside. Olive was just beginning her love of the shop, but Angie always stopped here when she was in town as a student. She loved sugar quills and back in school she'd always have one nearby, she thought it made her look cute and sweet and maybe a little edgy, she was sure now it didn't, but the ex-party girl couldn't care less back then. As long as she had a boy, alcohol, a friend or two and a stash of sugar quills, she was happy and good to go. It didn't take a lot to make her happy back now, and now, it was even easier. Simply be nice to her, and be nice to her daughter and you were golden. "Mummy how much can I spend?" Olive asked, tugging at her skirt. "You can have 5 galleons." Angie said. The little frizzy haired blonde seemed content with her allowance and began to browse the aisles.

@elise

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@angie

Hogsmeade. What a strange name for a town. As far as Elise could tell, there was nothing quite like this back home in France. There were wizarding communities, though from what she recalled, those were mostly the upper echelon of society; the purebloods and whatnot. She didn’t buy into any of that though. Being content with the family business and what she could do by herself was more important than money at the end of the day. Hard work and commitment went a long way these days, especially with everything open to virtually anyone. It was hard to tell if the magical community in the UK was the same as France though. So far most seemed very open to her asking questions and helping out. There were a few rough members she had run into as well, but a little dialogue and understanding helped her get around that. Working with people was her specialty after all.

One of the more spectacular things she had noted upon her arrival at Hogsmeade was that Hogwarts was right next door. This was the first time seeing the school, and it certainly was impressive. According to the newspapers, a group of her former classmates were spending the entire year there. How fun! She was already planning on watching the third task once the date was announced, so this was good practice for the day of the event. Dipping in and out of the different stores was enlightening, and she soon realized that they weren’t much different from ones back home or the ones in Diagon Alley that she had frequented a lot lately. It was comfortable knowing that getting around would be a lot easier than she had anticipated.

After spending a few hours wandering around different shops, even checking out the wand shop there (it was far inferior to Ollivander’s and some of the ones she had worked at back in France), Elise found herself in front of a candy shop. The students at Hogwarts were spoiled. Beauxbatons never would have bought into this kind of thing. Entering the store, she was greeted by a happy jingle and an overpowering sugary sweet smell. She wasn’t sure what she thought would happen, but it certainly wasn’t this kind of sensual overhaul. The shelves were loaded with candy from all over the world; some she recognized, most she didn’t. It was impressive nonetheless.

As she observed a shelf loaded with muggle candy bars, she spotted a little girl turn the corner and walk down the aisle on her own. Elise craned her neck to see if there was a parent nearby, and noted that there was a woman a short distance off. She had learned not to jump to conclusions, especially in small stores like this. The bookstore was the same way, and she had children running up and down the aisles on their own all the time. She had met plenty that disliked books and candy, but none that hated running free from their parents for a short time. “Bonjour,” Elise smiled at the girl, kneeling down slightly to be closer to her height. “Do you like candy too?”

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Angie loved any excuse to show Olive Hogwarts. The young girl had not yet even shown signs of magic, but she had plenty of time before Angie would have to worry, there was no reason for the girl to not possess magic, however she knew that squibs were more common than not. And while she desperately wanted her daughter to go to school where she had and be magical, she would love her regardless. But thoughts like that were pointless, there wasn't any reason to worry. But Angie loved coming to Hogsmead with her daughter because of the castle that loomed on the mountain in the distance. It was beautiful and majestic and even though Angie herself worked in this town, she would come, even on her day off, to get Olive used to the town and comfortable with Hogwarts. She just hoped that her daughter took a much more serious approach to her studies, when the time came.

Angie watched Olive walk away on her own, Angie taught independence to Olive early and Olive, being a very confident and loud child, liked to try and do things on her own. While Angie kept a very close, watchful eyes, she let Olive at least think that was alone and independent. She also let her make most of her own, small choices: what to wear etc. Angie liked to give her daughter money and let her pick out things for herself within her budget, she was trying to institute these life lessons early so that Olive would have a good background in it once she was old enough for it to be actually relevant. Plus, it gave Olive something to take ownership of. She could be a big girl and take her purchases and money up to the till and carry her own little bag out of the shop, feeling very grown up.

Another woman entered the shop and Angie saw her out of the corner of her eye. She walked over to the frizzy haired blonde child and began to talk to her, giving her a greeting in French. Angie loved exposing her daughter to different languages and cultures. She just wished they had the opportunity to do it more, and travel more. But on her salary, it wasn't realistic. "Yes I like chocolate." Olive told the woman with a nod, picking up a chocolate frog and putting it in her little basket. "She likes sugar." Angie corrected her daughter, stepping into their aisle. "all types, but chocolate is her favorite." she explained with a smile. "Olive, would you like to introduce yourself to nice the woman?" she prompted. "Hello, I'm Olive." the 3 year old said, possibly out of obligation before getting distracted by the selection of every flavored beans. While Olive was a friendly girl, she did have a slightly shorter attention span, but Angie chalked that up to her only being 3 years old.

@elise

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@angie

The little girl responded almost immediately that she liked chocolate and grabbed a chocolate frog package off of the shelf. Elise laughed a little. What a sight that was. In the few short weeks since she had last worked in the bookstore, she had already forgotten how fast children were when it came to things that they liked. Obviously the ones that enjoyed reading were her favorites, but this little one in front of her had the same passion for chocolate that others had for books. She stood back up when she saw the little girl’s mother step into the aisle, explaining that she liked pretty much all kinds of sugar. “Well, chocolate is the best kind isn’t it?” Elise directed her question back down at the girl. The interesting thing about small children was that they hadn’t developed a knack for lying yet, instead vying to always tell the honest truth. Elise assumed that was why this one was relatively straight forward about her love of chocolate, even going out of her way to toss more into the tiny little basket she was holding.

“Nice to meet you Olive. I’m Elise.” She was going to offer her hand to shake for the little girl, but the candy seemed to be more enticing. She chuckled again at the girl’s antics. “I’m sure I was the same way when my father tried to introduce me to people too,” Elise stated, turning her attention to the mother. “Though that was more with books than with candy.” They were almost the same thing in her mind. Both had an instant effect of gratification that left you with a want for more. At least that was how it went with her. She supposed candy wasn’t really for someone lacking a sweet tooth, and those that disliked reading for pleasure would be at a loss too.

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Angie didn't blame her daughter for wanting to run off and not thinking twice. She was a fiercely independent young child and Angie had raised her to be. She made a mental note to try and explain to her not to leave in the middle of a conversation because it was not polite, but she wasn't surprised when Olive did turn the corner. "She has a bit of a one-track mind." Angie admitted. She was only 3 so Angie didn't expect her to have the attention span of a fully grown adult, or even an older child. She hadn't learned to read yet, she still took daily naps, she was developing still. 

"Are you from France?" Angie asked, referencing how the girl greeted her offspring and Angie thought that she was picking up a bit of an accent but she wasn't sure and didn't want to assume. "I'm Angie, by the way." she introduced herself since both of the other girls had already introduced themselves. 

@elise

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@angie

Elise smiled as the mother of the little girl said that the child had a one-track mind. That was the innocence of children after all, wasn’t it? She didn’t think she could handle having a child of her own, but other peoples were easier. In her limited experience, providing them with what they needed or distracting them with something they thought they wanted was the best way to take up their time. Then again, if she was a mother, maybe she would understand it all better. Taking care of herself and her cat was far more important at this stage in her life than thinking about having children. Maybe one day though. “She knows what she wants. Nothing wrong about being honest about it,” Elise pointed out. If only adults could be the same way sometimes. It would make everything easier. She knew she was part of that problem, but indecisiveness was hard to overcome once it took hold. Then there was the regret of wondering if she was doing the right thing…basically a lot to think about, being an adult and all. Children had it easy.

She returned her attention to the mother as she was asked about where she was from. Smiling, she nodded her head. “Yes! Just moved to London a few weeks ago, so I’m trying to find my want around to all the magical populations still.” Diagon Alley was an easy place to figure out, and this Hogsmeade was starting to make sense as well. The only thing she could equate it to would be the muggle college towns she saw in films. There were adults that lived and worked in Hogsmeade, and on the weekends it basically served as an escape for students. Right now it was deathly quiet though, which was probably why the mother, Angie was her name, and Olive were here. Probably didn’t make a lot of sense for a young family to try to shop when hundreds of students were milling about. “Elise, though you already know that,” she laughed a little. “I’m jealous. My juniors in Beauxbatons get to spend time at Hogwarts for the whole year. Have the two of you gone to either of the tasks yet?”

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Angie found herself slightly in awe when the woman explained that she had just moved to London a few weeks ago. Angie always loved travel but never got a chance to do it much except for road trips to Sheffield to see her grandparents with her family. She wanted Olive to travel, she wanted the young girl to be able to see the world and experience other cultures. "I can't imagine how stressful that would be, what brings you to London?" Angie asked, not even thinking that it might have been a personal or intrusive question, she just wanted to talk out of pure curiosity and wanting to learn more about the woman. "I've always thought about getting Olive into French lessons, I never learned a second language and I regret that all the time." she admitted, not sure why she was bringing that up, possibly just because the girl was from France. The woman went on to talk about how she was jealous of the students who still went to Bauxbatons because they got to go to Hogwarts for the tournament. "Yeah, Olive and I went and saw the second task." Angie explained. "And I think the final task is only a few days away," she added. "Do you plan on watching and cheering on the Beauxbatons champion?" she asked.

@elise

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@angie

Elise contemplated the idea of her move being stressful. It kind of was? She had gotten sick immediately after, though that was from exhaustion more than stress. Having her plans work out definitely reduced the more stressful parts of it all. “The hardest part was moving out on my own…I think,” she pondered that thought a little more. It was nice not having family around at all hours. Kind of like being in school again. “But it’s for work,” Elise finally answered. “Or hopefully work. I’m trying to get an apprenticeship as a wandmaker.” There were always varied responses to that statement. Sometimes she got the people that were thrilled to meet a person that dedicated their time to creating wooden sticks that could help produce magic. The rest? They couldn’t understand why a twenty-something year old would want to dedicate herself to an old art that was typically a family run business. She was just the daughter of a muggle bookstore owner. Not exactly an illustrious background to be coming from.

“Better to start younger, is what I’ve heard,” Elise mused as Angie mentioned taking her daughter to French lessons. “I think I was about five when I started learning English. Then came Latin, and now Greek…” she trailed off, realizing that her boasting could be taken as an annoyance. After Greek was going to be Spanish. There was already a spattering of that from her grandparents, and it wasn’t a huge leap from French as it was. “Just be careful that she doesn’t get carried away like I have.” Laughing, Elise turned back to watch the little girl still staring at the candy. Even though their run in had only been brief so far, it was easy to tell that Olive was forward moving and headstrong. Elise had watched plenty of small children come into the bookstore like that, and over the years they were always the ones craving for more. Either that or the girl’s mother was right, and she just really liked sweets. Maybe it was a bit of both.

She nodded her head as the other woman explained that they had gone to the second task. “It sounded fun, from how the newspapers put it.” Making the second task would have been too much of a stretch, especially with her plans to move coming so soon afterwards. As for the third task…“I plan on it. That’s kind of what today is for. Exploring this little town and getting a feel for what it will be like with hundreds of other spectators.”