go with the flow | gideon

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

i can go with the flow

do you believe it in your head?

September 3, 2027
gideon edward ollivander

Benny walked happily through the doors of his family’s famous establishment. It had been a busy but exciting week. While he had been initially confused that Gideon was not in school on the first of September, he then recalled someone briefly explaining to him the new structure of Hogwarts. It was all so confusing, so Benny retained very little of it. And it didn’t matter to him in the end. The main change had been the number of shipments the bookstore had received. Benny and Mina had never even heard of these textbooks, and they knew the textbooks they had ignored during their education.

That wasn’t because they studied but because they often stared at them at the bookstore. If only Benny had any interest in the Ethical concerns of Magical Archeology or The Art of Dueling—he might have opened one of them to peruse its contents. But his work was done for the day, and he left the bookstore with his bag heavier than usual. Veronica had given Benny gold that morning to pick up Gideon’s books for his final year of schooling. And, of course, a few extra coins for Benny to get some ice cream or other treats. And he’d been meaning to stop by Fortescue’s and sample their newest fall flavor or perhaps stop by the Violet Hound for a drink with his favorite bartender.

The bell rang, and the door closed behind him, and he scanned the shop for any sign of his sister or nephew. He had to say it was nice to have him back home and not overseas. Apparently, Gideon had not enjoyed that experience very much. He walked toward the counter with his yellow sunglasses still sitting on his face. ”Ronnie?” Usually, his oldest sister was here. ”Giddy?” Benny frowned. If only the employee was working today, it made his journey with these textbooks much longer than it needed to be.

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[gideon edward ollivander]

Gideon perched on a stool in the back room of Ollivanders, hovered over a piece of oak that he'd been whittling to perfection over the past hour. His mum ducked out of the shop to meet with a vendor down the street so he was left on his own with a random shop worker if anyone walked in. Gideon was convinced she was lying to him and she was sneaking a cig in the alley somewhere. As he heard the bell chime from the front of the shop, he set down his tools, and brushed himself of saw dust before popping out to help the customer.

Once he heard Uncle Benny's voice, he instantly perked up with a smile. It was definitely a more of genuine smile than an actual customer would get.. Benny was one of his top 5 favorite people.  "Oi!" he greeted with surprise as he stepped around the counter, "I didn't know you were stopping by." he slapped his cousins back after giving him a hug. "Those glasses make you look like a movie star." Gideon stated with a chuckle, more observant than anything, he was still learning about 'style'.

"What are you doin here?" he asked his uncle curiously, brushing some wood dust off his shoulder. "Mums not here, I think she snuck away for a cigarette." Gideon laughed, loving to throw his mum under the bus, especially when she thought she had everyone around her fooled that she quit smoking again. 


gehry benjamin ollivander

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

i can go with the flow

do you believe it in your head?

September 3, 2027
gideon edward ollivander

Almost instantly, Benny heard a familiar voice. Even if he sounded all grown up, Benny supposed he would agree with Veronica that time was simply flying by too quickly. Most days, they’d felt more like siblings than uncle and nephew. Then again, Benny’s relationship with Veronica was far different than with Nell. By the time he’d been born, Veronica had been halfway done with her education. Maybe dealing with a hyperactive Benny when he was young prepared her for motherhood. Benny hugged Gideon back and then placed his bag on the counter. The thump it made was louder than usual. ”Thanks.” Benny didn’t move them just yet, leaving the room still dark. ”That means they’re working.”

The bright yellow was dramatic and caught people’s attention, but Benny didn’t care what kind of attention that got him. Finally, he pushed them up so they sat atop his head among the disheveled hair. At least today, one side wasn’t completely flat, indicating what side he’d slept on. ”She wanted me to grab your books while I was at the shop.” He stuffed his hand in the bag and began retrieving books. Merlin, they were heavy to lift with one hand. And he remembered one of his reasons for going to class ‘unprepared’. The books were heavy to lug around that castle.

”Aaaand—that’s the last one.” Benny announced, peering into his bag for good measure. His sunglasses fell back down, sliding to the middle of his nose, but he pushed them up and out of the way again. Gideon explained that Veronica was not in at the moment, and he chuckled in response to Gideon’s theory. ”I’m shocked.” Talk about an open secret—not that it was particularly scandalous in Benny’s book. ”How many classes are you taking? Those books are heavy.”

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[gideon edward ollivander]

Gideon nodded in approval. "I gotta fetch me a pair of those." he joked offhandedly. Maybe he did have more fashion sense than he thought, especially now that he didn't allow his mum to dress him, or fuss over his hair anymore. Benny went on to explain that his mum asked him to pick up the books from Flourish & Blotts, since he worked there after all. "She keeps telling me she's trying to quit." he said with an eyeroll. "-Maybe I should find a way to put an exploding ciggie in her pack. I bet they have them at Zonkos..." Gideon stated thoughtfully as Benny dropped five large books on the counter, one by one. His eyebrows threaded together as the snake watched the display.

"Oh, bloody Hell, those are huge. I'm taking 4 this year..." he dreaded for the first time in his life. Classes were more challenging, he was just starting to feel the pressure his 7th year and school hadn't officially started yet. "Thanks for grabbing them." he told Benny, shoving the books under the counter with a loud thump. Hopefully he wouldn't forget them at the shop.

"Do you have any advice for me my final year of NEWT taking? Or in general, I suppose." Giddy asked Benny, one of the only people he was truly willing to take advice or input from. Other people, well, he got particular joy asking his peers 'Well, did I ask you?' 

gehry benjamin ollivander

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

i can go with the flow

do you believe it in your head?

September 3, 2027
gideon edward ollivander

Benny made a mental note and hoped it would stick until the following year. They could have matching movie star sunglasses. Though perhaps Gideon might prefer green to Benny’s yellow. Sometimes Benny wanted to ask his oldest sister if she was really trying to hide her habit from them. Because it certainly wasn’t working. ”Hmm…” Benny had a thought. ”I could ask Lily. Her Uncle is bound to have something.” And the shop wasn’t very far either. It was worth a look whenever Benny happened to pass by again. There was that tiny twinge of fear at the thought of pranking Veronica, but it was all in good fun, right? Besides, she never stayed angry at Benny for long.

They both seemed equally horrified at the textbook situation. Never in Benny’s life did he have that many textbooks at once. Or perhaps he should’ve, but he’d passed Charms just fine without consulting the book the entire year. The one he never actually bought and pocketed the money instead. Leaning against the counter, Benny made a show of looking around and behind him at Gideon’s question. ”Oh, you’re asking me?” It was a secret that Benny had not done academically well despite his natural talents. ”For NEWTs you’re better off asking Nell for advice.” Nervous Nellie, the nitpicky nerd. Benny needed to find some alternative to nitpicky because she was not as bad as Veronica on that note. But for general advice, Benny paused a moment. ”Have fun.” He responded simply, grinning. Life wasn’t all about work and studying. There was so much to experience in the world. Benny walked behind the counter where everything sat neatly, but sometimes he’d find a chocolate frog or some Drooble's best blowing gum. ”So.” He began again as he found what he was looking for. ”Is there a special someone in my dear nephew’s life.” His eyebrows raised a little. Veronica wasn’t back, so perhaps he wouldn’t be so shy.

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[gideon edward ollivander]

Benny told him to just 'have fun' as his advice, explaining that Nell was better at those things. Nell always had the best advice. Giddy nodded and shrugged at the have fun advice. Gideon constantly felt like his walls were up in school he rarely actually had fun, unless if it involved mocking someone for doing stupid. Even these days he kept the hazing for the underclassmen, since they were likely too scared to give him a knuckle sandwich. That wasn't as fun as it used to be, lately he preferred to lay under the radar, surprised at all of the bullying opportunities he let slip past his finger tips these days. Some people deserved it.

"Why do all adults say that." he sighed before continued in a boring drone, "Have fun. These are the best years of your life. Blah, blah, bollocks.." Gideon chuckled, wiping some sawdust off the counter as Benny asked if there was anyone special in his life. Sometime Nell asked about it and he dodged the question because he'd get embarrassed, but Benny was always cool and free spirited, he found him easiest to open up to in the family. "You really wanna know?" he asked suspiciously, giving him a slight side eye.

Giddy bit down on his lip already feeling his face and ears get hot at the thought of telling anyone about the American girl Yvonne. "There's this girl. Her name is Yvonne and she's in the same year as me. She's American." he started, leaning up against the counter as he fidgeted with a few tools. "But I don't want a girlfriend. They seem like too much work. I just like her more than all of the other girls, I guess." He shrugged before quickly adding in a defensive tone. "Don't tell my mum."

gehry benjamin ollivander

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

i can go with the flow

do you believe it in your head?

September 3, 2027
gideon edward ollivander

Benny shrugged. ”Because it's true—well, sort of.” He thought about his life compared to his older siblings. If one didn’t stand the four side by side to visually see the unmistakable family resemblance, one might never have thought them related on their personalities alone. ”Nell and your mom are obviously the more responsible ones, but look at how much they work.” Benny commented. What were the kids calling it these days? Work-life balance? ”I just want to make sure you live a little.” He half-smiled at his nephew. Gideon was a smart lad, but with Veronica running the show for now, hopefully, that gave him a chance to have a life.

Leaning on the counter and closer to Giddy, his ears perked up at the sound of a secret. And seeing that blush creeping onto his face, Benny waited eagerly. Immediately Benny stood up straight and honorably gestured by putting his hand over his heart. ”Never.” Benny wouldn’t say a word on this matter. Veronica might not understand the rules that followed certain social constructs—one being uncle-nephew confidentiality. ”Did you meet her at Ilvermorny?” An American girl. It wasn’t a complete shock, nor unheard of these days. The mingling of the student populations felt about as normal as just a magical school existing these days.

On the topic of girlfriends, Benny couldn’t really blame Gideon. He saw the drama that came out of such things and avoided it himself. But then, a certain smile and red hair crossed his mind. ”It seems like a lot of work.” Benny agreed with Gideon. ”But…someone else could just as easily come along.” He warned his nephew casually. That was about the extent he was willing to interfere or push on that note. ”Tell me about her—is she pretty?” Gideon’s face was beginning to match the scarves his old Gryffindor classmates used to wear. Even Benny could see his nephew had fallen quite hard.

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