| Details for Tea For Two |
| Summary: | Bumping into each other on Hogsmeade's main drag, Annie and Kaiden share a cuppa before he has to return to Hogwarts. |
| Date: | 09-09-1937 |
| Location: | Hogsmeade |
| Related: | Model Students |
| Characters |
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East High Street Hogsmeade
Sun Sep 09, 1937 ((Sun Sep 09 19:52:57 2012)) (C,3)
This is the main street and venue for Hogsmeade Village, the eastern portion of High Street. The street is always occupied by someone either out for a walk, loitering, or tidying up the outside of their business. OPEN signs hang in windows, shutters and drapes are open wide so display windows can be peered into to view some of the shop's wares. Bustling with life the forest surrounding the village is as active with wildlife as the village is with civilization, however quaint and country it might be. All of the buildings along High Street are very acute when it comes to their roofs. Each roof outfitted with one or more extremely tall brick chimneys that sometimes are twice the height as the actual building.
Sunday is drawing to a close, much to the dismay of the Hogwarts students that were enjoying their Hogsmeade weekend. But all good things must end, and their curfew is fast approaching. There are still quiet a number of the young witches and wizards about on the main road of the village, and some of the residents are enjoying their own time out in the village. Avoiding a group of younger students, obviously on their first Hogsmeade weekend, Annie squeezes against the post office wall and brushes past them. Unlike a few of the very old residents of the village who aren't happy if they aren't complaining about the influx of warm bodies, Annie well remembers the excitement of being away from the grounds, and grants a lot of leniency to all the students.
Kaiden hums softly to himself to the tune of some song he's just made up, as he walks slowly down the street. Tucked under his arm is sketch-pad and a pencil rests behind his ear. His face seems a bit sad, though, as he knows it's only a few more hours until he has to go back to school.
A gust of wind blows a curl into Annie's eyes, and she raises her hand to brush it away, like a bothersome fly. Her gaze shifts and passes over a familiar face nearby among the students. As they head more or less toward each other, she notes his expression, guesses at the reason, and can't help but smile at the bittersweet memory of Hogsmeade weekends. As he nears she raises her voice, hopefully just enough to catch his attention, "Hallo Kaiden."
Kaiden had been staring down at the sidewalk, focusing on not falling down as he walks. At the voice he looks up, and smiles broadly as he spies Annie, "Oh, hey there Miss…I mean…Annie." He quirks his lip and has a look around, "How are you?"
Annie pauses, smiling up at the young wizard, "Right as rain, ta." The protruding end of a pencil at the side of his head merits note, as does the pad he carries. "Enjoying your last hours of freedom?" she asks, a good natured tease in the question.
Kaiden nods to her and says, "Yeah…thought I'd find somewhere to sit and draw." He looks off to the side and shrugs, "I know, it's dumb." He quirks his lips and looks back at her, "Where are you headed?"
A frown darkens Annie's face briefly at Kaiden's assessment. "Cor, it's not dumb at all, don't be daft." But her smile comes right back, "I admire that you can. I can barely draw a box, myself," she says, being quite honest. "Oh, I was just heading back to the cottage. I was out shopping with some of the girls." She indicates vaguely toward shops farther up the road. "They spent far too much at Gladrags." As the girls tend to on the first weekend of the year. She herself carries no packages at all.
Kaiden rubs at the back of his head and says, "Yeah, gotta stock up on provisions, I guess. Spent all my money on beer." He chuckles. Beginnings of a lush, right there. He smirks at Annie and remarks, "Stand still for a second." He unfolds the top of his sketch pad and pulls the pencil out from behind his ear, scanning her face for a moment. He begins scribbling away at the paper, looking up at her every so often as he does so.
Annie is usually compliant to reasonable requests, and standing still qualifies. An expectant smile curves her lips as she watches Kaiden work, her eyes held by the movement of his hand as he draws.
Kaiden is busy scribbling away for a good few minutes, tongue hanging halfway out of his mouth as he concentrates. He finishes the majority of the drawing and holds his pencil at an angle, shading some parts of it in. He stops and tucks the pencil away in his pocket. Looking down at the picture and then back up at Annie, looking a little unsure.
Blue eyes dart up to Kaiden's face, then drop again to the pad. "May I see?" Annie asks, her brows arching questioningly. She's not really sure that he's pleased with it, and she doesn't want to just look if he doesn't want her to see it, but it really is taking a lot for her to rein in her curiosity.
Kaiden sighs and turns it around for her to see. It's a quickly-drawn, but detailed portrait of the young woman, right down to the faint smirk on her lips and the adorable rounding of her cheeks. The hair is tosseled slightly, as if there's a gentle breeze wafting through it, and the eyes seem to glimmer despite being just a drawing. "You…like it?"
Annie smiles, clearly pleased. "It's amazing you could do that so quickly." Her eyes raise from the sketch to his face, and it's clear that she's impressed by his talent. "Do you want to be an artist then?" she asks with genuine interest.
Kaiden tears the page off and hands it to her, "For your home." To her question he just shrugs and says, "I don't really know what I want to be. I'm sure dad wants me to get some sort of business training and become a drone, so I'll probably end up doing that."
The page is accepted with a grateful "Ta." and Annie carefully rolls it to protect it on the walk home. "There's nothing to say you can't be an artistic drone," the young witch chides gently.
Kaiden smiles at her and says, looking around at the area, "Would you like to move this conversation to somewhere more comfortable?" His tone makes it unclear whether it's a proposition or if he just doesn't like sitting down. Though, it's Kaiden, so it's probably the latter.
Annie nods agreeably, "Lets." She looks briefly toward the Three Broomsticks, but he's already said he's spent too much on beer as it stands. "Do you think you have time to pop by for a cuppa?" And, to not seem forward, "Or there's the pub," she tags on. He might not be comfortable coming by, after all.
Kaiden looks around again and says, "I think that'd be fine. Still got a few hours left." He smiles at her and offers his arm to her, "Off we go, then."
Annie slips her hand into the crook of Kaiden's elbow, impressed again with his manners. There are still gentlemen around. Not having been overly close to many Hufflepuffs while she was at school, Annie takes a stab at placing his year. "Are you seventh year this year, or not until next?" She was never very familiar with his twin sister, either, so she can't even cheat by knowing Ria's year.
Kaiden smiles over at her as she takes his elbow and begins to lead her on the way back to her house, "Me? Nah, I'm still a sixth year. Most people say I look older and that I was probably held back, but alas that isn't the case." He smirks. Lazy, lazy Kaiden.
Moving easily along with him, Annie says agreeably, "Well, you do look like you would already be out of Hogwarts. If you hadn't been familiar I would likely have just thought you one of the lads come to visit his girlfriend." Perhaps it's that bit of scruff shadowing his jaw that makes him look less of a boy.
Kaiden smirks and says, looking over to her, "Well, maybe I should've done a better job of making myself invisible of Hogwarts. Could've gotten away with you thinking I was a bit older. Hopefully I will have a gal in the next few years. Not exactly the hot item right now, though."
Annie gives his arm a reassuring squeeze. "I'm surprised some lucky lass doesn't have you all to herself already. It won't be long, mark my words." He seems, to Annie, like the nice bloke that won't get his due until the girls get sick of the bad boys and realize what they've been missing. They're nearly at the end of the road now, to the little cottage where Annie is staying. She slips her wand from an unobtrusive pocket in her skirt, readying it to open the door.
Kaiden stands back as she moves to open the door, sliding his other hand into its pocket and having a look around. Even glancing at her bum a few times, because hey…he's a sixteen year old boy. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Every good thing in life is worth waiting for, I suppose."
Annie leaves the door open behind them, letting fresh air into the house. She moves to set the picture he drew onto the dining table, as she motions toward the other side of the room and the sofa and chairs. "Sit and I'll have the tea in half a tick." Her steps veer to the small kitchen space to heat the water and gather things together.
Kaiden smiles at her and says, "Thank you. I appreciate it." He sets the drawing pad down on the coffee table and has a seat on one of the couches, taking the time to look around at the room. He pipes up, loud enough for her to hear him, but not so loud as to startle her or anyone else, "You've a lovely house."
There's a light clattering as Annie gets everything onto a tray, and she replies as she comes out and sets it down. The tray holds cups, spoons, sugar and milk, and even a small plate of several different kinds of biscuits . "Ta. It's not mine, actually, I'm minding it for a lovely old couple who've gone off to America to see their first great grandchild." She motions to a picture, "I went to school with their granddaughter, Kelly." It might be noticed that Annie isn't actually in any of the family pictures, and is only represented in a small shadowbox on the fireplace mantle that holds some trinkets and pictures. "It's comfortable, and they'll give me plenty of notice before I have to be out."
Kaiden nods and says, "I remember that. It's still yours for the time being." He shoots her a smirk and looks down at the tray, "Really pulling out all the stops, aren't you? Trying to impress me with your various biscuits, Annie?"
Annie laughs as she perches on the sofa with proper space between them. "Is that all it would take, Kaiden?" she teases lightly. "Just a few biscuits? I think you would be harder to impress than that." She leans to pour the tea into the two cups, setting one closer to him and then adding a spoon next to it.
Kaiden smirks over at her and leans forward to pick the cup up, sipping it without adding anything to it. Too much fuss. He leans back and crosses his legs, tossing his free arm up to hang over the back of the couch, "Oh, you know. I'm a man of simple tastes."
Annie adds only sugar to her own cup, and she regards him over the rim as she takes a tentative sip. Her charm seems to have went well, the tea is what most would consider comfortably hot and not scalding or too cool. "Just see you don't sell yourself short," she advises warmly. There's barely a pause before she asks, with an impish smile, "So tell me the worst catastrophe you've had in potions." Everyone has a potions story, it seems.
Kaiden ponders, trying to remember if he even stayed awake during that class, when it dawns on him, "Oh, yeah! I uh…accidentally caught Slughorn's desk on fire. Bloody awful. Wasn't even my fault, either! Ria just dumped something into my mixture and BAM!"
"The delights of having a sister, I'm sure," Annie jokes lightly. "Mine was a green fog. I think it was a little too much newt, next thing I know it's thicker than London and the oddest sort of glow." She shakes her head a little at the memory. "It seems so long ago already, being a firstie."
Kaiden smirks and says, "Well, at least you got your troubles out of the way when you were young. I'm a bit of a pariah around there. Though, I think it's because I'm a bit to easy-going for my own good."
A brow arches slightly, and she says with good humor, "I wouldn't have thought that from the way you stood up to that silliness at the Three Broomsticks the other evening. That showed more character than the petty little insults that were being bandied about." Of course, Annie doesn't know him very well at all, and first impressions aren't always on.
Kaiden smirks over at her and says, "I really just don't like fights. They don't ever solve anything. Although, a year ago I did get into a bout of fisticuffs over some boys saying less than charming things about his sister. Seems I'm quite contradictory." He glances over at her and gives a soft chuckle.
Annie's head shakes slightly, curls shifting. "I don't understand the need to fight all the time that some have. As if it's the only thing they enjoy. It's different to stand up for someone or something you think is right." She shrugs, "I'll never understand it." There's a soft clink as she puts her cup down to pick up a biscuit and take a bite.
Kaiden smiles at her and says, "Yeah…I agree completely. The sorting hat had a tough time with me, I tell you that." He sets his cup down and uses it as an excuse to scoot a little bit closer, stretching a bit and laying an arm around her shoulder.
She looks at him with interest. "Do you know where else it wanted to put you?" Annie asks. Her own sorting was hardly the blink of an eye, it was really nothing but Ravenclaw for her. Another nibble is taken from the biscuit. The arm across the back of the sofa is noticed, but doesn't seem to cause her any concern. Men always seem to stretch out whenever they can. Odd creatures.
Kaiden looks over at her and says, "Gryffindor. For a while I thought that it changed its mind because it knew that my family would shun me, but then it plopped Garrett in there, so maybe it just thought I was more lazy than courageous." He smirks.
"There's more of you lot then? Do tell." Again, a light tease in Annie's voice, and she pops the last of the biscuit into her mouth. She's learned how some families are almost fanatical about house placements, and that it can be a touchy subject, so she leaves it alone for now.
Kaiden chuckles, "Yeah, there's five of us. The only ones in school right now are Me, Ria and Garrett, though." He smirks and shrugs, "I still catch crap from dad about not being a Slytherin, but poor Garrett."
"I'm sorry he's not more understanding," Annie says. Her parents could have freaked over about her being a witch, but they just weren't like that. Her eyes drop to his cup, "Shall I top that off? Do you have time yet?"
Kaiden looks up at the clock and quirks his lip, "Sadly…I'm gonna have to run off soon." He glances over at her and breathes a brief sigh. "Back to the salt mines, as it were."
"It's nice that you could come by, I enjoyed your company," Annie offers with a smile. "Stiff upper lip there, old boy. You'll be back to the village before you know it." As her smile broadens her dimples deepen. "Maybe I'll even see you at the pub again."
Kaiden smiles at her and nods, saying, "It was quite lovely. And your collection of various cookies and sugars did actually impress me a great deal. You're surely a connoisseur." Before he stands, he quirks his lip to the side once more and ponders whether or not he should go for something.
Annie lightly waves one hand, dismissing such extravagant praise. "I do what I can with what I have." Which isn't much, but keeps her happy. She takes a moment to settle everything back onto the tray which she'll take back to the kitchen after she's seen her guest out. Satisfied with that, her attention returns to him and she moves to stand, as she asks, "Would you like a couple biscuits for the road?"
Kaiden looks up at her as she stands and does the same, "Oh, no. I'll be quite all right. They feed us quite well at Hogwarts, you know." He just slides his hands into his pockets and says, "I'll uh…I'll be going, then."
Annie steps ahead of Kaiden to the open door, her voice drifting back to him as she says lightly, "I was just trying to impress you with more sweets." She turns at the doorway with a broad smile. "You'll have to come by for tea again sometime."
Kaiden offers a polite 'thank you' as she opens the door for him and steps outside, "Aye. Well, you're sweetness is quite impressive…I mean…your sweets are quite impressive." Poor kid. He clears his throat and continues, "I'll…make sure to do that." He turns to go, but then that Gryffindor courage sets in and he turns back around, leans in and gives her a soft kiss on the lips. With that he stands up tall, straightens out his vest and nods to her.
Her lips are soft, and although she's surprised, Annie doesn't pull back and slap him across the face. There's no protest to the chaste kiss, and Kaiden gets a smile as she steps back. "Take care, Kaiden," she says simply, leaning on the doorframe to watch him walk away, remaining there for a minute to wave, should he look back.
Kaiden smiles softly at her and says, "You too, Annie. I'll…see you around." He turns around and starts on his way back to Hogwarts. He will of course look back and when he does, a shy smile will be given to her. The boy looks as if he could positively skip down the street, singing loudly for all to hear…if he weren't so self-conscious all the time.