(1938-07-12) The Perfect Broom
Details for The Perfect Broom
Summary: Gabby brings Gabriel to Flights of Fancy to show him her new job….and sell him a broom?
Date: Fri Jul 12, 1938
Location: Flights of Fancy Broomshop
Related:
Characters
GabrielleGabrielLaurence

Stepping into a dream, the atmosphere in the room show room has polished white pine floors and soft creamy white carpets embroidered with exotic designs of gold, silver and black thread. when visitors look up, the ceiling has been bewitched to resemble the sky just above the clouds and there's a faint breeze in the room, cooler during the summer and warmer during the winter, adding to the fantasy of being up there amongst the clouds. Seats are provided around tables, each table about the length of a broomstick and the seats cushioned like lounge chairs with soft white upholstry and they match the two couches in the waiting area near the entrance of the shop. Daily periodicals and Quidditch magazines can be found and are easily accessible along with some thicker books about the history of Quidditch and other broom related topics. Exotic and fragrant teas are offered to customers as they browse or sit in consultations.

The backdrop for the front desk are all images of modern day Quidditch players who have agreed to try, use, and model certain broom models that were made for them or their teams. There are also large sketches and drawings of brooms and the like framed and placed within strategic view, displaying the artist's talent and appreciation for the crafts that are for sale. The front desk is made from the same polished white pine that the floor is, a sturdy flat surface long enough to rest several brooms upon and wide enough to service and examine things as needed.
The broom displays are the stars of the room however, sorted by function and price…there are racing brooms, brooms made for families, even brooms made for young children to name a few. Pre-Made brooms can be found on display in various points in the room but the majority of brooms that are on display are samples of the base designs that customized brooms can and will be made from based on customer need or demand. Moving pictures and posters are framed and placed strategically on the walls between, beside or above displays showing images of Quidditch players in history and other notable flyers. There are desk displays with little Quidditch accessories and Momentos, the occasional pairs of gloves or goggles for sale along with some sort of baked good…cake or pie, sometimes even tarts and the like under a glass cover for customer access.

It's an off day. No Work at the Broom shoppe, and Gabby did twice the amount of star charts yesterday than she normally does. So what's she do on her off day? Get up early and go pick up Gabriel! After getting the ok from his folks, they've been wandering around Diangon alley. She's dressed in a casual outfit, only thing a bit odd is she's wearing long sleeves. Her hair's down and she has her canvas bag with her. On her left wrist is a new charm bracelet. She'll push open the door to Flights of Fancy and grin, "And this is my second job! It's aces! I'm learning a ton!" And she is. She's been listening in on Phae and Laurence's talks. Nothing to change her life goals, but it's interesting.

Gabriel spins in place, lookig at everything all at once. "Oooo! Oh! Oh! And I can have my own broom next year, can't I? I want to buy one!"

"Miss Evans?" Laurence arrives from the backroom, sleeves rolled/pushed up to expose his tattooed forearms and he holds a beautiful black and gold broom in one hand and his wand in the other as he arches an eyebrow and smiles as he sees the little boy. "Ahh, Miss Evans…good to see you! I just put a pot of tea on…" He looks to Gabriel. "And to you young sir, welcome to Flights of Fancy, where I turn your flying fantasies into reality."

Gabrielle laughs softly at Gabriel, "You'll need to talk to your parents about getting one. I got permission to take you out, not bring you back with a broom." She'll smile down warmly at her housemate, "But maybe we can ask the questions to get the answers you'll need to convince them? Everyone's perfect broom match is different." she'll look up at the other Ravenclaw entering the room, "Good morning sir! This is Gabriel Ward,second year Ravenclaw. Gabe, this is Mr.Toulson." She'll place a hand on Gabe's shoulder, almost proudly for a moment, and will then move to start helping with the tea. Gabby's fairly certain, any job she has will entail making tea…even if she's off the clock.

Gabriel bounces up to Laurence, offering a hand to shake. While he makes his way there he's telling Gabby, "We don't need to ask them. They told me while we were here I could get anything I needed for next year. A broom counts. I even have some money for stuff!" Onc eh gets within hand shaking range he gives Laurence a proper greeting, "Nice to meet you Mr. Toulson. How are you doing today?"

"Miss Evans…easy now, no no…go have a seat." Laurence gestures towards the glass covered dish. "If you must do anything on your day off, get yourself and your little friend a slice of cake…its like gingerbread cake, just soaked in honey…its delectable." He removes a couple of thin small plates from behind the front desk and places it on said desk before laying the broom down carefully on a display and turning to take Gabriel's hand, shaking it firmly. "Well its an honor to meet you Mister Ward…a /second/ year Ravenclaw! I think I am doing fairly well today. I have a package to send to the son of a rich toy maker…he'll ride it at his wedding."

Gabrielle will change the direction she's walking towards the indicated cake and plates. He'll not have to twist her arm. She'll smile, shaking her head slightly at Gabe. She hopes his parents didn't give him that much money to carry around. She'll look up from the cake to Laurence, "Oh! Is it done?" she's all smiles, that was an interesting order, indeed!

Gabriel nods, "Well, I'm glad you're… Flying on his wedding? How do you fly and have a wedding at the same time? Do the groom, the bride, and the minister all fly in formation while the wedding goes on? Does the audience fly along with them too? Or do they just use binoculars to keep an eye on what's going on? OO! of maybe they have big, huge flying carpets that fit all the chairs and /that/ flys around following the broowms?" Then the idea of cake sins in, "Cake? I can have some too? I've never tried gingerbread cake soaked in honey…"

"Aye..it is done." Laurence gestures towards the glossy black and gold broom. "Fortunately, the father sent the gold to use in the binders themselves…it cut the cost down some but still…it was a beautiful creation process." He eyes the broom fondly before moving to get the tea set up, pot set down and leaves sorted, all those important things and he's listening to Gabriel with an amused little smile. "Flying carpets are /beautiful/ and amazing things Mr Ward, but no…I don't believe the entire wedding party will be flying. The groom wants to make a…unique entrance, he shall fly in on his special broom…and shower flowers down upon the guests in celebration of his special day."

Gabrielle grins as she gets the cake. "Yes Gabe, you can have some. The cake here is always aces." She'll turn back towards Laurence, "That's great! It looks amazing. You said it's to be shipped today?" she'll eye the broom a moment, trying to decide if she'd have enough time to get a sketch for him or not. She'll giggle at the unique entrance, "I thought the bride was the one that was supposed to leave everyone breathless?" There's a moment of a far away look in her eyes, but she'll shake that off.

Gabriel takes a plate with cake on it and then grins up at Gabby and Laurence, "Thank you. And that sounds like a fun entrance. So how do you go about making a broom? What kind of charms go on it? How long does it take? How do you choose the wood? What's the sweepy part made of? What do you call the sweepy part anyway?" Wait, there's cake… and questions to ask… and cake… And the cake wins out as he stops asking questions and takes a big bite of the treat instead.

"Oh heavens, she's got a wedding train about 50 feet long and is wearing a dress with trained butterflies arranged to flutter in the guaze of her skirt. Trust me…it will make people breathless." Laurence confirms before pouring cups of tea. "Sugar? Cream?" He inquires before he's processing all the questions being asked and he just smiles slowly. "The sweepy part of the broom is the head, and the bristles are made of different straw like materials and bound together in different ways depending on the type of broom it is." He then considers the other questions. "Making a broom is a very…detailed and complicated process. You have to understand the history, life and spirit of the tree where you harvest the wood before you can choose the proper wood. They all have different properties."

Gabrielle 's lip twitches as Gabe struggles and finally looses to the cake. she'll blink, "Oh Merlin! That's….wow." She's smiling, but shakes her head, "I hope Aunt Irene doesn't hear about that!" She'll nod to Laurence, "Yes, please." She'll sit back and let the boys talk brooms. She knew Gabe would like it here!

Gabriel nods through his mouthful of cake and uses his free hand to point at both the sugar and the cream. Once he's swallow the frankly overly large first bite of cake he asks on simple, yet important question, "What kind of broom would you make me?"

Laurence adds the cream and sugar with practiced ease, pushing cups both towards Gabrielle and Gabriel before he folds his arms over his chest. "I cannot imagine how much more challenging a dress like that would make the wedding nigh-" He cuts himself off and remembers he's speaking to kids, just coughing and looking back to Gabriel. "Hmm, well that depends. When is your birthday young sir?"

Gabrielle will smile around her fork , should have realized Gabe would just ask .Her eyes go big and she'll look at Laurence. She old enough to know what he's wondering . Blushing, she'll cough lightly into her hand, trying to not choke on her cake and will reach for her tea.

Gabriel answers Laurence with, "July 21, 1963." Then he notices Gabby's reaction to what Laurence just said before asking him what his birthday was. He opens him mouth to ask something then Gabby's expression and color clicks with him and brings him back to some conversations they've had in the past, which made her react the same way so his original question changes to, "He's talking about mushy stuff and possible cootie infections, isn't he?"

A hint of a smirk goes towards Gabrielle as he just waggles his eyebrows and laughs softly before turning to Gabriel. "No lad, I be talking about the love two people who marry each other have. Its a beautiful thing and I assure you, never ends in cooties, just babies and a beautiful history together." Laurence smiles a bit sadly before quickly shaking his head. "July 21st…" He murmurs softly to himself in Greek, doing some calculations before he sobers up rather quickly, staring at Gabriel rather intently with those ice blue eyes. "….Holly…which means my boy you have a way of seeing and putting the dark things in life behind you, understanding things like sickness and illness but Holly is evergreen and happens to fruit in the winter, which is considered a darker side, so you bring…health and happiness to those in the dark. The wood of Holly, will make your broom as fiery and protective as you are…but it'll be tempered with Elm…with represents wisdom, healing…endurance and a noble spirit." He smiles softly. "So, Holly…tempered with Elm.”

Gabrielle keeps her eyes down and will sip her tea for a moment. Almost glad that Laurence answered for her, but now wondering how many questions she's have to field later. She does look up and smile at the wood Laurance chooses for Gabe, "That's perfect." She'll look to Gabriel, "Right Doc?"

Gabriel stares at Laurence with a forkful of cake frozen halfway to his face. "How'd you do that?" Yep, looks like he thinks it a good match. The fork starts moving again and makes it to his mouth and then he asks around the mouthful, "But its gonna be /fast/, right? Gotta be sure I can make it to emergencies in a hurry. And I want to play Quidditch too and a slow broom is no good for that either. And how much would it cost? My parents gave me money so I can probably give you at least a downpayment after we go to Gringotts and change it to Wizarding money. That sounds like a very nice broom…"

"…trees aren't like people but people can be like trees. If you understand one…it can make the others easier to understand. I understand trees, very very well." Laurence replies softly and shakes his head. "I spent many years learning the lore behind what so many take for granted." Then he has to chuckle softly. "Most brooms are fast if created correctly, but it won't be a racing broom. Just speedy enough to get you safely and quickly to your emergencies of course." The question of cost makes him sigh softly. "A custom broom like this, Mister Ward would be very very costly indeed. However, I can put in an order for you and as soon as you're able and have a signed 'permission' letter from your parents to get it, I'll be able to quote a good price, I'll even get started on a small scale model so you can see what it'll look like."

Gabrielle smiles, maybe this will work out ok after all. And getting to see Gabe's broom get made will be really great! She'll take another bite of cake. A thought crosses her mind, "I know I can't afford one…but what wood would you give me?" She'll look to her employer and tilt her head slightly. She doesn't know enough about the woods to even make a guess.

Gabriel nods as he finishes chewing, humming happily at the sweetness in his mouth, "That sounds great!" And then the idea of hearing what wood Gabby would get makes him shut up and listne. After all, asking questions isn't the only way to find out stuff.

"It depends on when you were born, the time, the moon…everything has an alignment, something they teach you in that school of yours. Can't just read a person by picking random leaves in a cup or pointing out random stars, gotta know where to start first. When's your birthday Miss Evans?" Laurence has to ask, tilting his head to the side.

Gabrielle frowns light, because she can read someone with just leaves in a cup…but now's not the time to argue that. "March 31, 1922."

Gabriel quietly chews on his cake, which is getting really close to being gone, and looks back and forth between Laurence and Gabby as if he was watching a tennis game. He stops eating cake for just a small moment when he's so dry he /has/ to have a gulp of tea then goes back to his sweets.

The faint frown from Gabrielle just make Laurence look thoughtful for a few moments. "Hm…" He contemplates the date and hesitates before replying softly. "Alder. Tempered with Hazelnut." He bows his head politely and moves behind his desk to select a piece of parchment, smoothing it out and scanning the filled out order form.

Gabrielle 's from turns into a more concerned look. She'll glance to Gabe, did she do something wrong? "Oh…that sounds pretty." She'll bite her lower lip,slinking back into her chair some. She shouldn't have asked, it's not like she'll even get one.

Gabriel finishes his cake and looks for somewhere to place the plate. Since he doesn't find a good place for it instead he offers it to Gabby while he asks Laurence, "What do I have to fill out then Mr. Toulson? And if you give me a copy of it I can show it to my parents too, I'm sure they'll be willing to let me get it." Gabe's family isn't rich but he does have two working parents, a doctor and a nurse, and they're both fairly frugal so it shouldn't be /too/ much of a sacrifice to buy the broom.

"Alder is a sacred wood to some…it means you're a Doer, Miss Gabrielle. You do your best to stay busy and in those things you are skilled in you sow seeds of success yet balance is very important my dear…or you will burn out quickly, never fear however you'll get the opportunity to rebuild. It is after all a wood strongly attached to water elements…fire makes it feel vulnerable and those born under more fiery moons have a hard time getting close. It is a crime to harm someone born under the Alder moon…it is said the spirits of the tree seek revenge on those who do." Laurence explains as he selects a new form and fills in some details before folding the parchment neatly and slipping it into an envelope for Gabriel as he offers it. "Here you go laddie, just make sure it gets to your parents. They can send me an owl or you can and even a payment plan can be worked out." He looks back to Gabrielle. "You're understanding and will grow in time to learn how to be honest about how you feel and what you feel…because you have that hazelnut tempering the Alder. You live…your life from your heart, so guard it closely."

Gabrielle will take Gabe's plate and nod as Laurence talks. See? This is why she never has anyone do her readings, cause it's creepy. She'll flinch slightly at the mention of fire, but she'll try to cover it up with a shifting in her seat. She'll give Gabe a small smile and nod, looks like he'll be getting a broom after all. She'll look to Laurence and nod, his wood choice hitting a little to close to home.

Gabriel is like a gamboling puppy as he comes over to Laurence and takes the envelop from him, "Thank you thank you thank you!" Then he spins on Gabby with a big grin, "I know we were going to be in Diagon longer than this but can we /pleeeeaaaaase/ go home so I can give this to my Mum and Dad!? I'm sure they'd love to have you over for dinner too. You're the first Hogwarts friend to come visit."

Laurence nods and laughs softly as he watches Gabriel and Gabrielle with a fondness and he tilts his head to the side and shrugs his shoulders. "You are very much welcomed…"

Gabrielle chuckles and will nod, "If that's what you want. I'll need to send word home to my aunts, so they won't worry." She'll turn to Laurence, "Thank you sir!"

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