| Details for An Exploding Malt for Two |
| Summary: | Colton treats Melody to an Exploding Bon-Bon Malt. |
| Date: | June 12th, 1941 |
| Location: | Hogsmeade Village - Harkiss Candy Shop |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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It is a spring afternoon. The weather is warm and drizzling.
Stepping into the dizzying kaleidoscope of sweets, muggle and magical, is a Hogwarts students dream come true. Harkisss Candy and Malt shop has even been known to turn adults into children again, without the use of magic. Young and old alike wander the forest of stands sprouting lollipops like fantastical rainbow colored leaves. Strange birds strutting a multicolored variety of sugared quills mingle among the forest, preening their feathers for consumption.
Then theres the shelves down the middle of the store. Polished glass jars of pepper imps, licorice wands and exploding bonbons dazzle the eye. Wrapped in shiny foils, fizzing whizbees crowd among the trademark gold hexagonal boxes of chocolate frogs and pots of wriggling jelly slugs. Various muggle treat of peppermint and butterscotch fight for their own right to be sampled and taken home, as well as an impressive variety of homemade fudge.
The main feature of the place, however, is the malt counter. With the wood polished to a high shine, and cushiony bar stools lined up in front, patrons can be seen sampling all manner of drinks that fizz, foam and steam. The best part of the bar it that it never seems to be full. No matter how many students and adults crowd the counter, theres always another stool for the little straggler who wants to join his fellows, or a couple for the sweethearts that wish to share a malt for two.
Colton holds the door open for Meldody with his free hand, the other hand is down straight at his side with his pinky finger hooked with hers. Once the door is open he draws her into the candy shop in front of him and lets the door swing shut. He gives a big smile and wave with her free hand to Mr. and Mrs. Harkiss who wave back a bit more dubiously as they keep an eye on the mischievous prankster Traveler as he leads the way to the counter. His foot slides out a stool for her and he climbs into the one beside that. "You like chocolate, right?"
It was no surprise to see Colton sitting on the steps to his wagon on her walk into Hogsmeade. What surprised Melody somewhat was him standing as she approached, and falling into step beside her. They've run the gamut from vague acquaintances, to having a bit of a tiff, to patching it up and developing something of a better friendship from the experience. She was only too happy to have company, telling Colton about a new song she was learning from one of the other students, and had no objection to the casual hook of their pinkies as they walked. The Hufflepuff gives a bright smile to the proprietors before she hops onto the stool he's pulled out. "Oh yes, I do. What's your favourite flavour?" Still, although she very seldom gets anything else, she marvels at the different flavours of everything offered with wide brown eyes.
Colton lifts his finger of his free hand, his other still dangling in a pinky tangle. "One Exploding Bon-Bon Malt please." He smiles towards Melody, "Unless you want to get something else for yourself." The flirt was going for that classic one glass two straws wooing technique.
"I don't mind," Melody says agreeably. "They're rather large, aren't they? I'd never be able to finish one all on my own." She twists to look around, as if afraid there's something she'd miss if she didn't, and spies that Mr. Harkiss has gone back to restocking the chocolate frogs. "Oh look," she bubbles excitedly, "New frogs. I wonder if they've released the new cards yet. Eoin collects them, you know." When she looks back to Colton it with a typically beaming smile.
Colton gets the same sort of grin he gets after a good snog, something she'd be more familiar with now. "Yeah, huge. Good on you." When she looks over to the restocking of the frogs his eyes go with hers and for the first time since he first took her pinky he releases it, strolls over while their malt is being put together by Mrs. Harkiss and in a flamboyant flurry he takes up a piece of their colorful parcel paper and closes his eyes and reaches into the bin - getting in Harkiss' way who's still filling the container and he tosses fifteen or so hexagonal purple packages onto the paper before he gathers it up and returns placing it on the counter next to Melody. "My compliments."
Melody watches Colton with mild interest, assuming, with that many boxes, that he's stocking up for his siblings at school. She's just thinking what a good brother he is when he strolls back and deposits the parcel in front of her. Her face blanks for a moment and she blinks at it, then looks to Colton. "Oh Colton, that's brilliant, but you can't possibly. That's so dear." Pricey, those fifteen or so boxes, and she can't imagine he's making so much money that he can throw it around so.
Colton found a little something at his ruins last week, so he's solid for money at the moment. But he'll blow it on things like candy, girls, booze, family and fags in no time. "Nah, you take it, something to remind you of me over the summer when you nibble the legs off a poor defenseless chocolate frog and then bite its head off." He gives her a wink and pats the parcel in a 'that's that' final way and gives it a fraction of an inch slide closer to her. Their malt has arrived and he gives Mrs. Harkiss a smile and a wink, "Looking particular fine this afternoon Mrs. Harkiss." It does make the older woman tutter and flutter at the same time with a grumble from behind. "Don't think I didn't notice how dashing you look today sir." Colton counters the grumble from the olde man who guffaws and continues to re-stock. A wink is then given to Melody while he angles her straw over towards her and leans in to suck on the wide straw. Within the chocolate malt drink there are tiny explosions and through the glass the bon-bons can be seen here and there exploding bringing bubbles to the surface of the shake without enough force to splatter. But when the bubbles occasionally make farty sounds, it has Colton snickering as he suck on his straw.
Melody can't help a smirk at his 'instructions'. "Yes, because you're so terribly forgettable." When their treat is deposited before them, she gives a fairly formal, "Thank you, ma'am." She's not exactly uneasy around people like the Harkiss pair, but Colton's ease of manner with them still impresses her a bit. But he's just so easy around everyone, it's no surprise. Colton gets a much less formal, "Ta." when he nudges her straw. She leans in a second after he does, and lightly bonks her head on his. "Oh dear, sorry," she chirps with a giggle, then tilts her head to get her first taste.
Colton comes away from the malt clutching his bonked head making a huge playful production of being terribly wounded. "Oh my eye! My head! I can't see! I can't hear!" He leans forward to suck on his straw some more. "I can't taste! Woe! What have you done to me woman!?"
Mr. Harkiss just ignores the pair, and Mrs. Harkiss shakes her head indulgently at the wizard's dramatic reaction. Melody just giggles again, then tries to look ever so remorseful. "Dear me, Colton, that was so very careless of me to cause you such trials and tribulations. How will I ever be able to live with myself after this?"
Colton waits for those around them to lose interest before he gets that wicked flirty smirk and points to the bumped area and leans his head forward to her. "Kissin' it better may be a capital start."
Melody doesn't laugh out loud at that ploy, but it does get a huffed, amused breath. "I can't exactly take you back to school to see Madame Spleen, then, can I?" she muses. She bites her lower lip, with a quick glance around, and then leans to oblige the suggestion, tipping her head and aiming at his poor, abused forehead.
Colton looks a bit like a cat in cream when he returns to noisily slurp up his Exploding Bon-Bon Malt up through the large straw and gives sly side-long glances towards Melody. "See, all better. Full recovery." His traveler lilt sneaking into his words as he gets more and more relaxed and high on sugar. "Are you going to open one? We'll wish bone it in half and whoever gets the smaller leg, has to do a dare."
Having gone right from crucial medical assistance to sipping back on their drink, Melody straightens and looks at Colton curiously. "Dare? You mean, like steal Pringle's garden gloves and bring them to you?" She's reaching for the chocolate frogs even as she asks, plucking up a pack and presenting it to him. "But I never know what to dare anyone to do." And knicking something from Pringle is a no brainer as to something Colton would think of, even Mel knows that.
Colton licks the malt from his lips and nods his head as she gives an example of a dare. "The very same." He wags his eyebrows and glances indicatively at the pile of Frogs in their parcel and ticks his finger to point to a different frog than she's going for. "Well that's perfectly fine. You're going to lose anyways."
Melody drops the packet she had to pick up the one Colton points out instead, obligingly. It doesn't matter to her which frog it is. His confident statement raises her brows incredulously. "So sure about that, are you? That only means I'm bound to win." She slides the chocolate frog packet over toward him. "We'll just see, Higgins." Back to his surname in the importance of the moment. Her indignance is rendered less than effective by the grin she struggles to tame.
Colton scootches a little closer to her stool and pivots so one leg and one hand go behind her and the hand settles on the small of her back while the other hand is up in the air, elbow on the counter, fingers flexing and wiggling about in a dramatic warm-up that will be the key to his success! "Put your frog where your mouth is Abernathy." His fingers hover, waiting for her to open up the box so he can quickly snatch up the frog before it springs free.
Melody stops trying to hide the grin, letting it flourish fully. "Such confidence is admirable, if misguided," she says softly enough for it to stay between them. Her jaw tightens in anticipation of the jump as her fingers deftly loosen the wrapping. She opens it and the chocolate frog springs out!
Colton snatches the frog mid leap like his fingers were a heron's beak. "Gotcha!" He waggles the caught frog about a little boastfully with a cocky croocked grin at Melody. "Alright, ladies choice of leg…" The legs are offered out to her still squirming and kicking about while he holds it by the back of the head.
"Clearly you were in the wrong position, not being Keeper when you were on the team." Melody knows that Colton wasn't the Keeper? She even knows what a Keeper is? Her fingers miss the first try to grab one of the wigging legs, but she gets it on the second try. "Alright then." Her chin levels, eyes falling boldly on his face without even a glance to the frog, as if daring him to get the bigger leg, which could absolutely never happen.
Colton adjusts his hold on the frog to slide down it to take hold of the leg. When they are ready to pull he twists his fingers too hard to quick and comes away with barely any leg above the ankle. He blinks at his miserable failure and then barks out a merry laugh. He pops the little foot into his mouth and the smiles at Melody. "Dare me."
Melody's touch is more gentle, with a bit of finesse in her tug, but she probably could have just held on and let Colton have at for the same result. She looks absolutely delighted as she watches him, then laughs along with him. Pitying the tiny taste of chocolate he's gotten, and now that she's won, Melody uses both hands to snap the now still chocolate frog into two and offers a piece to share with him. "It was a good try," she says, consolingly. And now she has to think of a suitable dare. Most would go right for something really embarrassing, or dangerous, but Melody doesn't wish Colton nor anyone else to get hurt in any way. Her lips purse in thought and she glances around, then looks to Colton, her grin returned. She leans in so their words will stay between them again, and whispers, "I dare you to buy flowers for Mrs. Harkiss and thank her for always being so tolerant of your shenanigans."
Colton chuckles and head shakes at her dare. It's clear he thinks it's a pitiful one. Sucking his fingers clean he slides off of his stool and goes deeper into the shop. It's not long after that he comes from around behind a display and he's got a fist full of candy and chocolate flowers. He strolls up to the till and purchases the bouquet. Then once the transaction is all handled he steps to the side so the Lady of the Sweets can see him get down onto one knee and offer up the bouquet. "Oh sweet lady of the confections, please take these flowers as a show of my undying affection and humble apology for all of the shenanigans that I have done in this fine establishment."
Melody tips her head sideways, lifting a brow at Colton in a 'get on with it then' look. She watches him until he disappears, then takes a few sips from their drink before the explosions fizzle out. From the corner of her eye, she sees him return to the till to make payment. Her eyes widen as Colton actually drops to one knee, hand darting up to cover a soft gasp. The flowery apology and the fact that it doesn't sound snarky, brings a smile behind her hand before it drops into her lap.
Colton receives that mixture of tuttering fluttering from Mrs. Harkiss as she takes the bouquet. She waves the bouquet for him to stand up and he does so. The scamp leans forward to steal a kiss to her cheek bafore he raises his hands in surrender when he gets a good natured clearing of the throat from Mr. Harkiss. "You're a lucky man sir!" He grins and scampers back to the stools to sit down and give a slurp that's very noisy because it is finishing off the dregs. "Alright pidge. Ready?" He holds out a hand to her and then theres a little flourish of fingers and what was once an empty hand hold up a yellow sugar rose to her.
There's something akin to a fond admiration in Melody's eyes as she watches Colton saunter back to his stool. "Quite well done," she praises him softly before his slurping drowns her out. She automatically reaches for the hand held out toward her as Melody slips to her feet, and there's a soft squeak as she pulls her hand back quickly at finding once empty fingers now presenting a sugar rose. Even a witch can be surprised at a bit of sleight of hand, after all. It makes her laugh again, and she accepts the yellow flower with a nod of her head. "Ta." When they've wrapped up any further purchases and settled their account, Melody waits for Colton to open the door before they step out into the midafternoon sunshine.