A Place to Hide (o)

[BEAU LUCAS RENARD]

'At least it's quiet,' Beau told himself as he stood on a small platform with a measuring tape whizzing about, sticking itself in places he wasn't particularly comfortable with in public. But, yes, the fact that he was the only customer in the shop did help a little. At least he didn't have an audience, outside of the seamstress taking notes at his side.

He wasn't sure why he found it so embarrassing. Beau wasn't a prude, by any means, but there was something about having your personal space invaded on such an intense level that made him want to hide. He had to force his hands to stay at his sides, instead of batting at the tape like they really wanted to do. 'Just keep still, and it will be finished faster.' His fingers twiddled agitatedly.

"Okay! That'll be about ten minutes. You don't mind waiting, do you, dear?" Before Beau had a chance to answer her with some polite snippet, she had hurried off into the back room and out of his sight, the tape measure following after her like an obedient dog. He watched the spot she had vanished in for a few more moments, before stepping down off the platform and making his way over near the counter, where a few small, cushy-looking pouffes were gathered. Dropping down into one, Beau stretched out his legs with sigh. At least he didn't have anything else to buy after this. His next stop was home.

[DELILAH EVERETT]

It was a good thing that Delilah's mother had made her try on her robes before heading off to school, for it was obvious her old set just wouldn't do any more. Her old robes weren't going to accommodate the few inches she had grown and the curves that had developed. Besides, after almost two years of wearing the same sets of robes, her old ones were wearing down quite a bit. It was a shame she needed an entire new set though – for she only had one year of school left to wear them in. When she had come in earlier to be measured, the shop had been completely deserted. Good thing too, for the elderly witch started sputtering out embarrassing thoughts about Delilah's measurements as she took them - 'What a beautiful young woman you're turning into!' or perhaps 'You've got an extra inch or two in your bust area now.' and even 'Oh how I used to have such a fine figure like yours!' - all which had Delilah turning beat red.

The sales woman told her it's be about an hour, so Dee went to go buy her books instead of just sitting around and wasting time. When she returned back to the little quaint shop she wasn't the sole customer this time. She smiled briefly at the fellow student before her attention was drawn to the lady addressing her at the front counter. “Yeah I'm Delilah Everett, I was here about an hour ago for measurements,” Delilah confirmed while the woman pulled out her neatly packaged bundle all ready to go. She paid her seven gallons and was about to turn away before really noticing who the fellow student was. Beau, a sixth year Hufflepuff if she had that correct. She wouldn't exactly call each other friends, but they weren't enemies either. Acquaintances she guessed would be the best way to describe it. ”Hey Beau, you look mighty relieved about something,” she blurted out. Normally people started off with – hey, how was your summer? - but apparently not her. ”Long day of shopping or something?"

[BEAU LUCAS RENARD]

Beau's eyes drifted toward the shop door as it opened, a girl he knew from school walking in and grabbing the attention of another shop assistant. Now, when he said he knew her, what he really meant, was they they were on a first name basis, but had never actually hung out or spent time together outside of classes. This didn't mean he didn't like her, though, and he flashed her a lazy smile as she greeted him.

"You have no idea, Delilah," he answered, stretching his legs out a little more and shifting position in his seat. He could literally fall asleep it was so comfy. "I've been here for almost a full ten minutes. It's torture," he joked. "But, I am relieved. This is my last stop before I can go home."

He wondered whether she would get the significance of that, being a girl. Not that he was sexist in any way, but most girls he knew loved shopping, and considered it a treat to be able to go rummaging about all day, buying random things that they never really needed. He didn't really know enough about Delilah to be able to tell whether that applied to her, but he knew she had a good sense of humour. He could work with that. "What about you? You don't happen to have a sleeping bad inside one of those, do you?" He nodded to the shopping bags she carried, stifling a yawn, for, when he said 'home', he meant France, and traveling by Floo Powder always made him nauseous for at least twenty-four hours.

[DELILAH EVERETT]

He looked like he could fall asleep right on top of the squishy pouffes she sat on. Delilah had to admit, they looked rather comfortable and tempted her. Regardless, she knew if she sat down now she would end up lazy to finish the rest of her shopping and she'd have to come back another day. No, she wasn't going to come back just for one last item on her school supplies list. She opted to just lean against the counter instead. She laughed at his reply, it was obvious he was joking. “Oh a whole ten minutes, poor you,” she joked back smiling. She understood now that he was just relieved to have all his shopping done, and she sympathized with that. Shopping had never been her favorite thing either, but she didn't despise it like she knew her father and brother did. A guy thing she figured. She idly wondered if she would enjoy shopping more if they had the money to splurge with.

She was looking forward to getting back home too, Diagon Alley was always much too crowded for her claustrophobic tastes. She laughed again at the blond boy and shook her head when he asked if she had a sleeping bag. “No, nothing but books and robes. Although, I'm sure reading a chapter from my History of Magic text would lull you right asleep,” she mock suggested with a crooked smile. “Just gotta go get my Potions Kit now and then I'm done with shopping too,” she added, wrinkling her nose at the thought of the crowded Apothecary shop.

[BEAU LUCAS RENARD]

Beau's Potions kit sat safely in it's bag at his feet, and he found himself glancing at it as Delilah crinkled her nose at the thought of getting her own. He thought it must be similar for a lot of people, the hatred of buying Potions supplies. It was that way for most people he knew, anyway. A lot different from the quiet robe shop. He knew which of the two he preferred.

His head shot up as the black curtain twitched, blue eyes fixed eagerly upon it until it moved again, swishing more animatedly this time as the woman who had measured him re-appeared, a frown on her face as she sorted through a pile of freshly packed robes. He wondered what could be puzzling her so much, and hoped she was merely double checking that she'd gotten everything right. Knowing his luck, Beau would get them home, and try them on to find that they were six inches too short or something.

"Here you go, lovie," the woman announced, nodding for him to go and collect his things. "This should all be in order. Seven Galleons, please, dear." She dropped the robes neatly into a bag as she waited for Beau to produce the money. He handed it over, watching as she counted it out into the till, satisfied that he had given her the right amount. He lifted the bag from the counter and turned to Delilah. "Hopefully they'll be a bit quicker getting yours," he whispered, checking that the shop woman was busy and couldn't hear him.

[DELILAH EVERETT]

Delilah's eyes flicked to the women behind the counter making sure they hadn't overheard Beau's comment as well. She was confused momentarily for a moment at his words though, until she realized he must of not seen her already collect her robes. ”Oh, I collected my robes moments ago,” she said showing him her bag, [/b]It's not so bad of a wait if you go off and do other shopping while they adjust everything for you.”[/b] She could see why he'd be confused though. Here she was, just chatting away with him in a shop she had no need of anymore. ”I just really don't want to go to the Apothecary, she pretended to joke. In reality, there was nothing funny about it to her. The idea of the little shop with lots of customers made her nervous. Apparently there was a high demand of potion ingredients in many families, not just for school children.

”But I guess the sooner I can get that done, the quicker I can just head home,” she decided begrudgingly.”I'll see you around at Hogwarts,” she waved goodbye at him and left the shop before she changed her mind and stalled even longer at getting her Potion's equipment.