Puberty was a ***** [Open]

[TOBIAS KIRKE]

Puberty was rinsing Tobias of all of his Galleons in Gringotts, and it wasn't getting better; he was at the very peak of his growth spurt - and it showed by the good five inches he had grown and his mother had dragged him all the way to Diagon Alley to get a new set of school robes. The store was as bright as usual, contrasting to that rather dusty robe shop back in Knockturn Alley, a location that Tobias had been told that it was forbidden and not a safe place for him to go. "Mum, you know how much I hate robe fitting." was heard exiting the corner of Tobias' mouth as Katie Bell; otherwise known as "mum" nudged Tobias to the counter. Armed with an awkward smile, Tobias made his way to the counter, the rather frail and thin woman greeting the pair of them with dim grey eyes.

The much older looking woman waved a little at his mother. The worst thing he needed right now was one of those reunion conversations, mother did ramble on a bit too much. Luckily, it was nothing more than a quick "hi, how are you". The lady turned her attention to Tobias, recognizing him from last year. She greeted him with a question. "Back again for the school set I assume?"

"Yes, the school set." Frustration was the general tone of his voice, all he wanted was to get this over and done with. Maybe it would have been better to have gone to that more shady-looking store in Knockturn Alley, he would bet that they didn't take as much time as these perfectionists did. It wasn't about perfection, Tobias only needed the school set. More complications as she gave Tobias the traditional elevator look, before asking another question. "All right. Let's get you measured up, shall we?" Tobias smiled again, this one with the sense of "let's get this over and done with". The woman turned, indicating for him to follow her to the fitting room; Tobias rolling his eyes before being nudged by his mother to obey the kind orders.

Zip!

The measuring tape was out already, Tobias stood on a pedestal as the handy little tape wrapped itself around several parts of Tobias' body, with the old woman taking down notes on whatever the tape gave her. Tobias slapped the measuring tape off of his neck, it wasn't an aggressive slap; it just felt as if the measuring tape was choking his neck. The tape slapped Tobias' cheek gently with it's long tongue, before continuing it's work. A chuckle from his mother was heard as she and the frail woman began to converse, reminiscing events of when her baby boy was just a "tiny one"; anymore of that and he swore that mother was going to cry like a running tap.

"Sit tight, we'll be back in a jiffy with your new robes." was heard from the rather colorful woman with odd but generally cheerful hand motions. Within a blink of eye, the woman had exited into the other room, the swish of the curtain still leaving it flowing back and forth from the hooks it hung on. Tobias folded, his feet tapping an infectious beat as he kept his eyes locked on the curtain, waiting for the woman to come back and hand him the robes. It was only a matter of time, to be honest, the place was rather dead; although he did see a customer leave the store as he entered. She should be back any second, I can only hope. was among the thoughts that flooded Tobias' mind as he glared at the curtain was a tedious sensation.

[ISABEL TAYLOR]

Isabel entered Madam Malkin's quietly, cursing the jingling doorbell that gave her away. Luckily, there was only one other person inside the shop. A boy around her own age was waiting near the counter for something. Either he was waiting to be served, or had already been served and was waiting for his robes. It didn't make much difference, she guessed, except for it would be a lot quicker for her if he had already been measured or whatever he had came here for.

Crossing the shop floor, she hovered near the counter at a polite distance, trying not to make eye contact with the boy. She didn't recognize him, though she could only see the back of his dark blonde head, and so lumped him in the category of strangers she felt highly uncomfortable speaking to. Her long hair flowed loose today, though was slightly windswept from the breeze outside, and she combed her fingers through it for something to do.

Isabel was never comfortable in situations were she was alone with people she didn't know. She wished greatly that her mother had come inside with her, instead of heading across the street to get herself a coffee. Izzy didn't like coffee, so apart from begging her mum in the street, she really didn't have any choice but to go to the robe shop on her own. Her mum had been saying for quite a while now that Izzy needed more independence, and to learn to go places and ask for things on her own. Still didn't make it any easier. Biting her lip nervously, she peered around the shop, hoping there would be an assistant along soon to have a brief, awkward conversation with her and send her on her way with her new school robes.