"-Unfogging the Future… Check. A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration… Check. That butt-load of Gilderoy Lockhart crap… Check. The Monster Book of Monsters… Unfortunately, check." Gaia Robertson crossed off all the textbooks from her supply list. Out of her three years of purchasing things for her term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, this was by far already the most interesting. Not only did her Care of Magical Creatures textbook try to attack the man selling books, but the ever-so-famous Gilderoy Lockhart himself was present at Flourish & Botts. He was holding a book signing, so the place was PACKED. Gaia, of course, couldn't care less about him: so he had a pretty smile and could write books. So?
Now, let's introduce you to Gaia. As mentioned previously, she was entering her third year at Hogwarts. Back in her first year, she'd been sorted into the Hufflepuff house, along with Catherin Lumbach. Gaia had, like the Lumbach twins, blonde hair, though closer to a dirty blonde. It was short, barely reaching her shoulders, and wavy (sometimes curly, depending on the weather). She wore glasses, which were a different color and style every other year; this year, they were dark purple. She was tall for her age, and though not overweight, she wasn't skinny in the least.
Gaia flung herself out the door, sucking the fresh air into her lungs. It felt good to be outside, where it wasn't making you claustrophobic and everyone around you wasn't screaming "GILDEROY, I LOVE YOU!" Gaia sighed happily, checking over her list. She compared it with her basket, and grinned in relief: she'd purchased everything. She sat dramatically on a bench, stretching her arms and legs. I'll just rest here for a while,she thought, closing her blue eyes lightly. Basket still in hand, she ended up falling asleep.
"Eh? What time is it?" she asked herself a while later. She checked her watch; fortunately, she'd only been asleep for 15 minutes. As she blinked to get her view into focus, she noticed two brown haired boys walking into Flourish & Blotts. From behind, they looked like they could be twins, except the one boy was taller and his hair was a shade darker than the other boy's. A few more shades and it'd be black.
The sight of these boys- Satoshi and Shiro Ueda- filled Gaia with bittersweet feelings. Shiro was incredibly nice: he was a Ravenclaw second year, and had a good sense of humor, friendship, and the difference between right and wrong. Gaia met him because he was best of friends with one of Gaia's fellow Hufflepuffs, Konata Verdent. Well, there was that and the fact that Gaia'd dated Satoshi.
That wasn't saying much, though.
Satoshi was a fourth year, and known mainly for 3 main things: having the Weasley twins as close friends, being a Qudditch fanatic (but never making it on the team), and never dating a girl for more than a week. Even so, Satoshi was never single for more than a day or two. Yes, every girl knew his reputation, but every girl still wanted him. He was popular, hilarious, and in general, a friendly and nice guy. Not to mention on a scale of 1 to 10 for his looks, it was considered a crime within the female population to rate him anything below an 8.5.
Gaia quickly looked away. In the back of her mind, she considered waving to Shiro, but her angry feelings toward Satoshi took control. She and Satoshi had dated for 3 days, and she found that the rumors were true: he made you feel like you were perfect, and even sometimes ventured to tell you that you were. It was also rumored that he was a simply AMAZING kisser, but Gaia hadn't been brave enough to find that out. She wanted her first kiss to be with someone special, not some cute player.
Gaia was so busy gripping the bench and staring at the ground, blushing furiously, to see the Lumbach twins walk by. She noticed them through her peripheral vision, and snapped her head up to say hello to them. However, they'd closed the door behind them before she could say anything."This won't end well," she muttered, gathering up her items: Catherin was head over heels for Satoshi.
"Oy, Gaia! Hi!" a feminine voice squeaked. Gaia looked up from her basket of supplies and smiled, causing her to not notice Catherin running out of the store red-faced.
"Oh, hey Konata!" Konata Verdent, who had the appearance of a 9 year old, trotted into view, her best friend Blaze Alexanders close behind. Blaze was a blonde as well, though a different blonde than the others': her hair was almost yellow in a way. She was VERY tall for her age of 12, and wore glasses as well, although hers were blue. She was in Gryffindor, like Satoshi.
"Have you done all your shopping yet?" Gaia inquired.
Konata shook her head, her light brown side ponytail smacking into her face. "No, we just got here. We were thinking we'd start off with getting some ice cream though. Would you like to come?"
"Well, I bought all my stuff, I still have money left, it's hot, and my mum isn't coming for another 40 some minutes- probably a couple hours, with her sense of time- so yeah, that sounds great!"
Konata nodded, blushing slightly and smiling sheepishly as she often did even around her closest of friends. In fact, Hannah Abbott and Blaze were probably the only people she didn't always act shy around (though she only tended to be timid around Shiro). Gaia grinned at her, acknowledged Blaze's presence by giving her a salute, and the three girls headed into Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
After ordering their ice cream (Blaze got blueberry, Konata got cherry, and Gaia got something she couldn't identify but it was rainbow so she got it), the girls found a bench outside since Konata's pet rat, Tar, wasn't allowed inside the parlour. The girls licked their ice cream cones quickly in effort to prevent it from melting all over, and chatted about random topics that came to mind for a good duration of time. After finishing off the cones, Blaze and Konata bid their farewells and went off to begin their shopping.
"Watch out for the bookstore! Gilderoy Lockhart is in there having a book signing, it's a MADHOUSE! It was when I was in there, at least," Gaia warned. Blaze and Konata nodded, proceeding to the first store they decided to visit.
"Who's Gilderoy Lockhart?" Konata asked quietly. Blaze shrugged.
"Beats me."
Gaia's pureblood witch mother came for her 30 minutes late ("A new record, Mum!"), but Gaia was still happy to see her and head home. She immediately headed to her bedroom, saying a quick greeting to her Muggle father. She pounced through her doorway, unsuccessfully trying not to slam it behind her.
"Hi Glace, I'm home, my baby!" she crooned. Her pure white ferret popped her head out of her hammock, her little nose twitching. She disappeared back inside and soon was scurrying down the ladder at the back end. Gaia opened the cage door, scooping up the weasel and planting a kiss on her head. Hugging Glace to her chest, she fell back on her bed.
"Looks like we'll be going back to school soon… It's about bloody time. I miss everyone…" Gaia pointlessly listed names of her closest friends and favorite professors. She paused a moment after going through them all, and held Glace a little tighter. "And frankly, I miss Satoshi," she whispered.
