Chapter .1. Old chums meet again.
Eldinwen stared motionless at the door, unblinking and breathing steadily. It had seemed like she had been waiting for hours, just staring at the peeling paint on the pub's door. The leaky cauldron was brewing with customers but Eldinwen neither saw nor heard them. She was in a dream world again, drifting off into a far off place where time did not seem to exist.
The door of the pub creaked open and a new flow of customers entered, chatting friendly and joining the hubbub of the other guests. Eldinwen's misty green eyes followed the oncoming crowds of witches and wizards but soon returned to her watch at the door.
The figure sitting next to her adjusted his position on the pub's stool. Eldinwen seemed to have come to the surface from her pool of tranquility and was now gazing at the figure on her right. He stared up at her and gave her the pleasure of a small smile. She managed to smile back, then turned to watching again. He sighed and also resumed to stare at the door. After a few minutes the man moved again, this time to take a sip of his butter beer which stood on the counter of the bar. Eldinwen sighed and also turned to the bar. Neither spoke.
"Should we call her or something?" Asked Legolas as he replaced his butter beer onto the counter.
Eldinwen shook her head and replied "She'll be here, soon."
He sighed. "We have been waiting over an hour."
"Just give her 5 more minutes, O.K?"
There was a hint of harshness in her voice that made Legolas, her elven brother, keep his mouth closed. He could see she was not in the mood to argue. Her best friend had failed to show up. That would make anyone grouchy!
Eldinwen had resumed watching for her friend. She was determined not to admit that her friend might have forgotten their arrangements. It had never happened before. Well, maybe a couple of times before, but Eldinwen had put that behind her and was determined to wait. She sighed again and took a sip of her orange juice. The pub was nearly full to bursting. It must have been a pleasant day for some shopping of some sort!
Suddenly, the doorknob turned sharply and in tumbled a rather blustered girl wearing a tartan mini-skirt and a T-shirt with a picture of chipmunk smirking on the front. She breathed deeply and gulped in mouthfuls of air. Everyone in the pub had gone silent and Legolas and Eldinwen had jumped to their feet. The girl looked up and pushed away her dark brown hair from her face. Eldinwen smiled and gave a sigh of relief.
"Sorry I'm late!" Gasped the girl, "the bus was late because of traffic. I had to run most of the way!"
Eldinwen smiled again and let the girl sit on her stool. Legolas handed her the rest of his drink and she gulped it down thirstily. Eldinwen smirked at Legolas and he gave her a look of defeat. Everyone else in the pub had gone back to his or her drinks and general chitchat. Eldinwen pulled up the nearest spare stool and ordered another butter beer for her brother. The girl adjusted her T-shirt, her breathing more calm and relaxed. Eldinwen's gaze turned from the bar to the girl's clothes, eyeing her up and down for a few moments.
"What did you have to wear those for?" she asked.
The girl also stared down at her clothes. "What's up with them?"
"Were just doing our shopping for school, not doing a catwalk show."
"Well, what about your clothes. Talk about the Middle Ages!"
Eldinwen stared at her clothes. She was wearing a long green dress with gold leaves embroided up the middle. The long sleeves had a triangular point going up the back of her hand and the shoulders padded and puffy. A hexagon shape fitted around the neck, showing the top of her pale chest. This was also embroided in gold silken thread. She also wore a ring on her right hand, which kept changing colour in swirling patterns, and a pendant necklace, which dangled lightly over her chest. Both of which were shaped like small oak leaves.
"There's nothing wrong with my clothes, Raene!" She replied coldly.
"Then there's nothing wrong with mine!" said Raene, a smile spread across her face. Eldinwen opened her mouth to argue but glanced at the look on legolas' rather handsome face and closed it again. He tried to hold back what looked like a laugh.
"I don't know…" He said, getting off his bar stool and slurping down the rest off his drink, "Your together for a couple of minutes and you're already squabbling. I sometimes wonder why you're such good friends," Raene giggled and Eldinwen blushed. They also drank the rest of their drinks and got up to leave. It was quite a warm but blustery day, the wind sweeping through the narrow courtyard, causing the girls' skirts to flap dangerously. Raene fumbled furiously to hold hers down while Legolas tapped on the appropriate bricks to open the archway to Diagon Alley. The bricks scrapped apart to let them walk through. Soon they were in the bustling alleyway and pushing through the crowds to the looming building up ahead.