Chapter 30 - New Beginnings
Noah had just decided that the Oakshaft 79 wasn't all that people had been saying about it when Ezra joined him in the field. He was tempted to ask him to wait until he could change broomsticks, but he just thought 'what the heck' and caught the Quaffle.
He hadn't expected Ezra to join him. But, to be honest, he didn't really know what to expect from him at all, at the moment. And right now, as the Slytherin stared at him defiantly, he didn't really care either.
"Why not? Let's see if you actually learned anything in the last lesson," he teased, taking a few seconds to adjust his grip to a ball he wasn't used to handle. "First to 15, aye?" He asked, suddenly speeding to get past Ezra and towards the posts.
They played in concentrated silence for a few minutes. Noah had gotten a pretty good idea of how Ezra moved, but this was different, and he never assumed he'd seen all that his opponent was capable of.
He got two goals to none and now Ezra had the Quaffle. "Come on, Greengrass. You seem pretty rusty!"
Ezra smirked as Noah caught the Quaffle, glad that his challenge had been accepted. After that poor showing with the bottles in the woods, he was looking to prove himself here on his home turf. He might not be a great Seeker, it was true; he had the attitude, but neither the vision nor the speed.
He was, however, something of a good Keeper.
"As you prefer," he said, speeding around to the posts and hovering in front of them. Noah closed in quickly, just as Ezra had expected he would; he got the first goal, but Ezra caught both the second and the third. It was the fourth, however, that swished by him through the middle hoop, and the Slytherin groaned lightly. He flew around to catch the Quaffle before it hit the ground.
"Rusty as compared to what, Ledger? Six solid years of Quidditch practices?" Ezra called sarcastically, holding the Quaffle firmly in one hand and eyeing the goal posts on the other end of the field. He sped for them, but his broom wasn't quite as fast as the Oakshaft. Ezra was, however, lighter...
"How does it fly?" he called back to Noah, weaving in the air experimentally, holding the Quaffle under one arm protectively. Then, abruptly, he stopped and swung his arm around, letting the Quaffle fly through the air in a soft arc toward the right hoop.
"As compared to my standards, Greengrass," Noah's smirk was somewhat predatory. "You asked for my help, so you submit to my standards; even if they seem unfair to you." But damn, he thought, the Slytherin was actually a pretty decent Keeper. He showed more potential in a few minutes than the last Keeper in his team had shown in weeks.
Noah's reflexes were pretty good, and the Oakshaft could reach a pretty decent speed, but it didn't have the acceleration needed in that situation, so Ezra passed him easily and scored his first goal.
Noah dove for the Quaffle, shaking his head. "Not bad," he said. "Tell me, Greengrass, how many times did you try out? Did you ever try out to be a Keeper?" Many students tried out to be a Seeker, looking for the status it gave them within their house, and didn't accept any other positions. He was pretty sure Greengrass could've gotten the position, at least as a reserve…
They kept going at each other, and Noah had to sweat for his goals, but he kept a one goal lead until the score was 12 – 11.
"Did you use to play here a lot?" He asked off-handedly, not sure if the question was a bit sensitive at the moment or not.
Ezra narrowed his eyes, still smirking in return. The Quaffle soared effortlessly through the hoop, and he watched smugly as Ledger retrieved it.
Well, he thought, it was better than nothing.
"Only once," he called back, flying around to block the other boy's path to his goal. "Slytherin already had a Keeper at the time. I expect Bulstrode would have bashed my head in with his great fat fist."
In truth, he hadn't really wanted to try out at all; as he'd told Noah during their previous match, for lack of a better term, his father had forced him into the idea. He'd always been more bookish, with far more brain than brawn.
They zipped across the pitch like bullets, scoring and blocking with gusto until Ezra was only goal behind. With one sleeve, he dabbed at the misty sweat he'd worked up on his forehead. He quirked the corner of his lips, enjoying the challenge. He only faltered for a moment when Noah brought up his childhood.
"Well," he replied with slightly forced nonchalance. "It's rather hard to play Quidditch when you don't have any friends. But, yes. Pokey used to throw the Quaffle at me so that I could practice blocking it."
He paused, smiling grimly.
"She has better aim than one might expect."
He turned quickly, then, and tied the game with a quick left-sided goal. He ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly.
"Where did you play?" he asked, somewhat apprehensively, as though social skills were a foreign language to him. "Surely you learned to fly before you arrived at Hogwarts. Do have any siblings?" he asked right after the fact, somewhat suddenly. "Daniella's only just told me that Johnston has siblings. I'd no idea."
He paused awkwardly, wondering if this made him sound self-absorbed.
Noah hung his head for a moment, smacking the handle of his broom as Ezra tied the match. "Damn this broom! I'm never using it again for Quidditch," he groaned loudly, but quickly retrieved the Quaffle and approached Ezra's posts.
He was halfway to say something about Ezra's commentary of having no friends to play in a place like that, but he repressed it in time, remembering what they'd gone through just a few hours ago.
He focused on the Quaffle instead. He turned to his left, approaching the left ring rapidly, focusing to not lose the right moment to act. He turned to the right abruptly, nearing the opposite ring, as if changing his mind, but threw the Quaffle at the left ring. It hit the hoop with a clang but went in.
He grinned, pumping one fist in the air and slowed down for a moment. "Remember Gryffindor's Seeker, Shawn? We lived nearby, and we've known each other most of our lives. There was a rather large clearing near our village, hidden from view by the woods. His father used to take us there to teach us when we were little; then we kept going by ourselves, especially after we made the team."
He started backing closer to his own posts, realizing it had been the first time he mentioned Shawn in months. And, most importantly, it was the first time he thought of his teammate without feeling the urge to break his face all over again.
Maybe he really was getting over Quidditch a bit, after all. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but Ezra was coming at him quickly, so he pushed that thought aside for now.
"Don't blame the broom," Ezra said sardonically, whipping around to cover his posts. "Unless you'd prefer that we switch, of course. It would be a minor inconvenience for me to beat you on a broom that I'm not familiar with, but I'll manage."
No sooner had he rattled off the quip than the Quaffle tumbled through the ring with a metal ring that made the post shake. Ezra puffed out his cheeks, releasing a long, slow exhale. He caught the Quaffle expertly in one hand.
"Ah, yes," he murmured, placing Shawn's face immediately in his mind. His meetings with the Gryffindor - indeed, most Gryffindors - had been rocky at best, but he did remember. He also remembered, somewhat unwillingly, a nasty rumor involving the two of them and Johnston. He cleared his throat. "Yes, I'd always assumed you two were close."
He had maintained distant acquaintanceships with many of his housemates, including Logan, whom was one of his closest acquaintances in his formative years. He was ashamed to admit it now, but other than Sabrina, Logan had been the closest thing that he'd had to a friend. Perhaps that was why he'd felt so strongly about Daniella to begin with… for all the wrong reasons, of course, at first.
He snapped back to the present, tossing the Quaffle idly from one hand to the other.
"Well, I'm glad you had what appears to be an authentic childhood experience," Ezra said smoothly with a slanted grin. He zoomed over to the post and took a shot; it bounced off of the middle hoop and he caught it again.
"Bollocks," he said darkly.
Noah's laughter filled the field. "Isn't it a bit too early to start getting cocky, Greengrass?"
Now he really wanted to win this challenge. And maybe he'd really make Greengrass fly on that broom, one of those days, after he got his own broom back. Ezra had the same model, of course, but he knew his broom, every flaw, every personality tilt it gave when he was flying. Maybe one day he would explain Greengrass why such details were so important in a professional world.
"Yeah, we were… until the day I broke his face after practice and lost my Captain badge," he looked at Ezra with a mix of casualness and defiance. "I'm sure you heard the rumors about it. I don't think a single broomstick or mop in Hogwarts didn't hear about it."
Ezra failed his next attempt, but Noah couldn't recover the Quaffle. He regained balance quickly, positioning himself in front of the middle ring and eyeing him intently.
"I can't complain," he said lightly. "Of course, since I told them about Jo, my father doesn't talk to me, but…" he shrugged, as if it was no big deal.
"Now, now, Ledger," Ezra said silkily. "You can't take my overconfidence from me. It's all I've got." He gave Noah a mocking pout, which blossomed into a sly grin. "Well, not all I've got."
He held the Quaffle for a few moments, staring down the hoops as though he were trying to intimidate them into submission. Once he realized it was useless, he hauled off and threw the Quaffle with as much strength as he could muster in his tired arm.
It bounced off again, this time flying towards Noah instead of back to him. He sighed, but smiled wryly.
"I heard," he said with some amount of caution. After a few beats of silence and an apparent lack of hostility about the situation in general, he hazarded to add: "I can't say that I was surprised. I knew he was a prat already."
He flew to the other end of the field to guard his posts, hovering comfortably around the middle, just in case his opponent tried one of those fancy bait-and-switch moves again.
It wasn't until Noah mentioned his father that Ezra stopped. For a moment, his expression softened; he totally forgot about defending his goals and looked off to the side.
Several beats of silence passed as he thought about the people he'd come to know over the past few months. He'd never been exposed much to a... well, a homosexual relationship… before that time. Anyone who talked about it talked about it in relatively hushed tones. He'd thought about it once or twice, of course. Surely everyone had.
What bothered him about the situation was that he knew, in his heart, that Ledger and Johnston truly loved each other. He knew this just as surely as he knew that he loved Daniella, and that Daniella loved him in return.
He didn't see why it was any different, and he didn't understand why anyone else did, either.
"I'm sorry," he said finally, a bit awkwardly.
Noah recovered the Quaffle with ease. "Yeah, he was. But then again, so was I for a large part of my life; maybe that's why we got along for so long. Quidditch taught me discipline and that being a leader isn't the same as being a bully. Jo taught me so much more than that," he said quietly, then realized he'd said it out loud to Greengrass, nonetheless.
He frowned at himself, shook himself mentally and refocused his attention on the rings, but Ezra was no longer paying attention.
He could've scored and finished it, but the other boy's words stopped him. "Yeah," he started, and he was going to say it wasn't a big deal, then thought better. He gave a curt nod. "I appreciate that. But I don't think about it too much. I think his disappointment was mostly because I ruined my career in Quidditch; he blames Jo for that." He shrugged off the awkwardness and said lightly, "Or so my mother says."
He looked up at Ezra with narrowed eyes, then gestured to the two figures sitting on the bench, looking up at them. "Why don't we call it a draw? I reckon they're bored of watching us."
He started lowering himself to the ground and they got momentarily out of the sight of the others. He pulled his leg off of the broom and waited for Ezra to join him, scuffing the short grass with one shoe.
"Hmm…" he hesitated, "May I ask you a question?" He could feel his ears heating up and made his best not to flush. "How can you tell what she wants? Like, being romantic and such?" He regretted the words the moment they got out, but he couldn't go back now. He avoided Greengrass' gaze.
Ezra had a fleeting thought that, perhaps, his father and Noah's father were a bit alike; then, however, he remembered that Noah's father was more than likely neither a supporter of Death Eaters nor a violent, trigger-happy fuckhead. He swallowed the comparison, squinting up into the fake blue sky, where the clouds were always perfectly white and fluffy.
Relating to other people was hard. At Noah's acknowledgement of his awkward apology, he nodded twice, slowly, but said nothing for some time.
"Fair enough," he said, huffing out a weak chuckle. He was sweaty and sore, and his nerves were still a bit frayed from his ordeal the previous day. They could settle their scores some other time; right now, he was just glad to have a safe place to stay and friendly faces to share it with. "Thanks for playing," he added, almost too quietly to hear.
He landed with a soft thump on the grass, dismounted from his broomstick, and lifted it to rest over one shoulder. The bristles pointed toward the sky. He stretched loosely, closing one eye, which he opened again as Noah spoke to him.
He blinked, the caution in Noah's voice making him apprehensive.
"You may," he murmured, furrowing his eyebrows a bit and starting the walk to the broom shed so that he could look at the ground on the way instead of the other boy's face. Once Noah posed his question, Ezra was glad for this; he definitely hadn't been expecting anything like that. He let out a long, pensive hum, thinking. They reached the shed, and he propped his broom back up on its holder. In the corner, one of many black sets of Quidditch balls was still lying open. There was a large dent in the velvet case where the Quaffle had been removed.
"I can't be sure if it's the same… with… well, that is to say, if our relationships are similar. However, in my experience…" he trailed off, feeling a bit stupid. "When you put effort into an action, it becomes more personal, somehow. It only requires a bit of forethought. For example," he said, gaining a bit more confidence. He leaned against the wall, but he was still looking at the floor determinedly. "On our first date, I showed Daniella a secret passage in Hogsmeade. Not because it was particularly of interest, but because… if you are interested in someone, everything becomes interesting if you do it together. But there is a marked difference between enjoying an activity and enjoying someone's company. It's just that people often confuse the two."
He conveniently left out the part of the memory where he and Daniella had been wickedly drunk, made out in the passageway, and then parted ways so that he could relieve himself of mounting sexual tension.
"Anyway, nevermind that," he mumbled, now blushing a bit himself. "I was going to give you lot a tour. Er, if you'd like."
Noah walked into the shed behind Ezra and put the Oakshaft back in the holder, next to other riding brooms, instead of where it had been, next to the racing brooms. "This is no racing broom," he murmured, shaking his head as he thought about the article on Top Quidditch magazine about how the Oakshaft 79 promised to change the sport.
He looked at the brooms a while longer while Ezra talked, but he was listening intently, his brow slightly furrowed in thought. At Ezra's conclusion about people confusing things, he snorted softly. "Well, it is confusing…" he mumbled.
He walked out of the shed again, to meet the others, waiting for Ezra outside the door. "Sorry we started snooping around without asking," he said lowly, not really sorry at all. "We got curious. But a guided tour would be welcome!"
At the end of the cobble path, Daniella noticed Ezra and Noah had disappeared. "It seems like they're done," she said, turning to Jo. When she did that, she noticed her hair was still red and her eyes widened. She'd completely forgotten about that!
"Erm, Jo, can you fix my hair before Ezra gets back? I think he's slowly growing fond of it, but I prefer my original color," she said solemnly.
Jo looked at Dan's hair; his eyes widened, too. Then, he giggled a little.
"Oh, love, I'm so sorry," he murmured, pulling out his wand hastily. "I totally forgot. Merlin's beard." He pointed his wand directly at the roots of her hair; the deep red color rolled off quickly, as though it had melted off and instantly evaporated.
"There," he said brightly, tucking his wand back into his pocket and grinning at her. At that moment, Noah and Ezra appeared on the path, on their way back from the Quidditch pitch.
"Hi," Jo said, a little breathlessly, smiling at Noah. He looked a little pink; Jo raised his eyebrows slightly. "Everything alright?" he asked, still cheerful. Ezra stepped forward and offered Daniella a hand up from the bench.
"We tied," he told them, smirking and looking over his shoulder at Noah. "He's sulking."
-/-/-
Ezra walked down the sidewalk slowly, looking at his shoes and trying to recall all the information he'd been taught only a few hours before. He whispered to himself soundlessly, moving his lips as he thought. Every now and then, he stopped near a shop front and squinted at the price tags, muttering.
He looked over at Noah, who looked much more comfortable. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dress slacks and felt a pang of envy.
"Do you know anything of electricity?" he asked suddenly as a Muggle businessman pushed by him on the street. Ezra pursed his lips, but he was too busy looking at all the signs of the small businesses lining the street to be too grumpy.
It was rather exciting, really, this Muggle business.
"It's just that I'd thought of having a… what do you call them? E-lec-trishans?" he murmured dreamily. "How does one hire an e-lec-trishan?"
Noah looked around with interest as they walked. He'd never seen much of Muggle London before and the town seemed a lot busier than the village where he'd grown up. But mostly, he looked around because looking at Ezra made him want to laugh. He looked like an excited puppy on his first walk.
"Hmm, well, I know how it works, sort of. And I know, from experience, an electrical shock hurts like hell," he looked at Ezra solemnly. "Which is what happens if you touch wires that aren't insulated or if you put your fingers in the electric outlets."
They walked by a bakery and Noah's head turned at the showcase, momentarily distracted. Ezra kept walking, though, fixed on the idea of finding the electronic store, so he sighed and walked away from the temptation.
He rubbed his neck, thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how we'd get in touch with one of them, to be honest. My parents knew a Muggle electrician, but he doesn't live in London." He pondered that for a while, but then his eyes lay on a brightly lit sign above their heads, on the other side of the road, where the word 'ElectroLondon' flashed. On display were televisions, radios and other devices he didn't immediately recognize.
He poked Ezra with his elbow and pointed at the sign. "We'll probably find who you're looking for there," he said, grinning.
Ezra looked up at the store Noah indicated; his eyes widened slightly, then returned to normal. His face became a mask of determination. He walked toward the door stiffly, looked back at Noah, and opened it for them both.
The store had a rather strange plastic-y smell that Ezra found mildly disconcerting. The floor was made of yellow-white tiles that were patterned with strange specks of blue and purple that looked like confetti. As the door swung shut, a loud bell-like noise sounded throughout the entire store.
Ezra jumped, startled, and looked around for the source of the noise.
"May I help you?" said an uncertain voice behind him. Ezra jumped again.
"Er, yes," he murmured, equally uncertain. The clerk was dressed very informally in stained khakis, a polo shirt, and a red apron bearing the word ElectroLondon on. He had large glasses and a prematurely receding hairline. He cleared his throat, and Ezra realized that he was waiting for him to say something. "I'd like to buy a television."
The clerk nodded slowly, looking relieved to be in familiar territory again. Ezra noticed that the tag on his apron said 'Larry.'
"Tabletop or console?" asked Larry.
Ezra blinked.
"Erm," he said, looking back to Noah for assistance. "Whichever's… bigger?"
Noah walked in after Ezra, watching the other boy with amusement. He started looking around, recognizing a couple of the brands displayed. At Ezra's last words, he smirked and walked further into the store until he was staring at the biggest television set in sight, studying it intently, even though he wasn't entirely sure what to look for.
"This is the biggest," he said, looking over his shoulder at Ezra. "But we'll need sturdy furniture for this… It must be over 40 inches! It comes with a remote and-" He stopped suddenly, narrowing his eyes at the device next to the television.
The label read 'Magnavox Odyssey games console'. "Oh…" he murmured excitedly. He'd definitely heard of those! He looked back at Ezra with a look that was almost pleading, then glanced at the clerk. "Does this console work on this television?" He asked hopefully.
Ezra followed Noah closely, feeling vague and dream-like as he passed between the rows of cords and radios and bits and bobs and thingamajigs. They finally stopped in front of a television that was, in Ezra's opinion, impossibly large; he hadn't pictured a television that large in his wildest dreams. Oh, how crisp Crossroads would look on a television like that! It wasn't until Noah pointed to the small box beside it that Ezra snapped back to attention.
"The Odyssey? Sure, it works," Larry said nonchalantly. He picked up the small box and plugged one of its thingies into a small hole in the television. He turned the television on; it flickered to life slowly. Ezra watched, amazed, as the words MAGNAVOX covered the large screen.
"Comes with a free game," Larry added, hopefully, wiggling a small grey object at them. "Only forty pounds more with your telly purchase."
Ezra blinked at Larry. Larry blinked back.
"How much is the television?" Ezra inquired softly, reaching out to pat its wooden top.
"Er, seventeen-hundred pounds," said Larry uncertainly, as though he was afraid that these two teenage boys had only come in to have him on. "Seventeen-hundred and forty with the Odyssey. We've got a lease program on at the moment, so, erm, it's six months with no interest, and you get a free telly license..."
"Oh," Ezra stopped him with a single hand. "No, I'll be… 'paying in cash', as it were."
Noah watched what Larry did intently. He didn't want to ask how it worked, or where to connect everything, so he had to pay attention now.
He was burning with excitement when the words appeared on the screen. He'd only played those games a couple of times, at a Muggleborn friend's house. He'd tried to convince his parents to buy it for him, but they hadn't given in.
He looked at Ezra with a mix of shyness and poorly restrained excitement. "Just wait until you try the games!" He said, trying to tempt him. He glanced at Larry again. "Which game is it? Is it Space Invaders?"
He was about to take off looking for what games might be available, but he looked at Ezra when Larry said the price; he was the one with the money, after all and that television was very expensive. He couldn't quite contain his grin at Ezra's words, but then he remembered all of that would be useless if they couldn't get electricity in the mansion.
"Er, Larry," he started, trying to sound even and business like. "Do you know any electricians? You see, we just moved into a new house and we haven't had electricity installed yet, so we'll need to take care of that before we buy something like this," he explained, nodding.
Ezra blinked at Noah, who seemed, quite irrationally, more excited about the small grey box than he did about the television. He inspected the small cartridge distractedly - indeed, Space Invaders - and nodded distractedly.
"Yes, alright," he murmured. Larry looked from Noah to Ezra, looking bemused.
"So you've a house without electricity, in London," he said slowly, as though to make sure he had his facts straight. Ezra nodded, untroubled by this assessment.
"Yes," he replied honestly, blinking. Was that unusual? "Well, it's quite an old house."
"An old house," Larry repeated hollowly, his eyes glazing somewhat. He looked at Noah, nodding. "Well, we've a list of independent contractors up at the desk. You can have a look if you like."
Ezra wasn't sure what an independent contractor was, but he nodded anyway, trusting that Larry wasn't up to anything mischievous. The other man wandered off to the front desk, presumably to prepare the paperwork for their television license. Ezra leaned back and whispered.
"Ledger," he hissed quietly. "What's an… independent contractor?"
Noah realized a moment too late that, indeed, it was a little odd that any house in a big town like London didn't have electricity, but if they didn't get the information there, it would be much more difficult to get it elsewhere.
He nodded at Ezra's explanation. "Yes, exactly. It's a really big place too," he added, walking up to the desk Larry indicated to take a look at the list. "It was abandoned for some time, that's why it doesn't have electricity."
He met Ezra's eyes at his question. "It's the people who build houses, I think," he murmured back. "They usually know everything about plumbing, electricity and whatnot. If they're independent, we can hire just one of them privately. It'll make it easier in case he sees more than he should," he said in a warning tone. "I'll just copy these names and Jo can help us figure out who's the best guy for the job."
He looked at the list. There was no way he could memorize that and he only had a piece of parchment and a quill with him. Larry would find that weird. He leaned a bit closer to Ezra and whispered, "Distract him, I need to copy all of these."
"Not haunted, is it?" Larry asked jokingly, huffing out a sarcastic laugh as he scribbled on a complicated looking form with a ballpoint pen. Ezra watched the pen, mesmerized, before looking up.
"Well, not anymore," Ezra murmured matter-of-factly. "We did have…" he looked over at Noah, then back to Larry, who looked incredibly confused. He cleared his throat, trailing off into an uneasy laugh.
Larry smiled confusedly but indulgently, because Larry worked on commission and this sale was going to pay six months of his rent.
Ezra nodded to Noah. Trying to think quickly, he cleared his throat. Larry looked at him expectantly.
"So," he said, as pleasantly as he could manage. "Would you be kind enough to show me how it works once more?"
Larry repressed a hearty sigh with great skill.
"Sure, mate," he said, patting Ezra on his sharply-dressed bony shoulder. Ezra followed him, feeling a bit huffy. Muggles sure did warm up to people quickly, didn't they? Always so informal…
They stopped in front of the large television again. Ezra stared at it as Larry began fiddling with the buttons.
"This is the power button," he murmured, pointing. "Channel buttons, volume buttons, et cetera. Of course, mostly people rightly use the remote for that. This is just if you lose it."
"I won't," Ezra said, confidently.
Larry nodded, raising one eyebrow.
"Right," he said. "Well, these are the audio and video ports, where you hook up your Odyssey, see?" he said, checking in with Ezra to make sure he was following along.
Ezra nodded vigorously.
"And that's it, really," Larry said, patting the television. "Of course, if you're getting bad reception, you'll just adjust these here until the picture clears up. But it's dead simple, really. Even my gran can do it, and my gran can't even chicken-peck two words on a typewriter."
"A typewriter?" Ezra murmured, unable to stop himself. He and Larry stared at each other for a moment. Ezra pulled out his newly-gained wallet - he found these Muggle forms of money-carrying highly impractical - and pulled out a fat wad of 50 pound notes.
"Blimey," said Larry, laughing nervously. "Now, now, there's no need to get all that out here, see. We'll go up to the front desk, if you like, and do it proper."
"You don't take… cash?" Ezra asked, crestfallen.
"Oh no, er, no, cash is fine," Larry mumbled, wiping a bead of sweat from his shiny, mostly-bald forehead.
Noah studied Ezra with interest, curious about the possibility of meeting a ghost in the mansion. He sobered up when Larry gave them an odd look, trying to look as normal as possible and not like he was finding all of that hilarious. The man could think they were mocking him and not sell them anything.
He leaned over the desk as soon as the others turned their backs and quickly copied all the names and contacts to the piece of parchment he had. When he looked up and turned around, he saw Ezra flashing all that money and the Muggle paling a bit.
He tried to get their attention, but gave up and hurried to join them, not sure what to do. He couldn't just yank the money out of Ezra's hands. "Maybe it's best to do it at the desk, yes," he said, giving Ezra an intent look as he made him turn around to the back of the store. "Just give him…" He glanced at the money. "35 of those," he murmured.
Larry looked relieved when Noah came to retrieve Ezra; all he wanted to do at this point was make the sale and get them out of the store.
Ezra nodded at Noah solemnly, flicking through the flimsy paper notes with intense concentration.
Together, they walked slowly toward the desk. Ezra, who had finally counted out 35 fifty-pound notes, flapped them onto the counter and pushed them towards Larry, who scooped them up with great care. The register opened with a cheerful ding; Ezra watched it with interest, almost missing the ten pound note that Larry was waving in front of his face.
He took it, momentarily perplexed.
"Your change," Larry said, his voice strained.
"Ah, yes," Ezra murmured. "Thank you, Larry."
"Will you be wanting that delivered?" Larry asked hurriedly, feeling a bit nervous. "It's free. Erm, sir."
Ezra raised his eyebrows at this sudden gesture of kindness.
"It's free?" Ezra repeated, pleased. "Well, in that case. Number Eight, Flat One, Kensington Palace Gardens East."
"It'll be along in about an hour," Larry assured them, and Ezra nodded distractedly, stuffing a bunch of bills and a receipt messily into his wallet. He looked up at Noah.
"Fancy a cuppa?" he murmured, sliding his wallet back into his trousers. "I'm a bit peckish."
Noah's jaw was starting to hurt with the effort to keep a straight face. He wondered if Larry had ever held so much money in his hands at one time. He knew he hadn't. When the purchase was done, he quickly made his way out of the store, allowing himself a low chuckle at that point.
"Yeah, sure," he said, shaking his head at Ezra. "But I'll pay this time. If you keep flashing all that money, you'll either get robbed or give someone a heart attack." He looked at both sides of the busy street. "That bakery we passed by on our way here looked pretty inviting," he suggested.
Ezra smiled wryly, stuffing his hands back into his trouser pockets and smiling against the cool autumn wind that brushed against his face.
"Did I do alright?" he asked Noah, feeling a bit self-conscious. "You don't think he suspected anything, do you?"
He furrowed his eyebrows at this thought, spotting the bakery a few meters ahead and making a beeline for the door. It was an upscale little place, filled to the brim with sweets and the smell of fresh tea. Ezra inhaled deeply.
This is the kind of Muggle establishment he could get used to.
A rosy-cheeked waitress saw them to a small bistro table and gave them a bright smile.
"What can I get for ya?" she asked with a wink at Noah, perching her pen over her order pad in preparation. Ezra looked from the girl and then back to Noah, smirked, and curled his fingers under his chin.
"Just a cup of black for me, thank you," he said dryly. "A shot of cream, no sugar. Do you have any chocolate biscuits, perchance?"
The girl looked at Noah again, slightly disheartened, but she nodded.
"Yes, we have. There's plain chocolate, fudge drizzle, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate biscotti, chocolate…"
"Plain chocolate would be delightful," Ezra said distractedly, handing her back the menu. "Thank you."
Noah slipped his hands into his pockets to keep them warm. "You've done well enough to keep him from calling the police," he said playfully. He noticed Ezra's expression and shrugged. "We'll always look a little weird to Muggles, it can't be avoided. Even I have trouble with some things. But we bought their most expensive telly, so I'm sure he didn't mind it."
Noah followed the other boy into the store and smiled contentedly as he breathed in the scents of chocolate and cinnamon in the bakery. His smile froze in place as the girl looked at him with bright eyes. "Erm…" He started, shifting slightly in his seat, self-consciously.
He glanced at Ezra, but quickly looked away at his expression and stared at the table instead. "I'll have the same," he said quickly, even though he hadn't really paid attention to what Ezra had ordered. "And a slice of chocolate cheesecake," he added, feeling his face heat up against his will.
Their waitress bounced off hurriedly, and Ezra arched an eyebrow and gave Noah a scrutinizing look.
"I didn't know you took milk tea," he said lowly, smirking. "Look sharp, Ledger. I've heard the Muggle girls are crafty."
He took a moment to inspect the surroundings of the small store; it was packed with couples and businessmen, as he supposed was to be expected. It was, after all, in a rather expensive part of town. Ezra couldn't blame the girl, then; after serving a bunch of shriveled old Muggle magnates all afternoon, even Ledger might look refreshing.
The girl bustled back while Ezra was lost in thought and set a cup and saucer in front of both of them.
"Your tea," she said breathlessly. "And your biscuits," she placed a small plate with four biscuits next to Ezra's cup. "And your cheesecake," she said to Noah in a small voice, sliding a thin slice of chocolate cheesecake with fudge drizzled over the top.
Ezra noticed that her face was bright red.
Noah sighed when the girl walked away. His eyes shot up to meet Ezra's when he mentioned milk, then back at the table. Bloody hell, he'd asked her to add milk? Noah didn't mind tea, but he hated milk! "I…" He shrugged. "Sometimes," he said noncommittally.
He rolled his eyes and looked out the window instead. "Aren't they all crafty?" He mumbled as the girl returned.
It was impossible to stay grumpy in a place like that when they put cheesecake in front of you, though. "Thanks," he murmured, trying to smile as politely as he could without meeting her eyes.
He looked at the tea, pressing his lips together for a moment. With another sigh, he took a gulp, trying not to make a face. He turned his attention to the cheesecake instead, took the fork and took a large bite into his mouth, closing his eyes blissfully. "Delicious!"
Ezra smirked insufferably, picking up the tea spoon he'd been provided and stirring his tea absentmindedly.
"You're welcome," the waitress squeaked. "I'm Leann, so if you two have need of anything, you just call," she finished in a hurry. Then, she turned and was gone in a flash. Ezra took no notice of her, lifting the blue-patterned teacup to his lips and sipping carefully with one finger out.
He rested the cup back on its saucer and nibbled at a biscuit.
"I say, that is good," he murmured, covering his mouth with one hand while he talked so as to be polite. He eyed Noah's cheesecake curiously, but kept said curiosity restrained.
"You can order another cup," he said amusedly after some time. "By the by, I was thinking the other day…" he trailed off, sipping some tea again. "You… like broomsticks, don't you?"
This was obviously a stupid question, but he had to get the conversation started somehow, and this seemed to be the easiest way.
Noah lifted his cup of tea once more, only to put it back down, giving up on trying to drink it. His eyes flicked from Ezra to his cheesecake and he pushed the plate closer protectively. He could've offered him some, if he hadn't been so amused by Noah's embarrassment. "Never mind, I'll just enjoy my cheesecake," he said pointedly.
He took another bite, not caring one bit if anyone heard his low moan of approval. He looked up and met Ezra's eyes, blinking. "Pff, have you ever seen me on one? I hate them! Are you daft?" He said, trying his best impression at Ezra's usually snobbish tone. He snorted. "Why do you ask?"
Ezra eyed the cheesecake once more before looking up to the case at the front, trying to make out any other varieties that might be available. At Noah's quip, however, Ezra gave him a wry, sarcastic smile.
"Ha ha," he said flatly, picking up another biscuit. He chewed thoughtfully for a few moments, regaining his composure.
"Well," he began, brushing some crumbs from his fingers. "As you may know by now, my father was somewhat… fond… of the enterprise. And, now that he's deceased…" he trailed off again, clearing his throat. "I've come into rather a lot of stock in a rather popular broomstick company with which you may be familiar."
He took another long, drawn-out sip of tea.
"I thought of buying the other shareholders out."
Noah grinned as he finished his cheesecake, licking the fork as to not waste any of the chocolate. At Ezra's words, though, he looked up and dropped the fork noisily onto the plate.
He looked around, flushing intensely as the rich people on the other tables looked at him disapprovingly and put his hand on the fork hastily to stop the clatter.
He looked up at the Slytherin boy with wide eyes, astonished. "You mean…" he glanced around again and leaned onto the table lowering his voice. "You actually 'own' a broomstick company?!" He gasped, then curiosity ran free. "Which one?" He whispered.
Ezra didn't flinch as Noah dropped his fork noisily; he merely smiled serenely, draining the milk tea from his cup. He was just about to bite into his final biscuit when Leann came rushing over again.
"Is there… is there anything else I might do for you?" she asked, and Ezra's smile widened.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Do you sell whole cheesecake?" he asked, his tone serious. She nodded, somewhat apprehensive.
"Yes, we offer… erm… chocolate, chocolate brownie, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, caramel chocolate pecan-"
"Yes, that one," Ezra said abruptly, nodding. "The last one. If you don't mind," he added, offering a small smile. Leann flushed again, nodding.
"And… anymore tea?" she asked, wavering slightly.
"Oh no, thank you. I don't suppose my friend here could stand anymore tea if he tried." He looked at Noah mischievously. Leann faltered for a moment, opening her mouth to speak; she decided against it, however, and rushed off to fetch a cheesecake.
"Anyway," Ezra murmured again, breaking his biscuit in half. "As I was saying… yes, I'm looking to own the broomstick company my father invested in. I can't handle it all on my own, though, of course, so I'll need a business partner… of sorts."
He popped half of the biscuit into his mouth with a crunch. At Noah's question, he looked up, unfazed.
"Nimbus," he said simply, polishing off the last bit of biscuit. "The founder and my father were schoolmates."
Noah stared at Ezra like he'd grown a second head for a very long time, stuck between a sense of perplexity and an unexpected urge to giggle.
The waitress came and went before Noah found his voice again. "The Nimbus company could very well be the best company in a few years, if they keep up their pace," he whispered dazedly. "They have the most well-balanced brooms by far and they could get even better! And you own it?!"
He stared at the other boy moment longer while the rest of his words sank in. "A business partner…" he repeated, at a loss. Then, slowly, the words made sense. "Oh!" He blinked. Had Greengrass meant what he thought he meant?
He cleared his throat and shuffled on the seat to gain some time. Maybe if he stopped looking like an idiot, he could stop feeling like one. He gave Ezra the most serious look he could manage in that situation. "You're planning to buy the Nimbus company and get involved in creating and developing racing broomsticks?" He asked to make sure he'd heard him well. "And you want…"
He paused there, studying the other boy's dark eyes, narrowing his slightly. This last bit surprised him the most. "You want me to be your partner?"
"Yes, that is my hope," Ezra said dryly, smirking again. He couldn't deny, though, that having Noah on his side in this matter would be a good personal and business decision. "I don't own it yet, but I do have reason to believe that my only competitor could be persuaded to sell."
He drummed his fingers on the table idly. Then, he looked up at Noah, fighting the urge to laugh.
It was like seeing a young boy on Christmas morning.
"I believe that's what I said, yes," he replied. "Only if you're interested, of course. I'll give you some time to think about it."
Leann reappeared with a large white box. She held it out to Ezra, who took in gingerly. It was tied with a large red bow. The poor girl was still blushing.
"Thank you, Leann," Ezra said offhandedly. "You've been most helpful." He fished around in his wallet for a moment, procuring another fifty-pound note. He handed it to her.
"The change is your tip," he told her without looking up. He gave Noah a sideways glance.
"Let's go, then," he said. "I don't want to miss the television."
Noah broke into a wide, thrilled grin. Having the possibility to develop a racing broomstick? That was so much more than he could ever expect to achieve… He had ideas, of course, plenty of them, actually! He'd actually tried to build one, once, when he was thirteen, but the project died young. He wasn't very good at handcrafting it at the time and he wouldn't know how to make it fly anyway.
"Are you serious?! I don't need to think. I'd love to be a part of that!" He said excitedly, struggling to regain his composure when Leann returned.
He made a choked sound on the back of his throat at the girl's expression when she took the fifty-pound note, and decided it was best to get Ezra out of the streets for now, and quickly.
They got out on the street and headed back towards the mansion. Noah hesitated, not sure if he should be the one bursting Greengrass' bubble of excitement or let someone else do it. He decided he'd had his share for the day and Jo could handle the Slytherin from then on. His boyfriend would have to remind him that he couldn't watch television until they installed the electricity.
He walked silently, distracted by the proposition Ezra had made him. He had been able to keep it out of his thoughts for the most part because they were on the run, but the truth was, now that he'd lost his chances in Quidditch, he had no idea what to do with himself. He hadn't done so well in his NEWTs and he'd never focused on anything else other than flying, really.
Would he really be able to do that?! The idea was quite daunting.
When he realized, they were standing in front of the mansion. He looked around, then at Ezra. "Seems like we beat them," he said teasingly.
"Good," Ezra said solemnly as Noah dragged him out of the small tea shop. "Good."
It was tiresome, carrying the cheesecake all the way back to the mansion, but Ezra decided that it was all good for character building. He had wanted to learn about Muggle life, after all. This was how Muggles carried things.
No wonder so many Muggles were so muscular.
When they arrived at the front of the gate, Ezra frowned and flipped open his pocket watch. Only 40 minutes had passed, so he couldn't say that they were late...
"Yes, it seems so," he mused. The gate swung open as he approached, and he carried the cheesecake inside. Johnston and Daniella were tucked behind one of the small tables in the guest dining room.
Jo looked up and smiled.
"How was it?" he asked brightly, flipping through a notebook. Ezra wondered what was in it.
Noah walked into the house, glad to get out of the brisk breeze, following Ezra closely to meet the others.
He circled the table and pulled a chair to sit next to Jo. He was still grinning when he kissed his boyfriend's temple. "Quite the adventure!" He said brightly. "But, as far as we can tell, everyone survived, unscathed; including Greengrass."
He looked at Daniella, who had three different catalogues, he realized after a closer look, scattered on the table in front of her and two more piled up to the side. "Wait until you see the size of the television we bought," he said, in a warning tone.
Daniella raised an eyebrow at Noah, then searched Ezra's eyes. "How big is it?"
Ezra put the box of cheesecake on the table and pulled out a chair, sinking into it lightly. Every few moments, he looked furtively at the door.
Jo smiled as Noah kissed his temple, flipping through a catalog of bridesmaid dresses. At the mention of the television, he raised his eyebrows. He looked first at Dan, then to Ezra, who was looking incredibly impatient.
Ezra pursed his lips and looked away from Daniella's gaze guiltily.
"It's… large," Ezra afforded in a low mumble.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Ezra sprang up, then stopped. He looked around, panicked.
"What do I say?" he whispered, his eyes wide. Jo rolled his eyes, raising himself from his seated position and pulling away from Noah to walk to the door and open it to reveal an older man in denim overalls.
Jo smiled.
"Got a telly for delivery to this address," the man said gruffly, and Josiah nodded.
"Aye, come on in," he murmured, motioning inside.
"Bring 'er in, Jer," the man called over his shoulder.
Daniella started to get up, curious to see exactly what they'd bought, then remembered her wand was still on the table. She quickly slipped it between the pages of a catalog and looked around, trying to see if there was anything else blatantly magical in sight.
"Did you warn the elves not to show up?" She murmured to Ezra a bit nervously. She'd never had Muggles in her house before. She paused, uneasy. Her house?!
But she didn't have time to think about that before two men came into the room carrying a rather large box. Her eyes widened. "Is that the television?" She asked Noah, who had come to stand at her side.
He nodded, still grinning, with a playful gleam in his eyes.
"Where do you want us to put it?" One of the men asked, setting the heavy looking box down and looking at each of them in turn.
Noah and Daniella both looked at Ezra questioningly.
Ezra's eyes sparkled as Josiah guided the men into the house. He gave Daniella a poorly concealed look of excitement, which was cut short by one of the deliverymen asking a question.
"Sorry?" Ezra said instinctively, blinking once.
"Where d'you want it?" the man repeated, patiently.
"Oh, erm, just over there by the wall should do, I expect…" he said, motioning to the far wall behind some fancy, comfortable-looking armchairs. The men picked up the television again with a grunt of effort and began carrying it, slowly, over to the aforementioned wall.
"Blimey," said the man with a mustache as they rested the television on the floor. "Looks bigger on the inside, innit?"
Josiah, who had been hovering nervously to the side, looked momentarily panicked.
"Oh, well, it's really just a trick of the light," he said kindly, clearing his throat and looking at the others for confirmation. "Really, thank you very much. How delightful. And large."
Ezra rubbed the tip of his polished loafers guiltily on the carpet.
"Nah, it's no trouble. You lot enjoy that. Do ye want us to hook up the console bitty-bob?" he asked, holding up the Odyssey in one hand.
Noah, who was trying his best to keep a straight face, nodded at Jo's words. He jumped in immediately at the mention of the Odyssey device, reaching out for it.
"I'll take that, thank you!" He said hastily.
The older man was looking behind the box at the wall, looking for a place to plug it in. If they noticed there wasn't even electricity in the house yet, they'd just start asking more difficult questions. "I'm sure I can figure it out," he said with a confident smirk. Hopefully, he added to himself.
Daniella wandered a little closer to the box, looking at the drawings on it, intrigued.
There was a moment of awkward silence, until Noah poked Ezra teasingly. "Give them a tip, they had all this work getting the telly in here!"
"Ah? Oh, yes, yes, of course. Forgive me," Ezra murmured, fishing out his wallet for the third time that day. He pulled out two fifty pound notes and handed one to each of them. They stared at him for a moment, stunned.
At their looks, Ezra wondered for a single horrified moment if he had undertipped.
"That's… that's right generous of you, sir, that is," said Jer, taking off his hat for a moment before pulling it back onto his mostly-bald head. "We'll be off, then. You lot just call if there's anything y'need. C'mon, Ern," he said, nudging the other man, who was slightly frozen on the spot.
Once they were gone, Ezra looked at Noah, who was still holding the small grey box.
"Did I not give enough?" he asked worriedly, furrowing his eyebrows.
"No no, you did… fine…" Josiah murmured, clearing his throat. "More than enough, really. Er, too much, if I'm honest with ye. But we'll work on that," he said brightly, looking from Noah to Ezra to Dan.
"Do we call the e-lec-trishan now?" Ezra asked in much the same manner a child might ask after Santa on Christmas morning.
Josiah rubbed at his temple before looking over at the large grandfather clock in the corner.
It was still funny, Noah decided, biting his lips, but making a choked sound at the back of his throat that was almost, but not quite, a giggle. He looked intently at the small box in his hands instead of at Ezra. Then he gave up and just laughed.
It took him a whole minute to control himself. He cleared his throat and looked at Jo with watery eyes. "He did the same to the waitress in the bakery. Paid with a fifty-pound note and said she could keep the change," he told Jo, shaking his head with amusement.
"Oh, right," he said, remembering the list of names he'd written down. He put the small grey box on top of the television box carefully and searched his pockets.
"I wasn't sure how to take care of things with the electrician, so I just copied all the names Larry showed us at the store; it's a list of independent contractors." He handed the list to Jo. "Do you know what we need to do about that?"
Jo's mouth twitched dangerously at the corners and threatened to part in a hearty, full laugh. At the crestfallen look on Ezra's face, however, he stopped himself. He cleared his throat again.
"Well," he said soothingly, checking the time again. "It's all right, that, isn't it? You've just… made a lot of people very happy today, is all. We'll have a lesson on tipping in short order. But in the meantime, I'd better get on the phone if you want to have it hooked up by next week."
"Thank you," Ezra said abruptly, with utmost sincerity. Jo raised his eyebrows a bit.
"Aye, you're welcome…" he murmured, laughing a bit. "I'll be back in a mo', then. I'm just going to find a payphone. Noah, do you have any quarters?"
Ezra found his way over to Daniella, looking positively invigorated.
"Well? What do you think of it?" he asked, surveying the massive television proudly.
Noah made his best to stop laughing. After all, Ezra had bought the game device at his request. "I have some here, hold on." He searched his pockets again, pulling out a handful of coins and separating the Muggle coins from the knuts he'd forgotten he had in his pocket.
He found the ones he needed and handed Jo all the Muggle coins he had, slipping the others back into his pocket.
Daniella gave Ezra a sideways glance. "It's… big," she said solemnly. The television they'd had in the condo was tiny, compared to this box. She turned her head to him. He looked a little bit too excited to be comforting. With a small sigh, she smirked at him. "Promise me I won't have to drag you away from it every night," she asked, trying not to sound desperate.
Josiah cupped his hands to receive the coins that Noah jingled into them. He smiled, scooping them up and counting out three.
"Ta," he said, leaning up to kiss Noah's cheek. "Back in a jiffy. By the by, what's for lunch?" he asked on his way out the door, looking worried. "Lost myself in those catalogs, I did. Now I'm starved."
Before Ezra could answer, the door clicked shut. He turned to Daniella instead, smirking in return.
"Would you drag me? That sounds rather like fun," he purred, smiling into the side of her face. "It's only a small luxury, darling. I promise I'll behave."
With that, he turned to call out into the open space across the entry hall.
"Binky?"
There was a loud crack, and Binky swayed on his feet before them. He offered a small, watery smile.
"Master Ezra, sir?"
"Has lunch been prepared? Master Ledger and I have had tea, but I believe the others might be feeling peckish." He looked up at Daniella to confirm this.
Daniella returned the smile with a wicked smirk. "Oh, I'm sure I can find better ways to convince you, before I need to drag you," she murmured. She looked at the television again. "Maybe you can show me what's so good you need a contraption this large to watch it."
"I'm still hungry," Noah said immediately, when Binky showed up. "That cheesecake just gave me a bigger appetite!"
Daniella nodded to both of them. "Yes, lunch would be nice. We got… distracted, by those catalogues and forgot to eat. Would you please bring us something to eat, Binky? Master Jo should be back soon."
She went back to the table and started piling up the catalogues, marking the pages she'd been selecting. "By the way," she started, looking back at her fiancé. "Would you like to hire a band, or someone to play at the reception?"