a well-deserved gift
[ A few days ago, Mr. Magorium was met with the surprise of his life.
And, given how long a life his has been, it was some surprise.]
Edward Magorium steps outside of his toy store and home in proper gear this afternoon. His scarf is candy-cane striped, his jacket is puffy and brown, and his shoes are-well, the same. His toes are freezing, but that's ( Read more... )
And, given how long a life his has been, it was some surprise.]
Edward Magorium steps outside of his toy store and home in proper gear this afternoon. His scarf is candy-cane striped, his jacket is puffy and brown, and his shoes are-well, the same. His toes are freezing, but that's ( Read more... )
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A real light saber. He didn't think anything would be cooler than that, but this might just be it. He's nearing eighteen, but he's still a child at heart, and this toy store is... unlike anything he's ever seen before. He nearly trips and steps back once he sees the toy soldiers, almost bumping into whoever was walking past.
"Sorry!" he says, flashing them a quick smile before he steps further inside.
"Whoa."
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The grin on her face is certainly that of a child, as she beams up at Ben and gives his hand an expectant tug. There's an entire store in need of exploring, and she needs a buddy. And she's found one, if she has anything to say about it.
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"You like teddy bears?" Ben asks her, pointing toward the stuffed animals. They're hugging people back, and some of them are absolutely huge, every animal you can think of.
He wants the giraffe.
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If the grin on her face was wide outside the door, it practically splits her face, her eyes dancing as she takes it all in. It's magical, and she's hit with sightssoundssmellsfeelings that she's never experienced before. It's like being hit with a wave of joy, and it nearly topples Scout over as she clutches Ben's hand, struggling to just stand and not run all over the place.
"Bears bears bears bears!" She nods desperately at Ben, articulation mostly gone--she's been reduced to the five-year-old she has always been, just a kid with a second chance at a proper childhood moment.
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He wants to just turn away--really he shouldn't be here anyway, in public where everyone can stare at the bruises that spread across his face. He's supposed to be laying low after everything that happened, but it's like he can't tear himself away.
So he walks in, instead. He's practically shaking--there are a lot of people in here!--but there's something about the place that's soothing. Tears actually fills his eyes, and he wipes at them vigorously.
Leon never had much of a childhood, never felt this safe in his life. He hurries over to a pile of stuffed animals and practically sits in the display in his hurry to look busy with something. He's smiling and half-crying at the same time! Everything is topsy-turvey, but he feels safe here and he likes it.
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He wanted to die. Lucky remembers that clearly, and it hurts to remember. It hurts to see him, looking like he's happy and safe and like that's a foreign concept to him.
Lucky's had a good childhood but he was very angry when he was a teenager for a lot of reasons but mostly because of something he'd learned. He can remember feeling angry, feeling like nothing was safe, remember how horrible that had been.
He steps over to him, glancing at the stuffed animals and picking one up in his hand. "Hey, it's pretty cool, right?" Lucky comments almost as if offhandedly before he looks over at him with concern on his face. "Are you okay?"
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"Um, I'm fine," he says, his voice straining as he tries to sound like he wasn't just crying. "I just, um... wow. I've never been in a place like this."
He means the store, yeah, but it's also the ambiance of the place, that safe feeling, where the dark clouds over his head and the chip on his shoulder just... don't matter. His throat closes up again and he sniffles, wiping his nose on the back of his hand.
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"Okay, just thought I'd check," he says, and if he notices any sounds of crying, Lucky doesn't mention it either. "Yeah, I don't... think a place like this exists anywhere. It's some kind of magic."
He looks around the store, taking in all of the sights. There are toys of all shapes and size, not just the stuffed animals.
"Have you seen the toy soldiers? They're pretty cool, move entirely on their own."
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He steps into the store, taking in the sights as he scans the aisles of toy and everything else.
They're moving. He's on the mature side of being a teenager, and Noah Evans is all about responsibility and following rules, but this appeals to even him. It feels like a good, safe place, and the sight of the toy soldiers has him smiling.
Noah ducks as a plane flies overhead before he moves to the books are at. "Do they seriously have every book?"
It seems unreal but then as he lists off books and they're given to him, he ends up with a huge stack... that he can't see over.
They seriously do have every book, and he might be losing hold of his stack of books. They're wobbling precariously in his arms.
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That's certainly Hermione Granger's area of expertise. Libraries have always been a comfort to her. In fact, before she ever learned to make friends of the people variety, books were the only friends she had. They were a wonderful escape, a magnificent learning tool.
To this day, they still are.
Hermione has found her own little nestling spot within the area of books, a large, large stack of them next to her.
"Oh! Careful," Hermione says, moving to help Noah with his own stack. By doing so, she manages to look at some of the titles he's chosen for himself, eyes lighting up when seh recognizes... well, most of them. "Oh, I've read this one. It's wonderful, truly. I recommend it."
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He loves libraries too. The toys are fun and appealing to the little kid in him, but even at a young age, he'd love to read and would read as much as he could. It's just a thing for him. They were an escape. He loves science books, nonfiction books more than fiction but he'll read fiction too.
The escape is needed in a city like Chicago, and there's so much going on in his life, so much that he wants to fix but can't that he could use the distraction in the form of a book.
"Thank you," Noah says from the other side of the stack, and he sets them all down. "Did you? Some of these I've read before but not in awhile, others of them, I've always wanted to read but had a hard time tracking down. This place... is kind of amazing.
He recognize her from school though. Who wouldn't recognize her? Hermione Granger.
"Hey, I recognize you from school," he says with a small smile. "I'm Noah."
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Hermione smiles at him at his Thank you, stepping away once he's got a handle on the books, looking down at her own stack of books. To anyone else, it might look overwhelming. To Hermione Granger, it's just a bit of light reading.
"Several weeks ago, actually. I highly recommend it for those who have an interest in the sciences," she says, and she obviously has no idea Noah has an inclination for it, but she can surmise, just by looking at some of the select choices.
"I'm Hermione Granger," she says in return, smile widening a fraction. "Pleased to meet you."
Pause, and a small laugh. "Properly, that is. I've seen you, as well. I believe we share Biology class together?"
She's in such a good mood she doesn't even scowl at the mention.
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