All Play, No Work

[Charlie Linus]

Charlie put everything he had into his music. Granted he didn't believe he had a lot, but whatever was there, his music consumed it. His whole life, he believed his music was all he had. And for the most part, he was right. His parents loved him, but they didn't always know how to show it, so Charlie simply assumed they didn't. He had virtually no friends to speak of and the one girl he had cared about left him for somebody else. You could say he had some issues with people. So he believed he was better off alone. At least he knew music would never abandon him the way so many others had. Charlie was twenty years old now and had found a beat up old apartment in New Zealand to crash. He couldn't wait to leave his parents in England and after going to Hogwarts, he had come to kind of like New Zealand. Mainly, because it was as far away as he could get from his family. He was living off the small gigs he got here and there. He knew he was good with his guitar and it seemed some others thought so. It was enough to get him by and that was fine by him.

Charlie sat in the cafe, strumming his guitar as people in suits ordered expensive coffees, giving themselves a small luxury in their busy day. Some women smiled at him and the occasional man nodded. He noticed some people absently tapping their feet when Charlie placed songs they were familiar with. This was enough to ensure Charlie was doing an okay job. As he played, he looked at the strings, some old and some new from when they had broken and he had them replaced. His guitar had scratches, stickers and drawings in permanent marker all over it. It was his and it was perfect. Finishing up a song, he cracked his fingers and twisted the ring he always wore on his thumb. It was quite packed in the place, with people in quick business meetings or lunch breaks. He looked for a seat, but it seemed they were all taken. He let out a sigh. One of the baristas approached him and handed him a cup of hot tea and he gave her the tiniest of smiles for remembering his order. He couldn't stand coffee, but he loved tea. He gave a quick scan of the establishment once again, hoping someone would be getting up soon so he could steal their seat for his break.

 

[Vanessa Moreau]

Vanessa's hands were rummaging deep inside her handbag, her fingers fumbling over the many unnecessary items that she carried with her on a day-to-day basis, such as her excessive amount of make-up, her heart-shaped compact mirror, a vintage silk scarf and gloves, a small ballerina teddy bear (for luck), a fruity smelling body spray, a packet of tissues, an old novel that she was reading, her purse and last but not least, her wand, the very item her hands were searching for. Once she came across the polished piece of oak she whipped it out of her bag gleefully. Her coffee was searing hot, and although this temperature would be perfect during winter months, she found it difficult to drink such hot beverages on summer days, especially as she was just getting used to the heat of New Zealand summers. If it wasn't for her desperate caffeine addiction she would have had a much cooler drink sitting in front of her, but Vanessa's problem was solved with just a small wave of her wand. The effects were instant and the remaining clouds of steam evaporated into the air, it was only after she squeezed her wand back into her bag and returned it to it's spot underneath her chair, that Vanessa could properly relax.

The wooden chair was surprisingly comfortable, and while she sipped her perfectly tepid coffee she peered around at her surroundings, the whole place was quite quaint and very tastefully decorated. She wondered why she had never come across this place before. Vanessa let out a sigh of relief as the caffeine hit her system, she set the mug back onto the table and simply began to look around. People-watching was a secret hobby of hers and although she made sure never to become too nosy, she always enjoyed taking a moment out of her own life to observe the lives of others. Vanessa allowed her forefinger to follow the wide circumference of her mug of coffee as she quickly became lost in the busy lives of those around her. While doing this she came to the conclusion that she made the right choice not getting involved with the Ministry or any other business based careers. Everything was so political and boring, judging by their boring briefcases and official documents, Vanessa's happy heart definitely wouldn't be able to handle it. Her big brown eyes focused on a young man with a guitar nearby, it was only then that she realised there was live music playing the whole time. The man's skill at his instrument was mesmerising and Vanessa couldn't pull her gaze away from his rhythmical fingers. The man strummed his way into another song, one that Vanessa instantly recognised, she inwardly smiled and began to hum the tune quietly to herself. Vanessa wasn't much of a singer, but that never took away from her enjoyment of music. She took a drink from her coffee and played around with the bowl of sugar on her table absentmindedly until the song came to an end, the café filling with noise of clattering plates and chattering wizards once again. Vanessa looked back over at the boy, waiting for his fingers to move beautifully into another song, but with his fingers wrapped around one of the café's brown mugs, she knew that was all for now.

She still watched him though, actually she sort of studied him, her gaze followed his own as he searched around the room for somewhere to sit. Tucked under her table, directly opposite her, was a spare seat. He looked a little rugged and lost but Vanessa had an inkling that she could trust him not to rob her or murder her. So, with that in mind, she stood up from her chair, he stood quite nearby so she didn't have to wave at him for long to grab his attention and once she did, she made a small gesture to the seat opposite her. "You can sit here if you want," the words rolled off her tongue with a slight french twang and then she just flashed a wide, friendly smile at him. 'A smile that would break hearts worldwide', her mother used to tell her. Vanessa never believed it though. She never had any reason to, as the only heart that ever ended up broken, was her own. Vanessa sat back down onto her chair, crossed her leg over the other and waited hopefully for the boy to join her for the next little while, before she had to return to work.​

 

[Charlie Linus]

Charlie met the gaze of a few people within the quaint cafe as he looked around for a spot to sit to drink his tea. Most of those that looked at him were on their own, just average people getting their caffeine fix for the day without a newspaper or some company to keep their eyes occupied. All of them looked away after a moment, as is the social norm when making eye contact with a stanger. However one woman had the nerve to pick up her handbag from the floor and put it on the empty chair that was next to her at her table. Charlie used all of his strength not to roll his eyes at the aging woman. Did he really look that scary, that the thought of him sitting anywhere near her repulsed her enough to block the seat? It's not like he would have chosen to sit with her anyway. Which is why he was standing in the middle of a cafe, looking lost with his cup of boiling tea. Some people, Charlie thought to himself instead and pulled his gaze away from her, simply pretending he hadn't noticed what she had done.

About to give up, Charlie turned to head back to the spot where he had been playing before. Intent on letting his tea go cold and to just continue playing instead of waiting around for a spare space. However he was stopped in his tracks by perhaps the biggest and most friendly smile he had ever seen. He almost turned to see if the girl had been talking to someone behind him, but there was no doubt that the pretty girls words and that big smile were directed at Charlie. After the woman with the handbags lovely display of selfishness, it was kind of a wave of relief that charlie wasn't completely turned away by everyone. So much so that he didn't decline the girls invitation straight away, as he likely would have on normal circumstances. "Oh, um," He fumbled awkwardly with his words and glanced around the cafe one more time, just to make sure there wasn't any other seats becoming available. Looking back at the girl, who had sat down again, Charlie pulled out the chair at her table and took a seat. He didn't really want to continue standing aimlessly, or go back to playing and leave his tea, that he knew was going to taste wonderful and make him feel so much better after playing all morning. Besides, Charlie might have unintentionally been rude to people sometimes, mainly because he still had a lot of difficulty socialising, but he didn't want to deliberatly be rude to this girl that had just offered him kindness. "Thank you." Charlie said as he took a gulp of his tea, igorning how it almost burnt his tongue.

Charlie chanced a glance at the girl over the rim of his teacup. She really was very pretty, not that Charlie cared about that stuff much, but it was hard not to notice. She also had a distinctly friendly look about her. It had resulted in Charlie sitting at this table. Interacting with people. Something he rarely did. He had to give the girl some credit for that. Charlie suddenly knew he should probably make conversation, but this was always the part about people that didn't come very easily to him. And after realising that maybe the girl just wanted some quiet to drink her coffee, Charlie happily concluded it was only fair to wait for her to speak first.

 

[Vanessa Moreau]

Vanessa was glad to see that the boy was going to join her, having someone to talk to during these hour lunch breaks was really rare. Believe it or not, but after a year and a bit of living in New Zealand Vanessa didn't have many people she could call a friend. All of the healers in work were always in over their wizarding hats with patients and besides, she technically wasn't even a healer yet, she was still training. Sometimes she actually felt like a kid in their presence which didn't help the 'friend situation'. Teaching children's ballet classes didn't help either. With all of these lonely thoughts filling her head again, any previous thoughts of this boy being a scoundrel completely disappeared. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand as the boy pulled out the seat opposite her and sat down. Vanessa searched his face, only now could she properly get a look at him. His little butt chin was adorable. Vanessa found herself staring at it and it was only as he thanked her for offering up the seat that her gaze found his eyes again. Vanessa let her hand drop to the table and she straightened herself up in her seat, "Oh it's no problem. It's the worst thing not having anywhere to sit," she said, making polite conversation.

She took another drink from her coffee, eyeing the boy from time to time, waiting for him to talk. But he didn't. Maybe he didn't want her to talk either? Maybe he didn't even want to join her in the first place? Perhaps he was simply people watching and not looking for somewhere to sit? Vanessa's thoughts began to get flustered. No, she was being completely ridiculous. Vanessa Moreau never shied away from conversation. It was the lack of company that was doing this to her for sure. Vanessa placed her cup back onto the table, "You were really great up there," she told him waving a finger to where he had just been playing. "How long have you been playing guitar?" The conversation flowed naturally from Vanessa's lips now, mainly because she was genuinely interested in the boy's talent but also because it was nice to talk to someone other than seven year old ballerinas, stressed out thirty-something-year-olds healers, or her grandmother. Vanessa quickly continued before the young musician could answer, "I once knew this girl, back in Beauxbatons and she used to sit out on the grounds of the school and play guitar and everyone would come and watch her. She was a sixth year and I used think it was the most amazing thing-" Her finger slowly began to circle the rim of her cup once again as she recalled the memory fondly, "-granted I was only like eleven at time."She quickly added with a smile. "But, the way you play? I've never seen anyone play like that before." It certainly trumped Adrienne Bellard that's for sure. Or was it Alice Bellard? Vanessa's thoughts began to runaway with themselves as usual as she tried to remember that girl's name. Eventually deciding that it was in fact, Adrienne, Vanessa's attention resumed back to the young man. "It's beautiful really," She finally added referring to the boy's skill of course and she smiled at him once more before bringing the cup of coffee to her lips.