Open Good Help is So Hard to Find

[Barnaby Crabapple]

Open after Daphne and Kadi post

The Hard to Find Bookstore was Barnaby's baby. He'd managed every tiny detail of it, right down the rather over-zealous warding charms that made it quite so difficult to locate for muggle or wizard alike. Not that he minded much. It hadn't been intentional at the time, but Barnaby quite preferred not to be bothered thank you very much and if his wards kept all but the most dogged customers at bay, he was content. The store was his baby and he had complete control over everything, the stock, the hours, the shop music. Everything except its clientele. As much as Barnaby tried to keep people out, he begrudgingly did occasionally have to sell a book if he wanted to keep the store open.

It was getting down to that point where things were getting a little tighter money-wise than Barnaby would like, him only being able to stomach eating nothing but jam and toast for so long. So, grumbling the whole time, he had flipped the shop sign to open and settled at the register, conspicuously hiding behind an old copy of the daily prophet in the hopes that if anyone did wander in he wouldn't be obligated to talk to them until they were handing over their galleons and leaving.

 

[Ernie Wilder]

Ernie had made few connections since coming to New Zealand but recently it felt like he was finally putting down roots, with Zelda and Waldo, and his job at Eeylop's. Despite the fact he came to this country several years ago. He opened the door to the old book shop and waved to his friend behind the counter, ignoring his sour expression. Kirby also cooed a hello and he reached up to scratch his owls head. “Hey Barns! How’s it hanging?” he greeted and started to thumb through some of the titles by the door, and picking up one that had a pretty cover that he figured Zelda might like. Barnaby had been in New Zealand about as long as he had and was probably one of his only friends, after they met while Ernie stumbled through the UK. The grump never really minded when Ernie was a mess and he didn't mind now that he was more put together, it was nice to have a constant. Even if his friend's scow was also as constant. "You got any books on Boreal owls?" Ernie asked, raising his voice as he went deeper into the shop still looking at the divination book. "Grace is thinking about getting some for the shop. Wanted to do some research." he explained and set the book he was holding down on a stack of books on a table once he reached one of the back rooms of the shop.

 

[Miles Cresswell]

Miles had searched far and wide for a better bookshop than this one, but nothing quite suited his fancy as much. It was just unfortunate that this lovely little shop had such horrifying management, and seemingly no other employees. Miles felt trepidation as he stepped inside the store, along with a healthy dose of indignation. He was a customer, wasn't he? He should be able to enter a store without feeling nervous about how he would be treated. But Mr. Crabapple didn't seem to think that way, and somehow he was still in business. Miles supposed he wasn't the only person who put up with the man's personality for the sake of his book collection. Miles adjusted his bow tie smartly before stepping inside the store. He hoped he could find a rare book on the significance and in-depth calculation of the Maturity Number in Arithmancy, though so far he hadn't had much luck. Miles was a little surprised to see another young man in the store, though of course Crabapple was here as well. He thought the man was another customer, but from the way he was speaking it seemed like... they were ... friends? Friendly, at the very least. Something about the second young man was familiar to Miles, but he couldn't quite place him. The indignation Miles had already felt grew a bit, and he frowned. He had been treated quite poorly in this store, and he had chalked it up to the man in charge being unable to socialize properly. But here seemed to be proof of the opposite. Miles decided to stand above it. He nodded in greeting, forcing himself to be pleasant as always. "Good afternoon, gentlemen." He said politely. "If you don't mind, I'll browse for a little while. Don't let me interrupt your conversation" He added. Knowing that the store owner more than likely did mind, Miles stepped closer to a shelf immediately and grabbed a book. Holding his wares hostage, so to speak, would make it more difficult for him to kick him out, perhaps.

 

[Barnaby Crabapple]

Barnaby hunched his shoulders when he heard the shop door open, ready to convey his most unhelpful and miserly persona in the hopes that any customer would get the hint and leave. Thankfully, he was able to relax at the sound of Ernie's voice. At least Ernie didn't expect anyone to stand on ceremony and do things like greet people and smile. He did return to his frowning though when he spotted Ernie had brought his owl with him again. "You get that overstuffed bag of feathers out of here, you know that thing hates me," Barnaby said with a scowl. He had no idea how Ernie could stroll around so carefree with that damn owl on his shoulder. The bird might only have one eye but Barnaby could feel every bit of malice in its gaze whenever it looked at him. At Ernie's question about boreal owls, Barnaby just shook his head, waving his hand to one of the shelves where he knew the creature compendiums were and mumbling something about 'bird books'. The shop didn't have a formal organizational system, but Barnaby knew where everything was thank you very much. Most of the time.

The door chimed again and Barnaby didn't bother suppressing the grown at the sight of another familiar face, this one much less welcome. "Oh please, go ahead and browse, there's some lovely books you might like right there.By the door." Barnaby said pointedly, ducking his head back behind his paper. He spent a few moments acting engrossed in his reading in the hope that the bowtie-guy would take the hint before he had to pause, flipping the paper right side up before continuing.

 

[Ernie Wilder]

Ernie was a little surprised when another person came into the shop. He wasn't sure he had ever seen anyone else in the shop before. "Excuse me, his name is Kirby and you know this." he called out from the back room where he was skimming titles with little purpose, trying to sound offended. "Maybe if you talked to him nicely he wouldn't try and bite you all the time. It's about mutual respect." he explained as picked up another book that had a pretty red cover and started to wander to another section. He read the title and it had something to do with curses and he made a face before putting it down quickly on top of a random pile of books he passed. "You're not interrupting at all!" he told the other customer. "I'm just shocked to see another soul in here. Thought I was the only one to know about Barnaby's shop here." he said once he made it to the creature section, or at least where most of the books about animals were kept. Barnaby insisted their was a system to the haphazard stacks of books but Ernie wasn't sure he believed him.

 

[Miles Cresswell]

The response from Barnaby didn't surprise Miles in the slightest, but he knew that his best defense was to remain as cheerful and polite as he could. "Oh, thank you for the suggestion." He said idly, picking up another book and reading the back of it. "I'll remember that for when I'm on my way out." He said, moving deeper into the store rather than heading to the door. The other man in the store talked to him too, and he seemed a great deal friendlier. Miles gave him a slight smile. "It is a rather isolated little shop." He said with a nod. "I don't believe I've seen any other customers here before either." He said, though he had chalked that up to the unpleasantness of the owner. He cast a sly glance at Barnaby. "It almost makes you wonder if the owner wants to sell these books." He mused with a pleasant smile. "That's a silly thought, though. What else is the point of a store, after all?" He grinned as he spotted a rather interesting book. "Oh, how much is this?" He asked, showing the owner the cover.

 

[Barnaby Crabapple]

Barnaby flipped the corner of his newspaper down solely so Ernie could see his scoff when he mentioned 'mutual respect'. Anyone could tell from one look at that owl's cold, sharp eye that it wasn't capable of any positive feelings towards anyone. Except maybe Ernie himself. "If we were in a burning building and you could only apparate one of us out of there I'm almost certain you'd pick the owl," Barnaby said crossly, giving Kirby a disdainful look. "And I bet the damn thing would bite me on the way out too," He added, shaking his paper back out so he could go back to pretending to read it.

"The wards are supposed to do that. Keeps the loiterers out," He said, forgetting he was pretending to ignore the two oversized blowflies now buzzing around his shop. Ernie he could handle, he generally liked Ernie when he was sans owl, but Cresswell was a pest and a nuisance and Barnaby cursed the day the man managed to find his shop. If only he would stop liking books and wanting to buy things and just leave Barnaby alone. He let out an exaggerated groan when Cresswell brought over a book, barely glancing at the cover before announcing the first price off the top of his head. "250 galleons, very special book, that," He said quickly, pointedly raising the newpaper back up between him and Cresswell.

 

[Ernie Wilder]

Ernie scoffed at his friend's comment “He only has one eye.” he pointed out defensively as if it were the most obvious explanation and quickly moved on to looking at the books more closely. “No, he’s not a biter.” he said absentmindedly as he tried to find what he was looking for. Ernie was a little shocked when the other customer popped near him again and he let out a bark of a laugh. “I’ve started to suspect he might have some separation anxiety when it comes to the books here.” he teased and smiled at the older man. “I’m Ernie by the way.” he said as he introduced himself. “I work at an owl shop just down there in Obsidian Harbor. You ever need an owl or owl related products come see me and I’ll take care of you.” he finished and pointed at the man, trying to emphasize his point.

 

[Miles Cresswell]

Miles couldn't resist a small chuckle at Barnaby's use of the word 'loiterers'. He smiled and gave a small shrug. "I have never seen anyone loiter here, my dear. So they must work." He said, though he privately thought it was likely that Barnaby's sour personality scared them off than anything magical. He sighed at the price the man named for the book, certain that he had inflated it by at least tenfold just to get rid of him. More determined than ever not to leave, he forced his cheerful smile in place. "Oh dear, a little outside my budget I'm afraid." He said cheerfully, placing the book back on the shelf he had picked it from, careful to return it perfectly. At the other man's words, Miles' smile grew into something more genuine. "Separation anxiety? I wouldn't be too shocked." He mused, moving on to browse other books. If he could find something labeled clearly with a price, Barnaby surely couldn't pretend it was outrageously expensive. But at the young man's next words, Miles paused as he made some connections in his mind. He turned his gaze back to him, a puzzled smile on his face. "Ernie who works in the owl store," he mused. "Don't tell me, you're Zelda's boy aren't you?" He asked, though he was fairly certain it was too much of a coincidence to be doubtful. Zelda had spoken about her Ernie many times, and while somewhat older than what Miles had envisioned, he did fit the description remarkably well.