Lizard on the Loose

Bertie Brigham

Vetrov & Brigham's Curiosities and Antiques
 
Messages
55
OOC First Name
Claire
Blood Status
Half Blood
Relationship Status
Widow
Sexual Orientation
heterosexual
Wand
Knotted 15 Inch Swishy Holly Wand with Mermaid Scale Core
Age
6/2002
Bertie was going to kill Muriel. All right, he wasn't - but when he got his hands on that pesky little moke, he was going to give her a severe talking to. It was the third time that month she'd escaped from her enclosure while Bertie had been trying to clean it, and finding her amongst the cluttered old antique shop was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Stacks of vintage furniture and eccentric artefacts formed walls down the length of the shop, and atop the cabinets and cupboards fragile ornaments had been arranged so precariously that a whisper from the other side of the room might have been sufficient to send them all crashing down. It was good business to have every last piece of stock on display. It was not good business to be displaying it in sharp pieces all over the floor.

Bertie sighed, suspecting by now Muriel had shrunk herself to the size of a thimble and curled up inside a teapot or an old skull. If only she'd been food orientated, he might have been able to lure her out of her hiding spot, but alas, when Muriel found a warm place to sleep, a tornado could not wake her. Hearing the familiar tinkle of the bell above the door, Bertie quickly made to look as if he was simply arranging his stock. The last thing he needed was for one of his customers to know he had a lizard on the loose.
 
It had been some time, but Zenia had come to her senses and gotten over her pride. She needed to get something, a perfect something to show and prove that she knew Cristian, and she almost-loved him. She was far too young to actually say that word, she knew that for sure, but Zee wanted to prove that she could be a good girlfriend. And what better way to say it than with a gift? She unfortunately had to do this shopping trip by herself. There was no way any of her brothers would be of any help, and Zoe was busy - probably with her boyfriend. While Zenia was happy to be old enough to go shopping by herself, it would have been much easier to bounce ideas off of someone else. Instead, she had spent a lot of the day moping around stores, unable to find anything that showed how much she cared for Cristian. As a last attempt, Zenia found herself pushing through the door of what seemed to be an antique shop. Surely something would pop out to her here. "Hello!" She greeted the person. Zenia glanced around slightly, having no idea where to look or where to start. "Look, I'm in a bit of a pickle. I'm looking to get something for a fifteen year old boy. Any advice for me?"
 
The customer who had come through the door certainly wasn't a regular, so Bertie was surprised when the young girl addressed him. He was even more surprised that he expected her to know what on earth a fifteen year old boy would want. Of course, his son Oswald was only two years away from this age himself, but Oswald wasn't the most ordinary boy Bertie knew. For the Gryffindor's fifteenth, he would probably be just as delighted by a blunt sword as he was for his eleventh. Bertie glanced around, still keeping an eye out for Muriel. "Er," he said, distracted, but trying not to look it. "What's the occasion? Christmas? Birthday? Spontaneous token gesture? Is he your brother? A friend? Are you trying to impress him, or ensure he never comes within two hundred feet of you again?"
 
The man seemed a teeny bit distracted, she wondered briefly if he wasn't used to having customers, but then he suddenly bombarded her with questions. "Wow." She replied, she was really just hoping they'd have a section that said 'Fifteen year old boys' and she could pick the coolest looking thing from there. "Why would I get someone something if I - never mind." She said, remembering the time she got a prank cookie for Evelyn. "A sorry and please take me back present?" Zenia suggested with a shrug of her shoulders before going to poke around the store. She saw an interesting looking vase - perhaps she could put flowers in it? That'd be cute - right? She lifted it up, trying to see if there was a price tag when a flash of silver and green moved. Zenia screamed, dropping the vase and taking a giant step back, the vase crashing loudly on the ground as a -thing- grew bigger in front of her.
 
"What?" Bertie asked, unaware he'd just asked eight questions without pausing to give the girl a chance to respond. He lifted the lid of an old teapot and glanced inside, replacing it a moment later with a sigh. One day, he'd learn to better secure his moke before he took her out of the vivarium. "In that case, I'd suggest-" the shopkeeper began, only to be sharply interrupted by the shattering of porcelain on wooden floorboards. Amongst the flowery white shards, something green began to expand. "Ah! Muriel!" Bertie said happily, stooping to retrieve her from the remains of the vase. The lizard blinked, appearing almost bored, and perhaps a little indignant for her rude awakening. Bertie tickled her chin. "I wouldn't recommend a moke. Beautiful creatures, pesky little blighters to find. Now, where were we? Ah - 'sorry and please take me back.' Well, nothing quite says 'take me back' like a collapsible owl cage, does it? Or perhaps this old skull? You could always tell him it's the skull of the last person who wouldn't accept your apology. No?"
 
Zenia ran a couple of steps back as the man stepped forward, seemingly unscathed that she dropped his vase and found a monster in it. She shook her head as he said he wouldn't recommend a 'moke', definitely not wanting to go anywhere near that thing never mind purchase one. She hardly listened to what he was saying until his last sentence, which made her laugh out loud. "Oh no, I'm afraid that won't work. We broke up because of my anger, I doubt he'd want to get back together if I took him Evelyn's skull - as much as I'd love to believe me - could - could you please put that thing away? I feel like it's going to eat me. I don't think he has an owl." She finished, musing aloud, tapping her finger to her chin. Zenia wasn't going to mention the broken vase, it was definitely not her fault, so she was definitely not going to pay for it.
 
"Pity," Bertie said, once more distracted by his moke. This time, he was affectionately making kissy faces at her. "Eat you?" he cried suddenly, looking up. "Merlin's beard, she's not going to eat you. She's terrified of you! You're twenty times her size! You just smashed her bedroom to bits! Pay no attention to her, Muriel; you've been nothing but amicable." Still, Bertie returned the moke to the back of the shop, where he kept his various reptiles in their spacious enclosures. "You ought to thank your lucky stars Bella didn't escape," he called out. "Then a nice, healthy panic would be most appropriate." When Muriel was locked securely back in her vivarium, the shopkeeper returned to his customer. "So, no owl, and no sense of humour. What is it about this boy you're so desperate to get back, anyway?"
 
Zenia watched with cross eyebrows as the man treated the monster like a puppy, her mouth dropping open in shock when he accused her of smashing the things bedroom, and she stood there with her arms folded as the man returned from putting it back. "I think you're the one that's lucky Bella didn't escape. Is it locked up properly this time?" Zenia snapped back, having no idea who Bella was, but if he sent another creepy thing on her she was going to wreak havoc. She 'ughed' as the man criticized Cristian. "You don't know he doesn't have a sense of humor! And he's kind, and caring and giving and really wonderful so can you please help me?" Zenia said, her sentence slowly turning into a bit of a whine. She felt like stomping her foot, but she didn't think that would help her situation.
 
Bertie had only been kidding about Bella. She was a harmless little snake, no bigger than an overgrown worm. "Yes, yes - as if I'd let her let her near you again. She's done nothing to deserve it." Clearly this boy was determined to be difficult to shop for. Bertie sighed again, looking around for some inspiration. He didn't often see customers below the age of eighteen, and consequently didn't bother stocking anything they might find remotely interesting. "Aha! Is this boy musically inclined? How about a nice radio? It's a bit temperamental, but wiggle a few of the buttons on the front here and it'll soon be right as rain. If he complains, you can tell him it's 'antique charm.' How about that?"
 
Though his charm was there, Zenia still scowled at the man's reply. What happened to customer was always right? She huffed, about ready to leave the store when the man called out. Zee walked closer to him to see what he was talking about and fell in love with it. She felt ashamed to admit that she didn't know if he was musically inclined, but it seemed like a thoughtful present nonetheless. It wasn't just some plain, ordinary music machine, it was an antique radio. Zenia smiled at the man. "Alright then, monster lover. I like the sound of that." She giggled to herself. Sound - get it? "How much is it?"
 
Bertie wasn't sure how he felt about the nickname 'monster lover,' but he decided to let the comment slip. He was running a business here, after all. The price of the radio was forty-five galleons, but it had been sitting there for close to six months without so much as a glance of interest, and he doubted a young girl would be willing to part with so much for an old radio that only worked when it felt like it. Still, he had to make a profit. "Thirty galleons."
 
Zenia sighed at his response, grabbing her bag and rifling through it. "Are you crazy man? I'm a poor, struggling student. Do you know how much candy I could have bought for 30 galleons? I hope you use to make a better cage for your creatures and especially Bella." She grumbled, taking out galleons as she found them until she finally had 30. "There. 30 galleons." The things she did for boys.
 

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