Mistakes

[Constance Sparkles]

Constance Blackmoore had only recently moved in with her good friend, Agatha Von Klampenverb-Popple the fifth. The large, fierce German-born woman was not the sort of roommate one would expect a woman like Connie to have, but the two made unlikely friends. After having to pick up the cackling Connie (who had just learnt her name), the pair bonded over their shared love of art. Agatha was an art collector and distributer in Germany, and had now moved to New Zealand, whilst Connie was what one would call a 'struggling artist', however not financially. It was more, she had many ideas, and they were mostly of the eccentric kind. This meant, she needed to get a lot red tape out of the way first - which was often helped along by her dear friend, Agatha, who was much more persuasive than the petite woman herself was.

She waggled her eyebrows at Agatha, and pulled on her red coloured suspenders. "Don't worry, Agatha. I am a professional!" She continued walking as Agatha began arguing with her, telling her that she couldn't do as planned. But Connie had already got it cleared. It was happening. "Oh, Agatha. Live a little!" A large hammer in her hand now, Connie continued to the wall, where a huge smiley face was spray-painted on.

She pulled down her visor, and wiggled a little in her large, denim overalls. "I've got it perfectly planned - the structure's sound, the landlord's chill - this wall's going down." How she managed to clear this by Mr. Yaxley, she wasn't sure. But the man agreed, and now it was time to remove this wall. However, Agatha refused to let up, and tugged on the head of the large hammer. The small woman glared, and tugged it out of her hands. The witch then wiggled her nose, and swung the hammer with all the strength she had - which was rather considerable. With a loud crunch signalling triumphant, Connie cheered, and hit the wall again. She only stopped once a nice hole was there, and poked her head through.

Her pointed ears went about as red as her hair, however, when she realised that the room on the other side was... not part of hers and Agatha's apartment.

"Oops."​

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[Braxton Sparkles]

The beginning of the year had moved far too quickly. Braxton Sparkles had hardly seen anyone outside of work, though he knew his sister was ready to pop. It was crazy that she had two kids before he was even married. It wasn't something that bugged him too much; it was more a statement than a complaint. Braxton loved the solitary, though he wouldn't mind going on hikes with someone else, or having someone to look after. Braxton loved being able to protect people, which made his job so much more rewarding.

It had been a long day, and the young Auror had taken an ale out of his fridge before sitting down on his lazy boy, pushing it back and taking a swig. Of course, his job was taxing as well. The man would love to come home to a wife, with a home-cooked meal, ready to tell him all about her day, while he brought roses home to show how much he had missed her that day.
Braxton opened his eyes and wondered what the hell he was thinking about. When had he turned into a romantic?! Taking another gulp of his ale, Braxton sat up straighter, thinking that he definitely needed to heat up his dinner before he fell asleep on the couch again; though it didn't seem likely with his neighbors banging on the wall. He wondered what they were doing, and why they didn't think that others may need this quiet time. However, as a last big bang hit the wall, Braxton realized that they had made a hole through the two apartments. His first reaction was to grab his wand; he did it without thinking. His eyes were wide, his wand straight at the red head that poked her head through the wall.
"Are you mad?!" Braxton exclaimed, not moving his hand down.

 

[Constance Sparkles]

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<FONT font="Verdana">"Aye, this is a wee bit of a screw up."

Agatha was in the background somewhere, swearing rather colourfully in German, meanwhile, Connie was staring cross-eyed at the wand that pointed at her face. Her eyes followed the beautifully shaped, but very well-used wand to the calloused, rough (and very sexy and manly) hands that held it, to the toned arm, and then that rugged face, broad shoulders, gorgeous neck... mmm. Much better wall to knock down than one that would only give her another look of Agatha, for sure.

She quickly popped her head out of the hole, having been bent at an awkward angle, and gave the hammer to Agatha like it was burning. The apologies soon followed. "I am so sorry, Mister Sparkles." Sparkles! Cute! But whilst she was admiring his face, she did notice that he was rather cross - with good reason, of course, no one liked having their home broken into. She popped her head back in to grin at him, giving her most charming smile to try and help defuse the situation. "This hole will not be permanent I assure you, Mister Sparkles. It'll be fixed, I promise. So sorry, I thought this was an internal wall, Agatha got me all turned around." She pulled her head out to wave away Agatha's furious response at being brought into all of this. "Oh don't you start, you fuddy-duddy." She returned her attention to Braxton through the wall.

"Once again, so terrible sorry, I'm working on a project, actually. You look lovely by the way, yes very nice. Hope you've had as good a day as I have, tooddle pip!"​

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[Braxton Sparkles]

The red haired lady moved her head back into her side of the wall, and Braxton hesitantly lowered his wand, only to lift it back up again quickly when he heard someone shouting in German. He knew it was just his neighbor, but he kept steady at the hole; he didn't know them that well, and was generally suspicious. He wondered if being alone so much made him suspicious of everything and everyone.
A small smile played at his lips when he heard the red haired .... Blackmoore?... Call the lady a fuddy duddy. He hadn't heard that phrase in a long time. Maybe she wasn't so bad. But ; she had just hit a hole into his wall.
Blackmoore's voice carried through to him again, and he smirked as she said he looked lovely. Braxton had never been called lovely before. He wondered if lovely was even something someone said to a guy. But as she bid him a farewell, Braxton spluttered. "What! Miss Blackmoore! Where are you going?" He could have fixed it easily by himself. He wouldn't admit it; not even to himself; but he was craving company, and a human touch.

 

[Constance Sparkles]

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<FONT font="verdana">Connie tsked and returned her head to the wall when he began making a fuss. Looking at him from an upside-down position, her forehead furrowed. "Well, Mister Sparkles, I was planning on knocking down one of my walls! You see, I spoke to my landlord - Mister Yaxley - lovely gentleman, really, but needs to lay off the cigarettes, they give off the most unfortunate scent - oh but anyway, I'm authorised to knock down a wall you see!" She moved her head away to waggle the hammer (that she promptly snatched from Agatha) for him to see. "Shan't keep art waiting, you know!"

Agatha was glaring at her now, and Connie sighed, before returning her head to the hole. "Mister Sparkles, seeing as I'm currently being glared at by a scary German woman, I was wondering... do you think I could just smooth out this hole, see, and pop a door in?" Judging by Agatha's groan of annoyance and storming away figure, this wasn't what she had expected. Oh well.

"I was thinking, you see, I'm forever borrowing your milk and I am a firm believer that neighbours should be neighbourly! We could use the little pocket as a little tray exchange and borrow life's necessities from each other."

She grinned broadly at him. "Oh! And please could we have it be red? Such a lovely colour, red."​

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[Braxton Sparkles]

If an upside-down position didn't make anyone feel relaxed, then he didn't know what did. At last, he finally lowered his wand, his hands hanging helplessly by his side as he listened to Blackmoore spiel on. He noticed the words 'you see' coming up a lot, and he wondered if she was nervous; he would be, if he had just knocked down someone's wall.
Braxton's eyebrows furrowed in confusion when Blackmoore asked to put a door in. Was she being for real? This was not how he had seen his evening going. She continued to talk, and Braxton just stood there, dumbfounded. "Like... a real door?" He asked, making sure he was hearing all of this right. He didn't know how they just couldn't be neighbourly by walking to their actual front doors. "In between our rooms? Mr. Yaxley gave you permission for this?" He continued, bewildered. "I...I don't think we should have a door." He said, gently and politely, realizing he didn't think he'd ever have a conversation like this. "If you want to borrow something, you can always come and knock - at my front door." He added. This girl was a character, and she seemed incredibly interesting. Braxton wondered if she was always this crazy.

 

[Constance Sparkles]

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<FONT font="verdana">"You're a wee bit of an odd sort, aren't ya? One of them walkin' types, ey?"

She shrugged at where she thought Agatha was, only to find she'd not returned. So, she returned her face to the hole to continue conversing with their neighbour. "Just to be real clear, Mister Sparkles, absolutely no chance of a little door, just a sweet thing no bigger than me face?" Her nostrils wiggled, and eyes suddenly widened. "Oooh dear. Excuse my hasty retreat, Mister Sparkles, but I do believe my casserole might be burning."

She 'eeped' and winced after hitting her head on the wall, trying to pull her head out quickly, and rushed to her kitchen. It was only a small apartment, with the kitchen connected to the lounge room, and the hole still visible. She pulled the casserole out, but it really couldn't be saved. Huffing, she put it in the sink, and flipped on the tap, before wandering back to Mister Sparkles.

"Sorry to cut this short, Mister Sparkles, but I've got a burnt casserole and - and a flooding kitchen!" Probably should've turned the water off, first. She waved her wand to turn the tap off, but couldn't quite be bothered with the water just yet. Her head reappeared in the hole.

"'scuse me, Mister Sparkles, but what're ye doin' tonight?"​

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[Braxton Sparkles]

Braxton looked at the woman incredulously. He was the weird one? Because he was a walking type? Brax laughed in disbelief. He honestly didn't know how to take this, all the time he had lived there, and he didn't realize how crazy his neighbour was. He folded his arms, an eyebrow raised as Blackmoore asked again about the door. The man shook his head, and was about to reply when she disappeared. Braxton turned around, and picked up the ale he had dropped, moving his wand across the floor to clean what had spilled out. Perhaps he was going to have to fix the hole himself after all. He turned back around with a smirk on his face as he heard the lady shouting about her troubles in the kitchen. Braxton thought that maybe he should fix it now, to give her one less thing to do, but as he raised his wand, her face had popped back into the hole again. "Erm, I was planning on having an ale, and heating up a microwave dinner. After fixing this hole." He chuckled. "Do you need help with something?" He asked her, an eyebrow raised.

 

[Constance Sparkles]

Oh, that most certainly won't do. A microwave dinner?! This was madness!

"Don't you worry, Mister Sparkles," she said firmly, leaving the hole once more and fluffing up a cushion self-consciously. "You can have dinner with me! Agatha's just gone for a wee wander, it'd seem. She always needs a bit of a walk, couldn't fathom why." Probably had something to do with being frustrated with Connie's antics, but the shorter woman didn't like to think of it that way. "Now, I'll have to cook something else, but I'll need to borrow some carrots, if you have some? Any allergies?" Afterall, a man couldn't serve in microwave dinners, surely.

"When my casseroles aren't burning, I assure you, they're quite wonderful," she continued, wandering back to the kitchen to re-prepare some more beef. "Meat just falls apart on the plate, it does. Any vegetables you like, Mister Sparkles? Cooked, steamed, or some raw? Although, I've never really liked raw vegetables, I don't like that crunchy texture..."
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[Braxton Sparkles]

A small smile lay on Braxton's face as rambled on about him having dinner with her. Not going didn't even seem like an option. He had an inkling as to why Agatha had gone out, but he found Connie endearing, her attitude and personality more than making up for Brax's lack of social skills. "Uh - no, no allergies." He responded. Braxton actually enjoyed quite a variety of foods. There wasn't much he didn't like; though he didn't have much of a sweet tooth.
Braxton chuckled at her comment about her casseroles. "I'm fine with anything." He called back through the hole, then remembering that there shouldn't even be a hole. "Let me just fix this, and I'll be over with the carrots in a minute." He called. He flicked his wand, and the hole was repaired in a second. Braxton really hoped she hadn't been serious about a door. He turned around and moved towards his kitchen, looking around for some carrots. He didn't have a lot of food stocked in his kitchen, but he enjoyed vegetables and fruit. However, he only had two carrots left. He grabbed them anyway, as well as some ale, before heading out, locking his door in turn. He wondered how the lady got him to agree to go over so easily; Braxton was a homebody. But at the thought, he shrugged his shoulders. It was only next door, and why the hell not? He knocked on the door, waiting patiently for Miss Blackmoore to let him in. As she opened the door, Braxton held up the carrots. "I only had these two. But I brought these?" He offered, holding up the drinks.

 

[Constance Sparkles]

She was quite disappointed to have the hole sealed up - she had hoped that perhaps he would forget about it and she could continue with her plans to have a door there. Such a shame - but she could just make one again, later! Because, little did her new auror friend know, Connie Blackmoore was always serious when it came to her haphazard ideas and schemes. Some called it insanity, but Connie called it art.

Humming away happily, occasionally rambling on about a friend with this food allergy, and a second cousin thrice removed with this sort of intolerance, the red headed busy-bee paused at a knock on the door. More guests! More the merrier was her motto, and she skipped along and tore open the door - to find Mister Sparkles. She looked at the carrots and drinks, and made a very confused face. "Whatcha doin' knockin' for?" she waved him in, closing the door behind him, before skipping off back to the kitchen. She left him in the lounge room that also doubled for a dining room - and had several canvas' in the corners, in various states of completion. There was a sledgehammer sitting amongst the art supplies, an umbrella smeared with more than just a generous coating of paint, and fluffy white beret.

"I thought you were another friendly, Mister Sparkles! Completely forgot you weren't already here - take a seat, I shan't be a moment." Connie hurried along with her cooking (making sure to set nothing on fire this time, or have another flood), and whilst she puttered about the kitchen, she would occasionally poke her head out to the dining room in order to talk to her guest.

"You got any family, Mister Sparkles?" she asked brightly. "You know, you can't just live off of silly little microwave meals. You're a fit man, you need your five food groups, you know. Veggies, and meat and.... those other ones. Dairy's in there somewhere, I believe. All your important vitamins and minerals, Mister Sparkles!"​

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[Braxton Sparkles]

Braxton's eyes traveled around the room as Connie let him inside. He was quite unsure what to do with himself, especially as she had quickly disappeared. He still held the carrots and ale, but he stayed where he was, not wanting to touch anything in case it was her art. Braxton had no idea that Connie was an artist...or inventor...builder...whatever actually. But, he didn't know what a lot of people did, he just knew the people in his team and office. And even then, Braxton wouldn't know what any of them did outside of work. The man chuckled at Connie's comment about thinking he was already there. He was often so quiet he was hardly missed if he slipped out of an office party, but that was the way he liked it. Braxton looked around, choosing a seat to sit himself on, putting the carrots on a table and the ale next to it. He opened his bottle, and one for Connie for when she wanted it, but as he took a swig he realized how awkward he was actually feeling. Maybe this wasn't the best idea, he'd be a lot more comfortable in his own chair, eating his own meal. Connie poked her head back into the room, and he smiled at her calling him 'Mister Sparkles' once more. "Please - just call me Braxton. And I do - my parents and little sister. What about yourself?" He answered, ignoring the comments about his diet. He held up the drink he'd opened for Connie, offering it to her.

 

[Constance Sparkles]

Connie absolutely beamed at Braxton when her family came up. She loved all of them, even though she had some issues with her parents, stemming from their divorce that she still had not quite overcome, but it was a fundamental hurt that she could glaze away. It didn't stop her from sending cards and letters however, and she started off with her siblings, as always. "Oh! So, I have two brothers, and three sisters. There's Gregory, Deidre, Simon, Elisabeth - best call her Bess, she's my twin! - and then little Artemis." she was positively glowing just thinking about them, and quickly wrote a note to her self on her arm - send the lot of them owls. "Their all got their own lives, and sometimes I forget ta write to them," she explained sheepishly. She was a remarkably forgetful woman at times.

"What about you, Mister Sparkles?" she asked, her cooking beginning to come to a delightful end. The room was beginning to smell delicious, and she was excited for her meal, and for her guest. Sure, she was told to call him Braxton, but whilst it was a nice enough name, Mister Sparkles was so amazing, that she couldn't help but say it. "You close to your little sister? What's her name? Any niblings?"​