Utterly helpless

[Leo Stanton]

"Hmmm?" Leo said to himself as he spun to his left and then to his right as his eyes scanned the crowded streets. Digging frantically into one of the pockets of his robes he fished out a small crumpled piece of parchment that was supposed to be a map of the area. However as they day had marched on it had become rather worn from being folded then unfolded several times. Leo was new to the are and was desperately trying to figure out where everything was but being that he had a terrible sense of direction the task was proving to be rather difficult. Hailing from London he had moved to the area to pursue a career as an unspeakable, a position which he could not discuss with anyone being without break a laundry list of magical laws and regulations. It was an interesting position to have but one that he had been enjoying more with each passing day. It was a position that required long hours of research and practical magical applications. Luckily he was rather sharp and curious about magic as a whole.

Looking down at his map, he took a deep breath as he folded the parchment up once more and shoved in his pocket as he fought the urge to throw his hands up in defeat. Luckily for him, there was a well-placed bench that was currently empty. Sitting down with a hmph he took a breath as he chewed on the inside of his lip, a nervous habit that he picked up from his father. A warm breeze rustled through the crowd, messing up his brown locks causing him to run a hand through his somewhat shaggy hair. Besides needing a few new robes, it seemed as though it was time for a haircut much to his annoyance as he had found that it was only a few weeks since he had been to the stylist. His hair was rather unruly and grew quickly which forced him to make a few more visits to the hairdresser than the average joe. His mother, in her doting, had suggested that he learn to do it himself to save a few galleons. As it was, when he did try to do his hair himself with the aid of a few charms and spells from his mother, he only failed terribly. The result was that he turned his hair an offensive shade of pink while magicking his eyebrows to grow in size and to crawl about his face. A trip to St. Mungos had cured him of this misfortune much to his utter embarrassment. It was the last time he had attempted to do his hair himself. But then again he should have expected as much as he had been rather dreadful at transfiguration.

Emerald green eyes scanned the faces of the crowd as he soon fell into a quiet and peaceful state of mind. It was a people watching behavior that he had picked up from his time at school. He was always fascinated by people and what they did when they did not know they were being watched. It was the little subtle habits and quirks that were the most interesting to observe. The biting of the lip, the chewing of the nails, or the way that people tossed their hair. Even now he marveled at the day to day bustling of the crowded village streets. Exhausted mothers dragging about ice cream covered children, elderly sorts in deep debate about one topic or another, and the occasional tourist stopping to snap a photo or to take a popular "selfie". While selfies were no new thing, they were more popular with the newer generations than they were with his own generation. He had never seen the appeal of taking personal photos of himself. It was not as though he was hard on the eyes, it was just that he did not feel the need to fill the world with useless photos of himself any more than normal. The world had more than enough photos that his own pictures did not to clutter up any more space as they often did with these sorts of things.

While it was easy to waste his day ideally watching people shuffle to and fro, it seemed as though he was wasting the better part of his day off just sitting. He had far too many things that needed his attention such as a rather complex potion that he had left brewing on low heat that would need a few additions before it was through and ready to bottle. Gathering himself he attempted to catch the attention of a passing stranger by raising a hand in the air. Yet for the life of him, his attempts seemed to go largely unnoticed much to his own frustration. Puffing up like an angry blowfish he all but jumped up in down to catch someone's eye. In all of his flailing, he, of course, had not noticed that he nearly slapped a hapless stranger in the face. "I am so, so, so very sorry! I hope that I did not hit you! I was just trying to get directions. You see I am new to the area and as such I have not quite figured out -- where everything is just yet. I was hoping to find my way to Madam Malkin's robe shop but must have gotten a bit -- turned around. Can you help me?" Leo said as a rosy blush colored his teeth. His tone was a bit flustered but relatively peaceful. His English accent added a foreign flare to his words as he chose to speak first in English before trying any other language. English was a bit more common in these parts with the influx of newcomers to the area with each passing year. He was fluent in other languages as well so he could be able to fall back on those if English failed but he remained a bit hopeful. "The name is Leo Stanton by the way." He offered quickly as he realized that he had made a minor lapse in decorum.

 

[Jennette Jenkins]

The term 'day off' was a foreign one one to Jennette ever since she toom over ownership of the Leaky Cauldron. It was a job she loved but owning a bar had proven to be more time consuming than she ever thought possible. Not to mention she had been short staffed when she took over and remained so to the day so it was often the blonde herself behind the bar, changing the barrels and disarming the drunk patrons befor they cursed any of her regulars. The truth was though she had grown accustomed to it, Jennette didn't know what to do with herself if she wasn't doing something hands on with her own bar. The last few months however had been different since Oliver had moved into one of the rooms she rented out. Not typically a long term residence, Jennette had made an exception for her old school friend who was down on his luck. That was no longer the case and he was getting back on his feet and looking for his own place. In the interim Jennette had put Oliver to work to ease some of the pressure on herself and he had proven useful enough that she trusted him to run the place while she took some time to herself.

With the bar in the capable hands of her long term guest. Jennette found herself in Brightstone village. Since graduating Hogwarts she had rarely found herself at the village but it always brought back fond memories for her. Of course now that Kiara owned a shop there Jennette found more reason to visit when she could. Having already popped in her old best friend Jennette found herself wondering the village aimlessly munching on a bag of sweets she bought from Honeydukes during her visit to her friend. Being away from it for so long Jennette easily forgot how much she loved the village and how much joy she got from simply walking around it. Not really looking where she was going Jennette failed to spot the young man flailing his arms about so much that he almost hit her in the face. Before she could yell at him he came over all apologetic and Jennette softened when she heard his familiar accent."I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going either, where did you say you were looking for? Madam Malkins? It's just over there," She pointed in the direction of the robe shop before taking a good look at the man who so nearly hit her in the face. He was cute though clearly a little flustered. "I'm Jennette, Jennette Jenkins," She smiled at the man after he introduced himself. Hopefully she would be able to get him where he wanted to go.

 

[Leo Stanton]

"You're English! Thank the gods that be!" Leo said with a broad smile as he sheepishly hugged the woman as she pointed him in the right direction. The hug was not long enough to be awkward nor did it come from any place other than a friendly one. It was a knee-jerk reaction when encountering a fellow Englishmen, in this case, an Englishwoman, as it was not as common as one might think. New Zealand was a rather unusual mixing pot of culture in which magical individual flocked to from every corner of the globe. So he was elated to find someone that he had even the smallest thing in common with as it made conversation much easier. "I must apologize again for nearly smacking you in the face," He said with an embarrassed smile as he tried to brush the accident under the rug. "As for the direction, I must mean that you are an utter godsend. I have been attempting to get direction from someone, but it appears as though I might be invisible to everyone but you." He said with a laugh as he gave himself a once over and pondered if, briefly, magic was the cause of his misfortune. After a moment, he snapped out of his momentary daze as he had gone through his usual list of possible spells that could attribute to any oddity in his life. It was more common than one might think but that was a hazard of working with the mysterious magic that he did at the Ministry.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Jenkins," He said as he offered the woman a firm handshake before giving her a once over for good measure. The Bubbly Blonde woman was quite the looker with those classic blue eyes and pearly white smile. If this had been the states, he would have guessed that she was from the country as she just had that overall look about her that almost screamed small town girl. Of course being English did not mean that she did not grow up in the country as there were rural parts of the country that few people thought of when mentioning the UK. London was, of course, the iconic city for tourist though it did not always define the English as a whole. It was referential to the culture, but other places could be equal as iconic in his humble opinion even though he could not think of one off the top of his head." If I finished unpacking my things then maybe I could find where my box of spare robes and I could have avoided all of this to begin with!" He said with an air of exasperation in his voice. "I hate moving, but if I gave that my job is here, I hate the idea of traveling to the other side of the world every day even without he aid of magic. So I had little choice but to move to the area." He said as he vented slightly out loud but realizing his company may not be of the same mindset as him he quickly edited his previous remark. "That is not to say that New Zealand is not a beautiful place to live. I am just used to the hustle and bustle of London is all. " He added as he felt a small pang of homesickness wash over him. "It will take some getting use to that much is for sure," He said more to himself than the Jennette.

"Now with a clear sense of direction, I shall attempt not to get lost between here and there," He said with a smirk as began to walk off. Though he only went a few paces before turning around and looking at the woman again. "Of course, if you have nothing important, I could use a chaperone for a little bit, that is if you do not mind. You seem like you have a better sense of direction than I do, but also, you seem more familiar with the shops. If you are busy, then I will make do, but I will throw in lunch if you help, on the house!" He said as he attempted to make a small deal with the woman. It was his chance to make a new friend, and so he did not want to pass up on this opportunity. Someone who knew the area was invaluable to a newbie like him. More than that it would be someone he could get out and about with instead of being cooped up in his house all the time. He missed his friends back home more than he was letting on, so it did not seem so far fetched that he attempt to make at least one new friend in New Zealand. His co-workers were not too keen on him yet but would likely come around in time. At least, that was his hope. Even if the woman did not want to hang out with or be his friend, it was easier to be rejected by a complete stranger than someone he knew personally. "So what do you say?" He asked one last time before he would leave it alone. He did not want to catch a charm to the face for being creepy after all.