What Do Boys Like?

[April Ward]

Last year, April had had a fight with her best friend in the whole world. And it had been for a really stupid reason. It would be easy to blame Tristan Collins for it, especially as he had turned out to be a total jerk, but April knew her reaction to the news that Kauri was dating someone had been childish. It had just felt like she was losing her best friend, but she now knew that had been silly. They had made up at the end of the school year, but now April was thinking she should get him something to make up for it. And while she had been considering it, she had also remembered his birthday was last month. Oops. To be fair, it was hard to remember when it fell in the school holidays, but she really wanted to give him an awesome present to make up for both things now. The one problem was that she wasn’t sure what would be good. April knew what she would like to get. Anything Quidditch related, sweets, some prank stuff… but Kauri was different from her. He did well in his classes, and probably wouldn’t really know what to do with any prank items. But what would he want?

She scanned the Gryffindor table for Kauri’s face. Her plan for now was to subtly interrogate him about what he would like to get as a gift, but in a way that he totally wouldn’t notice. Unfortunately, the plan was quickly foiled by the fact that Kauri did not appear to be at lunch right now. He was probably either studying or rescuing a firstie’s kitten out of a tree. April wasn’t sure what he did in his free time. But she did spot someone else she knew. Someone she knew was in their year. Maybe he would be able to help? She knew Gideon from the halloween feast last year, and he worked for her aunt. A part of her was still annoyed that he had beaten her at dueling, but that would just mean she had to beat him next time. Taking a seat on the other side of the table from him, she reached over and tapped him on the arm. “Question, what kind of gift would a boy your age like? I’m asking for Kauri.” She decided to reveal who she was buying a gift for, because Gideon probably knew Kauri at least a little bit. “And don’t say anything from Gambol and Jape’s just because you work there.” She added quickly.

 

[Gideon Zelinsky]

New school years were kind of something of a fresh start, after so long away during the holiday period to relax and forget about the stress of study and exams. Gideon wanted to do something different this year, something that occupied more of his time and made it feel like he'd really made the most of his school years overall. He'd been having fun so far, but he was running out of new things to keep him entertained. Dueling had been fresh, an event he'd not quite done before, and his victories had been a pleasant surprise. They were all sheer dumb luck, if he was honest about it, and he didn't expect a repeat if he signed up again, nor did he quite enjoy any of the burns he'd received during the last matches to be at all motivated to try a second time. Out of the clubs run in the castle, he was considering setting his sights for the Brotherhood, and really getting to know more of the other guys, make some real friends, people who were interested in the same things he was. Maybe he'd even try out for Quidditch this time, who knew.

Mulling over his options while he ate, Gideon was surprised to feel a tap on his arm, and looked up from his plate of food to see April sitting across from him. For a moment he thought maybe she was there to see him. They'd run into each other a few times now, not always under the best of circumstances, but she was someone he had enjoyed the company of in the past. Unfortunately, she was there to talk about Kauri. Still, he was happy to help out, given the boy was his roommate after all. "Anything from Gamb-" The Gryffindor started to respond, only to cut himself off as it wasn't the answer April was looking for. Actually taking a moment to consider it, he couldn't think of much there the other boy would be interested in. "Uh, he likes..." What did Kauri like? He couldn't recall if he was interested in Quidditch, but he didn't think that was the case, so it took out a lot of his options. Kauri was generally happy and pleasant to be around, for the most part, but was he actually fun? He hadn't spent enough time with him outside of their dorms and common rooms to know. He seemed smart and into his studies. "Socks?" He suggested lamely, before coming to the realisation that for a teenage boy, socks had many uses. "Like really interesting ones to wear. With googly eyes, or wings, or furry bedsocks that look like a puffskein or something. He has a pet pygmy puff so he likes those? Maybe you could get him a tiny hat for it or something instead. I don't know. I barely know what I want most of the time." He paused. "No, that's a lie. Probably anything from Gambol and Japes. You know they have a comb that completely changes your hairstyle? Bit risky. I saw a customer try it out and the results were uh, pretty crazy." Gideon had never seen Bride of Frankenstein, but the wizard who'd come in ended up walking out looking much like the character. '"Sorry, back to Kauri. Uh. You can't go wrong with some sweets from Honeydukes if worse comes to worse? Dervish and Banges have those cool friendship rings that are supposed to be linked together or something. I'm sure he'll like whatever." ​

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[April Ward]

April probably could have thought of a gift for Kauri on her own, but she had taken the excuse to talk to Gideon happily. April was always happy to make more friends, and while she still really wanted to beat him during the next dueling tournament, she also thought he could be a fun friend. Anyone working for Aunt Amy had to be fun. She giggled a little when he immediately started suggesting Gambol and Jape's, she had thought as much. For herself, something from that store would definitely work too, but Kauri was way too much of a goody-two-shoes for that. In the best way. She was glad it wasn’t super easy for Gideon to think of anything either. Maybe Kauri was one of those people that was hard to buy things for. Her initial reaction to the idea of socks made her pull a face. “That’s like a practical grandma gift.” She said, shaking her head. But then he listed a few fun socks. The idea of furry socks that look like a puffskein wasn’t half bad. “Oh, that’s good! I could get something for Tamati. That’s the pygmy puff’s name.” She said, rooting around in her bag for a scrap of paper to write this down. She placed it on the table and scribbled on it quickly with a pencil she had also found floating in her bag. His story about the comb in Gambol and Jape’s made her look up. “What were the results?” She asked curiously. “That sounds like fun. Do you like working there?” His suggestion of getting sweets wasn’t bad either, though it was a bit standard. She wrote it down too, as well as the rings idea. She grinned at him as she threw the pencil back into her bag blindly. “Thanks! You were really helpful.” She said brightly. “I also have to get something for my stepsister soon… I don’t suppose you’re very knowledgeable about what a fifth year Ravenclaw girl would want?” It was worth a shot, as long as she was asking. “I’ll probably just end up going with school supplies. I could have for Kauri too, but it’s so boring.”

 

[Gideon Zelinsky]

Gideon had no idea how to even begin explaining the wizard's hairstyle after their unfortunate combing. "Uh, it was big and up like...can I borrow that pencil?" He asked, taking the writing utensil once he had the go ahead to quickly scrawl on the edge of the sheet of paper she got gotten out to take notes. "Ok so it went whoosh this way, and there was a streak like this here, and...and that's not how you spell "gargoyles" is it? That's the comb he used, and some magical sparkles there. Done! Sort of like that." He finished scrawling out his art piece and returned the pencil, flipping the paper so that April could see his drawing much better. It was a little bit exaggerated, but it was close enough to what he had seen. "I love Gambol and Japes. Every day is so much fun. I don't know what other people do when they work at the other stores, but something's always happening in Gambol because we sell really cool crazy stuff all the time." Every day really was an adventure, especially since not every customer knew what half of the items did. Labels were very important to read, he'd quickly learned. "Why don't you work there?" The Gryffindor asked curiously. It seemed like it would be easy for her to get a job there specifically, since she was related to his boss, so it was a surprise that she didn't already.

"I don't know what a fifth year Ravenclaw girl would like. I barely know what most girls in general like. Ravenclaw, hum...Whats the longest book Flourish and Blotts sells?" Any Ravenclaw would love a good book, Gideon could only assume. April should have been the person he was coming to for gifts for females, but she didn't seem to be any good at finding presents generally. He could understand that. It was hard to figure out what other people wanted, and what they didn't already have. Since Gideon had started earning his own money, he'd had more complaints around Christmastime about how much more difficult it was becoming for people to buy him anything too, since he was already getting himself the things he wanted most now that hecould afford them.​

 

[April Ward]

April was curious to hear what the hairstyle had looked like, but when Gideon borrowed her pencil and started to draw it instead she quickly realized that was even better. She covered her mouth with her hand as she watched him, but it didn't do much to stifle her giggles. "Wow! That must have been amazing." She said, beaming. "I think you spelled gargoyles correctly now, though I'm not really sure..." She shrugged. "Who cares. It's a masterpiece." Gideon was fun, and the more they talked the more her remaining irritation about the dueling tournament was fading. It made her happy to hear Gideon liked working at Gambol and Jape's. April already knew her Aunt was the coolest person, but it pleased her to know that her store was awesome too. "I'm glad you like it! Aunt Amy told me she's holding some sort of contest over the Brightstone weekend. You should enter!" But at the question about her working there, she shrugged. "Well, it's kinda full. I'm sure if I asked she would make room for me, but I think she has enough people to help." She paused, then shrugged again. "Also, I don't really need to have a job." Her dad had never asked her to get a job, and April wasn't really eager to find something either. He pretty much got her what she wanted, within reason, and she was pleased with that arrangement.

Gideon not really knowing what to get for October wasn't a surprise to April. Asking him had been a long shot anyway, and she appreciated that he did think about it for a moment. "That's okay, I kinda asked because it just popped into my head. But your book idea isn't bad." As she thought on it more, she realized the answer was actually a lot simpler. "Actually, I should get her Quidditch stuff! Unlike Kauri, she does like it. She's Ravenclaw's new seeker." She said with a grin. "I'll spare you before I get to my Christmas shopping list. You've helped me enough." She added jokingly.

 

[Gideon Zelinsky]

Gideon grinned at the mention of a contest at Gambol and Japes. He was one to enter anything it hosted if he could. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and given the pranking nature of the business, any event was going to be a fun event. "I definitely will!" He said, and agreed when April mentioned there being enough employees at the store already. "I didn't need a job either. It's still cool to have my own money when my parents don't want to get me something I ask for because they think I don't need it, or something, so I'm glad I did. I don't know what kind of job I want to have after school yet, my mum says that getting the experience early will help." An adult job was a problem for a much, much later point. Who knew, maybe he'd continue working in the joke shop after graduation.

While Gideon didn't think his book idea was the worst, it certainly wasn't the best, and he was glad when April managed to come up with a much better answer for herself instead of going with his and risking it not being a very good gift. "Cool! I always suck at seeker whenever I play over the holidays. I get bored so quickly trying to find the snitch." Gideon liked Quidditch, and it was always fun to play with friends, but he'd never been passionate enough about it to try out for a school time. It was a game to play from time to time, and he couldn't see himself putting in the hours practicing for big matches. "I saw a store...somewhere, might have been a place on the south island, where they had all sorts of Quidditch accessories for brooms like stickers and paints and "costumes", so you could dress it up with dragon wings and a tail and stuff. Different coloured snitches and quaffles too, that sort of thing. Might be a good idea? Its different. I bought this girl I grew up near a Macaws scarf once, and it turned out she already had three of them. Gifting can be so hard sometimes." He laughed, but it had really been a waste of time and effort to give someone something they already had. "Next time I'm stumped on what to get someone, it can be your turn to give me advice!" ​

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[April Ward]

Proud of herself for getting someone to enter the contest for her aunt, April smiled at Gideon. He seemed like a nice guy, and someone she should definitely spend some more time with. She nodded along to what he said about his job, but still didn't really feel like she should get one as well. Having your own money was nice she supposed, but her father was terrible at saying no to her so she tended to get most things she wanted anyway. "I guess so! I don't know what I want to do yet either, but we still have ages." She said confidently, though a small part of her knew that wasn't true. In only a year they would be in their OWL year. April pushed that thought away, that was a worry for later. "And I don't think I want to work in a store after graduation." She said with a shrug. Really, what she had wanted since she was little was to be famous. When she was young she had been sure she would be a famous ballerina, but now that she was a little older and had gotten into Quidditch she often daydreamed of being a professional Quidditch player instead.

April laughed as Gideon admitted he sucked at being seeker. "You're ridiculous, seeker is clearly the best position on the team." She said, proud of her own position on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. "It can take a while to find the snitch, but you have the most important job on the team. Everyone is rooting for you to win!" It was what she loved about being seeker, but also what made her very upset every time they lost. Whenever they lost a match, it was her fault. That wasn't always easy to cope with. April's eyes widened when Gideon described the Quidditch accessories. That sounded amazing. "Wow! If you remember where you saw that you should tell me! Not for October, she hates that sort of thing. but I want to dress my broom up as a dragon." She said eagerly. "I'll just get her a boring broomstick polishing kit or something, but like, a really good one." She said dismissively. "It really can be hard. Especially for October because I never had a sibling before so I want to be the best stepsister and give her the best things." She said, hoping it made sense. April had never had siblings before, so now she wanted to be the best sister in the world. "Definitely. You can ask me for advice and I'll give you the best ideas I have. Promise." That wasn't saying a lot, considering she had asked him for so much help with her own presents, but maybe by then she would have thought of better gifts.