Stocking Up

Autumn and Julie-Pierre were branching out. They had only eaten Muggle candy in their first year at Beauxbatons. So they agreed to mature in their obsession with candy by moving on to Wizard candies.

Autumn knew that her grandmother would not be sending her anymore candy (Autumn's father had set his mother straight, apparently), so Autumn had to use her own money and she'd have to buy in bulk.

She smiled when Julie-Pierre walked into the Sugar Shack. "Over here," she said, waving her hands.

When he came up to her, she hugged him tightly. "I missed you! How was your summer?" she said, after releasing him.

Julie-Pierre's Summer had not been the best, but that wasn't going to stop the boy from trying to make his second term somewhat decent. Autumn had wanted to meet up with him at the candy store and try some candies that were more oriented for witches and wizards.

The boy's eyes gleamed as he stepped into the area, his heaven now around him. This was too perfect, he had to admit. The boy would have yearned to try and buy everything in the store, even with the small amount of money he managed to have in his pocket, before he heard a familiar voice.

The redhead looked to the side, seeing a familiar face. His eyes widened, smiling greatly before she took no time to rush over. He couldn't help but grab her in a hug and pick her up.

"Autumn!" Julie-Pierre exclaimed, soon setting the girl back on her feet. "My Summer was... decent." The boy laughed softly, letting go of the girl. "And yours?"

Autumn narrowed her eyes when he put her down. She hated being so small. Absolutely hated it. Everybody seemed to take advantage of that fact. What was next? Patting the top of her head? That would be less annoying, she decided. But it wasn't Julie-Pierre's fault. She never specifically told him no. But she vocalized how she hated being shor. Maybe he'd realize his foul, especialy since she was shooting daggers at him.

"Mine was fun. I spent the summer in the UK with my cousins. Gregory is a first year, so we had a lot to talk about. We went to London and saw the Lindow Man," she said talking about one of the most famous bog bodies that she enjoyed. "Greg thought it was gross, but I didn't care," Autumn answered excitedly.

"Why was your summer only decent? Were you bored?" she asked.

Julie-Pierre smiled, though a little confused on why Autumn was suddenly so irritated. Had the hug done this, or something else? The boy raised a brow, growing more concerned.

The girl began to talk about her vacation, making him smile a bit more. She went to the United Kingdom? Oh, she was so lucky! A gleam of happiness for the girl, with some jealousy, was in his eyes as he continued to listen. Apparently she had a cousin who was a first year now, making him a bit intrigued. The only friends he really had at this point were Autumn and Haurhi. Maybe they could be friends, too?

Then came the question about his summer. "It was rather underwhelming, really," the redhead said with a light shrug. "I stayed in Germany, and couldn't do too too much when it came to traveling. My folks are... more of a subdued pair."

Julie-Pierre looked wary of Autumn's face. He hadn't understood. "I din't get taller over the summer but everybody else did. Everybody's been pointing it out. You didn't do anything wrong. I didn't say anything before. I apologize," she explained.

Autumn internally cringed. Her delivery didn't sound much like an apology. But that's how her parents had taught her.

"I didn't really want to go because Gregory's sister, Angela, is mean to me. But I'm glad I went. My uncle and aunt are very different than my parents. And having someone close to my age to spend time with was pleasant."

Autumn sighed. "My parents never leave me alone. If I want some peace and quiet, I have to babysit Marli. She talks a little bit now, but it's still less obnoxious. Maybe I'll kidnap you for part of the summer. Even if we didn't do anything, we'd at least be bored together," Autumn replied, mildly annoyed at the thought of her mother and father.

The boy blinked every so often as he heard his friend speak. She didn't get any taller? He hadn't noticed that, nor had he cared much. He had always been taught by his odd set of parents that it wasn't all of the outside that meant a person was a certain way.

The talk of Autumn's parents clearly got her a little more irritated with each passing syllable on the subject. Julie-Pierre frowned as he noticed this, finally seeing it was he that had indeed grown while she stayed the same height. Again, though, how she looked wasn't that great of a deal to him. He didn't quite understand why she wanted to be tall. Was she picked on by her family because of it? The mere thought began to make his blood boil.

The girl began talking about a Marli character, making him raise a brow. With how she talked, it made it seem as if this character was a friend. From her comment on possibly kidnapping him, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Maybe we can have our families meet sometime and they can talk about me going with you on holiday next time?" he questioned. "Also, you really don't need to apologise for that." The boy gave a soft smile, hoping to cheer the girl up even just a little

Autumn smiled. His comment had made her feel better. "I don't know, Julie-Pierre. Would you want to come to Brussels? We could always go somewhere else. We could go to the UK and spend time with Gregory. His parents are a lot nicer than mine"

Autumn would rather not subject Julie-Pierre to the torture that she had considered her parents. Autumn sighed. "Julie-Pierre, I never noticed how awful they were until I spent time away from them. I don't understand my parents anymore. I always thought they were logical people, and honestly, I'm not sure if they are anymore. I'm not sure if I am, either," Autumn confided.

She wasn't really sad about it, she just didn't know what to think.

"I apologize again. I shouldn't have said any of that," Autumn said. She didn't understand why she had said anything at all.

Julie-Pierre smiled side. "Of course I would!" he exclaimed, grabbing the girl's hands happily with a light jump. "It'd be awesome if I could go with you to the U.K.!" His blue-hazel eyes brightened as the back of his head wondered what they would find if they were to venture together. Would they see more of those Bog Men? Would they see things even more creepy and fascinating? Only time would tell.

The mention of her parents again, however, bright a light frown to his lips. He couldn't help but sympathise with her. It sounded hard, what she was going through. The redhead wondered if there was any way he could help her. He was becoming a bit of a knight for her as if she were a princess. It was odd, really, but cute.

"Oh, no, no, it's fine, really," the boy said at her sudden apology. Why was her instinct to apologise for something so simple? "You're speaking your mind, and there's nothing wrong with that." He smiled. 'C'mon, let's get your mind off of them and get some sweets. The sugar might help clear your head."