A Tricky Customer

(OOC: I know the thread is mainly for Bertie, Naomi & Athena but I figured I'd have it open if anybody was interested).

So far Bertie had been enjoying the Summer holidays. Truth be told this had to be the best summer holiday the Ravenclaw had ever had. The previous ones he'd spent them cooped up in the sleepy seaside town where he lived, wandering to the beach, writing until his fingers went numb. However this summer was different, very different, for the Ravenclaw found himself not missing the wizarding world at all. Why? Because he was still a part of it.

Bertie had managed to secure a job at Flourish and Blotts as a sales assistant for during the Hogwarts holidays. It had been a little tricky to get sorted, what with him living in a muggle house hold where the fireplace is hardly one you can floo from. Instead his Uncle, an employee at the Ministry, had managed to pull a few strings and link his Grandma's fireplace to that of Flourish and Blotts.

His Grandma was a muggle and had lived in the south western beach town since she was born, much like her Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother. His Grandma had grew up in a house just under a five minute walk from Berties. It was one of the older houses, not for the wealthy as you'd expect by the word 'old', but for those who had moved to escaped cities that had been a target by the Germans during the second world war. It was at this old house where there was a large open firegrate, one that a wizard could use to floo to and from. Naturally this had been the answer to Bertie's problem and for five days a week Bertie had being making a trip with this fireplace to Flourish and Blotts to work.

The weeks had passed quick. It had been a little terrifying at first dealing with customers, angry customers, confused customers, customers that weren't even human but Bertie had managed to get to grips and was now a model employee. One day an author had arrived at Flourish and Blotts to do a book signing, something that Bertie had been most excited about. Of course it hadn't led Bertie to a publishing deal but the writer had gave the Ravenclaw a free signed copy and a piece of advice upon hearing the boys dreams of becoming a published author. It gave Bertie hope and he was now starting to believe there was a reason for everything. A reason for being squib born, a reason for taking the job at Flourish and Blotts, a reason for being sorted into Ravenclaw, a reason for falling ill... Okay, perhaps there wasn't a reason for everything.


Today had been one of those busy days at Flourish and Blotts. The start of the Hogwarts term was swiftly approaching. Diagon Alley had been getting busier and busier by the day of students and their families scuttled around frantic to purchase all the necessities they'd need for the upcoming year. A large bulk of what they'd be needed was books. Books that could only be purchased from Flourish and Blotts meaning that each day the past two weeks Bertie had gone home exhausted.

A sigh escaped the fifteen year old as he watched the clock tick five minutes to six. Because of parents working full time and Diagon Alley experiencing it's peak number of shoppers each of the stores had decided to stay open until six. Not that this bothered Bertie, it got him out of his house and engaged with the wizard world that little bit longer. However by quarter to six the Alley was pretty much empty, any shoppers that remained had taken refuge at the Leaky Cauldron for an evening meal and nobody was concerned about shopping in Flourish and Blotts.

Standing up from behind the counter Bertie began to make his way to the far corner and began his routine check of the shelves, correcting the home of any stray books.

The little job she’d gotten herself in Flourish and Blotts had been serving Athena Goyle well since she’d divorced her husband. Moving in with a Potter had been the last thing she’d thought she’d ever do but on that same list, the one that came out on top was getting a job. She’d thought as a teenager that she’d be living in the lap of luxury forever. That rug was one she took out from underneath herself, however, so she learnt to adapt.

Whilst it wasn’t a lucrative job, Athena loved working in Flourish and Blotts. Helping people find the books they wanted and being able, herself, to sit and search through them and put bits and bobs back in their proper places was her favourite little love affair. There were also some rather charming people working there with her. She’d gathered a fondness for not only the owner who was highly understanding but also for the little Ravenclaw, Bertie, who she’d been working with all summer.

It was difficult not to try and mother him. The hard edges of the former Rookwood woman had been filed away by her own children and she had become easily approachable and talkative. She was happy to converse with anyone and everyone and almost entirely you could forget who she was – that she had once been one of the favourite little pureblood princesses of that social circle. The light wizards would argue she’d come good, the dark ones, that she’d fallen out of her tree. It all depended on opinion, really.

That day was the busiest of that week with people coming in and out like clockwork. The exchange of money – and the subsequent tips – was ferocious and more and more books were having to be ordered in from the printers to meet the demand even though she was sure that they had ordered the correct amount to begin with. Today was no exception and Athena found herself running out into the back room to get more volumes for the smiling, excitable student blustering in and out.

There was a lull eventually, one that allowed her to return to the counter. She was pricing up a stack of books when a young man Bertie’s age came to the counter. She abandoned her stack, glancing over at the Ravenclaw, sending him a smile that assured him he could stay where he was, and she moved to open up the till for the customer.

“Hello,” Athena greeted him enthusiastically. “Is this everything you need?” She asked, taking up the store wand to scan all off the barcodes on the books. “Take a bookmark out of that tray there – it might come in handy. It changes colour every few days so it never gets boring.” She rang up the numbers and glanced at the monitor. “Can I take six galleons off you please, love?”