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rian ([info]happydays) wrote in [info]valescoing,
@ 2011-02-02 22:25:00


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Entry tags:elizabeth fortescue, rian kettleburn

Rian loved the back to school rush of Diagon Alley. He wasn't a big fan of crowds or snippy mothers who couldn't control their young children, but the rush of excitement and promise in air made it worth it. It made him nostalgic for when he was in school, getting ready for September first, buying all your supplies and then sneaking away from the parents to go meet your friends or girlfriend. Rian was never a troublemaker in that sense but it was still a last sense of freedom before the school year started. He didn't have any children of his own so trips to the Alley were infrequent during this week, but once in a great while he found himself there during the school rush.

Like now. Only now was more of a requirement. As part of an idea (his, actually, tossed out at a boring office meeting) to help students get a head start on caring for their pets (especially the muggleborns) and how to use owls. Since it was his idea, he got the short straw in having to set up at the Magical Menagerie with demonstrations on how to care for the animals and to teach the children and answer questions for their parents. Public speaking really wasn't his thing, but with his last name, people just assumed he was a natural teacher like his father. He wasn't, but talking to kids wasn't much different than training a puppy. Except for the questions, there were always questions.

Rian was sorting through some of favor bags, filed with fliers and owl treats when someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around to face a tiny blond woman. "Er...hello," Rian blinked.



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[info]ringmybell
2011-02-03 05:40 pm UTC (link)
It had come to Liz's attention that her daughter didn't really like her. Katie had spent the past week with her, and while the five year old looked like a minature version of herself, Liz had absolutely no idea how to communicate with the girl. She really did want to try, it had taken her a long time to want to have the relationship with Katie, but Liz figured that a young kid was pretty impressionable, and how badly could Katie think of a mother who had barely acknowledged her for two yers of her very short life? It was nearly half her life!

Liz didn't know what had possessed her to ask Ian for certain weekends, or weeks. She didn't know what posessed him to let her, but she knew that he was a good man. It hadn't been his fault that she had left them, and there hadn't been anything for him to do to get her back. Blame it on the war, like Liz did with most of her problems.

But, she was here now because her five year old hated her and she needed something to make her like her again. Liz immediately thought back to her childhood and reminisced of the times she spent owling her friends and anxiously waiting for their letters to return. An owl would be good for Katie. The birds basically took care of themselves, and Liz could always send her letters, and, if Katie wanted, she might send something back. A picture, or the alphabet that she'd been doodling for hours nonstop on her napkins yesterday when she was refusing to eat Liz's dinner.

"Hi, sorry---I want to get my five year old an owl, but...I know they're really intelligent, but do you think they'd get annoyed with a little kid? She's really well-behaved," Liz chuckled to herself, "Nothing to do with my behalf, but she's a good girl."

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[info]happydays
2011-02-03 08:38 pm UTC (link)
"Er," Rian started and looked around and then back to the woman. Well, even if she wasn't asking him about taking care of pets at Hogwarts, he was definitely qualified to answer that. "A five year old? That's sort of tricky," Rian said, leaning back against the table as to be more on her level instead of towering over her like he normally did. "I would say it depends on the temperament of the owl. Most owls that parents have are ones they received as at eleven or at school, so they should be pretty good with their owners and families, but sometimes they are just old and cranky, unfortunately."

He reached behind him and picked up a flier about owl care and handed it to her, "If you think your daughter can handle the responsibilities in there, or at least help with them, and owl might be good for her. If she's good, as in doesn't pluck feathers, I would suggest getting one that's not young and still needing to be trained, but not one that is old and set in their ways. Owls sometimes tend to take a mothering approach to their owners and not that it's probably an issue but one that grows with you and stops you from drunk-owling an ex, well that's kind of a good relationship." Oh dear Merlin, had he just mentioned alcohol in the context of her five year old, what was he thinking? Hopefully she wouldn't notice that though. "I'm sure one of the employees inside can help you find the right one you're looking for though."

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[info]ringmybell
2011-02-05 02:49 am UTC (link)
Of course it was all she heard. Liz let out an honest laugh and her eyebrows went high in recognition.

"That would've saved a lot of embarrassing next-morning apologies on my part," Liz said with a sigh, taking the flier. More like, long rambling tear-filled letters to Ian, or to Remus of all people, who'd basically up and abandoned the last remaining and barely functional member of their Gryffindor class. After the attack on the Longbottoms, Liz had inverted for quite some time, but when she finally managed to step out into the real world, she'd tried to reach out to Remus but to no avail.

How was a person supposed to deal with something like that? Everyone that you knew, the people that you had spent more than seven years of your life, were either dead, sentenced to life in jail, or had been tortured into insanity? That core group of people that Liz had trusted with her life, literally at times, were gone, they had all disappeared so---

"Hey, weren't you a year ahead of me, at Hogwarts?" Her mind always jumped back to Hogwarts. Liz now remembered people by how many years ahead or behind they were of her at Hogwarts, because that was the only time she was happy with her life, and even then it was full of depressing things---

Liz cocked her head to the side and examined him closer, "Hufflepuff?"

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[info]happydays
2011-02-06 05:36 pm UTC (link)
The fact that she made a joke out of it allowed Rian to relax a little, anyone else probably would have stalked off or kicked him in the shins, right? He laughed politely and watched her as she drifted off into some sort of a moment, wondering if he should excuse himself or what. If he did he probably would have ended up knocking over the whole display or something although he wasn't clumsy all the time, his luck had a habit of abandoning him in moments which he was supposed to be playing it cool. No it was probably best if he just stayed still until she was finished with her deep thoughts.

"Uh!" Rian said as her question caught him off guard. She remembered him? Everyone knew who Liz Fortescue was, even when she was Liz Bell. She was Florean's daughter but not only that she was just, Liz. Who didn't know her? But that she recognized him? He gave her a slightly more confident smile as she looked him over closer. "Yeah. Rian Kettleburn. You might know my father, remember him really. I work at the ministry though, not following in his footsteps." He held up his hands and gave a little jazz-hands for her, "See, all my limbs."

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[info]ringmybell
2011-02-08 08:53 pm UTC (link)
Liz nodded in recognition, smiling widely as she noted that he did indeed have all his limbs. "Your dad was bonkers, is he still teaching?"

It was probably not the nicest way to talk about his family, but Liz knew that everyone in the wizarding world knew she was supposedly just as crazy. Best friends with the couple who ended the wizarding war, disppeared for months and left the poor, handsome quidditch player alone with their baby, left the WWN to travel the world and live on the kindness of strangers---

---yeah, she had every right to call people bonkers; Liz could appreciate one of her own.

"Katie'll be thrilled to have him if he's still at Hogwarts when she goes," Liz said knowingly, "She has a knack for making friends with the misfits of the world---sorry, probably not the best term to use..." She winced, shrugged and crossing her arms. "Except for some reason she doesn't like me and I'm what you'd call----"

Liz pursed her lips. She had issues with speaking too much and letting her mind and lips race to see which one would figure out she should stop talking before things got awkward first. "Ignore me, sorry---Rian, yeah? I remember you, the '77 Hufflepuff men were kind of infamous in our dorms---"

Liz winked with a grin; the one thing she wasn't awkward about was letting men know that she found them attractive----which sounded terrible in her head, but it was from her school days, and Lily and Marlie and Alice---they'd all swooned over the older boys at some point so it wasn't---it was a good thing to recall---

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