Hug Hunting

When Bertie had laughingly pushed her hand away, Vivianna scrunched her nose and stuck her tongue out slightly between her teeth in return. It was fun, acting playful like this with someone outside her cousins. It made them really feel like family, and brought them all the more close.

"Make one up," the teenager said decisively, adding a lopsided nod of emphasis. Bertie always got lost in the stories he created. The way he spoke about them too, with so much passion, was mind-boggling to the witch at times. Besides, it was always interesting to hear what the boy's crazy imagination could come up with.

As soon as the words had left her mouth, however, she felt movement inside her robes. "Oh, I found Snidget the other day," Vivianna stated, reaching into her pocket. A moment later, the girl pulled out a toad.

The witch hadn't been aware that Bertie had lost his pet, if he even had, but had automatically grabbed the toad upon finding the creature. "And you'll never believe where I found him," she informed Bertie, still surprised herself at the reptiles location.

Bertie smiled at Vivianna wanting to hear his own story rather than the one he'd read in the Lockhart book. Granted he was a good storyteller when it came to recounting novels written by another but he got a lot more wrapped up in his own creativity and at times even forgot that he was creating a story. The words simply slipped effortlessly from his tongue.

However before he could speak Vivianna reached into her pocket and pulled out a slimy green lump with webbed feet and bulging yellow eyes: Snidget. Bertie had wondered where he'd hopped off to. Usually he kept him locked in the tank that was on the desk besides his dormitory four poster bed although from time to time he took him around the castle with him.

You'll never believe where I found him! Vivianna informed Bertie. Bertie thought for a moment. He had taken him to the library yesterday, that must have been where Snidget escaped, sneaking off whilst Bertie was engrossed in voyages with vampires. Although it had been a whole day and more since Bertie was sat at his favourite desk by the window yesterday morning. In that time Bertie could have been croaking in a crack by the gamekeepers hut.

'Where was he?' Bertie gasped, his eyes wide as he got up from the chair, reaching out to take his toad. He would have made a guess but the number of places where Snidget could have lodged bopped about were racing swiftly around his mind he couldn't decide upon which location to guess.

Carefully placing the creature into the boy's outreached hands, Vivianna thought back to what she'd been up to yesterday. "So yesterday," the girl launched into her story, "I was in the middle of a conversation with Oliver Krum. I dunno if you know him, he's a Gryffindor, my year, came here from Russia a while back. Anyways, somehow Snidget managed to hop his way all the way up to the Owlrey."

Vivianna sent the creature a rather impressed look. If she found the tower steps laborious at times, she didn't even want to think about how difficult it would have been for a thing so small. Although, perhaps that was a toad thing. The witch admittedly didn't know much about toads, other than what their different parts could be used for in potions.

A thought striking her, the student parted her lips to speak again, "so, the last time we spoke you told me that you still didn't have a crush on anyone. I didn't believe you and said I'd nag you about it later. So you better spill, or I'll start with the nagging." Vivianna was teasing, an amused smirk playing at her lips.

Vivianna shifted positions yet again, turning so that she was laying on her side on the desks, facing Bertie. Her elbow was on the hard wood, and her chin propped up by her hand. She wasn't a gossipy person usually, but Bertie just had to like someone. He was a teenage boy, wasn't it some sort of unofficial rule?

Bertie smiled as he took the toad in his hand, patting it slightly. 'We'll need to keep a closer eye on you wont we Snidget.' He told the toad in a cartoon-like voice not that much different from the tone of voice you'd use to communicate with a puppy. Deciding it best to not put the toad into his pocket in case it hopped out he kept it clutched in his palms.

'The Owlrey?' Bertie gasped, his eye bulging and his mouth open like Snidget's who had set his sights on a nearby spider scuttling up the desk leg that Vivianna was lay on. The number of places that Snidget had ended up was crazy - he remembered in the second year Bertie had once found the green croaker leaping along the beams by the ceiling in the Great Hall, perhaps he liked heights?

Bertie suddenly blushed and his eyes sparkled with glee. Somehow without laughing the thirteen year old managed to somehow say 'Nope, no crush.' Although it was a rather short sentence, much too short for the way Bertie usually spoke. It was the truth though, he didn't have crush. In fact he hadn't ever had a crush in as long as he could remember - he just didn't see girls that way. Yes he noticed if a girl was pretty but because he wasn't the best at talking to boys his age, especially the 'cool', 'jack-the-lad' type Gryffindors he tended to talk more to the girls: they were more accepting of his quirkiness.

Bertie let out a shy giggle. Vivianna always brought this up, mostly to tease him, much like a big sister would. He didn't let Vivianna know this too much but he loved having her here at Hogwarts, being the only child it felt nice to have a big-sister-like person around to make him laugh and talk about their problems. He often wondered if he'd find someone else by the time Vivianna finished Hogwarts. He hoped so. Nobody understood him like Vivianna did.

Vivianna let out an over-exaggerated sigh as Bertie announced that there was no crush. "Fine," she replied, drawing out the word, and tone filled with faux-irritation. If Bertie told her that he didn't have a crush on anyone, she would believe him. They told each other things like that, but that didn't mean that she would stop the teasing. As soon as there was anyone in Bertie's life in that way, she wanted to know. Bertie was an amazing person, but due to his nature Vivianna feared that he'd get used and crushed some day. The redhead had always had an oddly protective streak.

The two of them told the other almost everything, close as they were. Bertie was one of the few in the castle who knew that Vivianna had a job, let alone any details about it. "Yesterday at work was a nightmare," the girl practically moaned out after a second of silence. "He though it would be a good idea to re-organize the back room, and managed to cause an enormous mess the process! I mean, everyone knows that chimera and erumpent parts need to be handled separately!" the Slytherin ranted.

The whole thing was a rather complicated story. The girl had first gotten a job at Marcheti's Wands when her family refused to continue paying for her potions experiments. The redhead hadn't expected to love it. Then, Mr. Marcheti went "away". To those in the know, the man was currently in Azkaban. This left Vivianna and the store's current manager to keep the place running in the man's absence. The problem was, the manager wasn't the most capable of persons. Vivianna disliked him with a passion, and tried to get down to Diagon as much as possible to ensure the lazy man didn't mess up too much.

Anyone else who listed to her, would think that she was complaining about having to work. Or perhaps they would think that she was just being her usual mean self. Really, Vivianna was worried. The OWL student was terrified of the great business failing, or loosing any of the quality it was known for. She was also worried about Aaron Marcheti, Azkaban was a terrible place. The witch could only hope that he was alright, and would come back soon. Bertie understood though. Bertie got that behind all the sarcasm, demeaning, and sharp words, she had a heart. So the girl complained, safe with the knowledge that her little brother was there.

Bertie leaned his head forward, his lips forming an ever so slight understanding smile. Vivianna had often ranted about work ever since the wandmaker had suddenly gone on holiday, he'd been away a while and Bertie had come up with the idea that he'd decided to travel from one country to the next gathering wand wood and a variety of cores leaving Vivianna and a not-so-bright wizard to run the shop.

Bertie was one of the few to know about Vivianna venturing to Diagon Alley to sort out the colossal chaos that occurred in her absence. The Ravenclaw thought it was rather peculiar that they didn't employ someone else to help out but Mr Marcheti had left them a job to do and Vivianna being a devoted employee would carry that role out as best she could, besides a new employee may get tips from the disorganised assistant and make things ten times worse.

'Oh gosh!' Bertie gasped, biting his lip imagining what could happen. He'd come across erumpets in Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them and knowing that their horns are highly explosive could not be the best of news. 'What happened?' He asked curiously expecting the worse. The thirteen year old knew the horns were deadly alone but with another substance, such as that from a chimaera he had no idea what catastrophe could be created.

"Well when I walked in, the powdered erumpent horn was shaking. You know, like it does when it's about to explode? So I yelled at him that it was all about to blow up, and he dropped it, making it go all over the floor, and hit it with an overpowered aguamenti. I suppose it could have gone a lot worse, but we had to re-sort everything some other core materials got contaminated," Vivianna told Bertie, hardly taking a breath through her entire explanation.

The teenager allowed herself to roll onto her back, as if exhausted from the very mention of yesterday's events. So, maybe they did get pretty lucky. They didn't get blown up, that was probably something to be thankful for. It was a good thing the horn had been powdered, or the explosion would've happened much quicker. As it was, the blast would've been strong enough to take out the entire shop, and perhaps even the ones on either side of it as well. That didn't mean Vivianna would rant any less though.

Releasing a small sigh and wanting to just put it all past her now that she'd done her complaining, the witch turned her head to face the Ravenclaw. "So, what interesting things have happened with you recently?" Vivianna asked lazily. The Slytherin was feeling fairly content, probably something to do with her going on a miniature verbal rampage.

Bertie sat back down on his chair as Vivianna encumber the tale of yesterday's events. He listened closely, catching every detail. When Vivianna mentioned the blow wasn't as deadly in the powdered state Bertie raised his eyebrows, surprised he could learn something in a casual conversation. However as the conversation went on the teenager soon began to feel tired just listening to the mess that Vivianna had to sort out.

I definatly wouldn't want a job like that. Bertie thought to himself. He hated disorganised clutter and the idea of dealing with contamined cores and splintered sycamore unsettled him. It was bad enough he had to sit in a classroom full of dust, although being at Hogwarts had eased his OCD. When you live in an ancient castle bursting at the bricks with magic and mayhem you become accustom you things being disorganised and dirty. Never the less he savoured the holidays when he could retreat to his spotless home in the Muggle suburbs with each house having a freshly moan lawns and orderly flowerbeds.

'Nothing much really.' Bertie explained dully. He felt almost ashamed that he didn't have an interesting story to tell about his own life. Bertie was one of those boys who nothing happened to. He would watch situations, even imagine the wildest of adventures but when it came down to him he didn't get involved in explosions, he enjoyed living a quiet life. Just him and his imagination. Every now and then he'd venture into the music room and play with the instruments, inventing a new melody but most of the time he was away with the clouds, engrossed in a book or writing his own tales, hoping for them one day to be read across the world.

The Ravenclaw glanced around the room, in the corner, crumpled on one of the desks was an old Daily Prophet clipping. That reminded Bertie that he had something to say: 'I have thought about maybe seeing if I could do some work experience at The Daily Prophet over the summer but... I'm not sure if I'd be able to get there, I don't exactly live near Diagon Alley.' He sighed. Bertie would love to live near Diagon Alley in the heart of the wizarding community but being from a seaside town in the South East the only way he got to Diagon Alley each year to purchase his things is if one of his aunt's or uncle's would do the honour of taking him - floor powder wasn't an option because his Mum was a Squib and had no need to travel across the cobbles of Diagon Alley.

As soon as Bertie mentioned the Daily Prophet, Vivianna started nodding excitedly. Oh, that would be perfect for him. If there was anything Bertie was good at, it was writing. Even working as a silly little intern would probably be brilliant for him. Just to be in and around that sort of atmosphere. Besides, if anyone saw or heard what the boy himself could come up with, the paper would probably beg for him to drop out of school and work for them. Or perhaps Vivianna was just experiencing proud-older-sister syndrome, but she didn't think so.

Deflating slightly when Bertie brought up how hard it would be to get there, her mind began puzzling over possibilities. Side-along apparition was out of the question, because Bertie's mom was a squib. They also weren't connected to the floo network, so it wasn't like that was a possibility either. "Broom?" the redhead said tentatively, knowing that it was far from a decent solution. "The night bus?" the Slytherin suggested, figuring that this method of transportation was far more likely.

"Or you could just do what I do and work part time during the school year," Vivianna said after a few more moments of coming up with nothing, "just a few days a week, more if you want to, it's nice to get out of the school for a bit sometimes," the girl said, almost as excited about this idea as Bertie himself was.

Bertie let out a sigh as he watched Vivianna puzzle over the problem of travel. He didn't quiet like the idea of flying. Not that he wasn't a poor flyer he was, well he wasn't the best flyer. In fact he was rather afraid he might fall from the broomstick and he didn't have one of his own to use. Plus if it was raining then he didn't fancy getting wet and puddling the Prophet's offices.

'The knight bus is an idea.' Bertie replied, then again how much would it cost? His family wasn't exactly older. Maybe he would simply not do work experience, he could correspond with the Prophet via letter, maybe start to write in his response and opinions about different articles.

'I might do it when I am older.' Bertie replied, shrugging off the idea of working during term time. He was impressed how Vivianna was able to successfully juggle her school work and working at the wandmakers store. However Bertie wanted to concentrate on his studies for now,. besides he was only thirteen and had years before he left Hogwarts. 'I might start writing my articles and sending them in.' Bertie murmured, more to himself than to Vivianna.