hazel was always a welcomed guest at noggin and bonce not only because of their friendship, but because she would at least give the heads the courtesy of greeting them. forrest found her so agreeably pleasant, he knew that shrunken heads came with a bad connotation and were a sight that one had to get accustomed to but he had never seen her snub or turn her nose at them as customers tended to do. in fact, when he had written to her about his interest in working at the shop, she had been among the slim few ( read: the only one ) to encourage him to actually apply. he was grateful for her continued friendship, eager to keep in touch and selfishly glad when she ended up so close after graduating, though he would have never pictured it in a million years. “yeah, yeah,” he laughed softly, more to himself as his eyes drifted over to the small creature hung in the display window with hers, listening intently. there was a time when forrest considered himself obnoxiously curious, but even after just a short time of knowing hazel, he knew that he probably wouldn’t even think to look up half of the things she already knew.
“i didn’t but that’s important to know. i’ll leave a note so as not to spook christian or anyone in the shop when he decides to wake up.” sending the house elves back over to their shelves with a wave of his wand, forrest grinned. “let’s hope, it’s getting colder by the day don’t think i could handle snow on top of it. the window was just luck, i suppose, but at least the augurey can look up at the sky now. thank you,” he tacked on the gratitude as he scribbled a quick note about the bird. “he was quite the sight, i had to silence the whole lot before he entered because the ones in the window were causing a riot. but the silence made it worse, i was so aware of how awful he looked. i may work here forever so i can’t ever be tempted to buy something so… overthetop.” he sat back dangerously in his seat, as she talked about the stars. “i don’t think i’ll ever get over how regulus is actually four stars but it seems like the perfect time to get out of the alley.” he couldn’t help but to agree. “it’s a good time for everyone to be kind to each other. i hardly have plans, you know, but i’m almost finished buying gifts and that in itself will be a load off. but there’s that london trip next week too. i can’t wait to become a real muggle. you’re going right?”
hazel smiled, pleased her information offered had been of assistance, instead of a source of annoyance or reason for an eye-roll. forrest had always been quite good at that: listening or responding without offense, as many others had done, especially during her younger years at hogwarts: individuals did not take well to an over-eager, dreamy-voiced third year ravenclaw. “i don’t much like the cold,” hazel noted, although this fact was most likely something forrest already knew from their many years of friendship. “makes me go all red. good weather to curl up with a book by the fire, though.” always seeking the bright side of things, hazel. “well, you should work here forever. then you’d be next-door to me forever,” she replied, setting her hands beneath her chin. “’n i can come by here with muffins until i’m all grey and wrinkly.” her tone was amused at the idea of aging. she had been deeply grateful that forrest’s job kept him close to her, secretly: she counted him among her very closest friends. indeed, when he’d written to her expressing interest in working at the establishment, she’d been excited that it was directly next-door, forever giving her a friend to visit during slow lulls at the cauldron shop. “stuck with me, that idea might convince you to not work here forever.”
hazel twirled a strand of hair absentmindedly. “i know. i think it’s crazy that the light we see...” hazel trailed off, head moving a little more quickly than her mouth could. she soon realized she’d cut herself short. “... the light we see is actually thousands of years old, sometimes. looking right at the past. i do like to get out of here. can be a bit too gloomy for me,” hazel confessed. indeed, the absent-minded idealist oft felt out of place in knockturn alley, but it had always been home for her. at mention of the trip to london, hazel’s expression brightened. “there is never a time when kindness is not appropriate,” she responded first, before moving on to discuss the trip. “i’ve still so many gifts to buy. i don’t want to leave anyone out,” hazel related, mentally reviewing her checklist again. “yes! yes, of course. i’m so excited to see muggle london in full christmas celebration mode,” she grinned, eyes gaining a far-off look at the thought. having grown up in the wizarding world completely, much of the muggle world remained a mystery to her. “what d’you want to do there?”
