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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on Sept 4, 2008 10:14:23 GMT -5
"Well, it's a nice enough place, I suppose." said Henry "Honeydukes is more than enough for any sweet tooth, of course, and Zonko's is always worth having a look around; The Three Broomsticks is, of course, worth stopping in to unwind, and, between you and me, I wish there was a Dervish and Bang's in Diagon Alley."
He ticked them off on his free hand as he said them.
"It definitely has it's own unique charm, but I really only come down here for the butterbeer anymore." he continued "You know what I miss though?...Eisberg's Ice Cream Parlor in Alvian Alley...back in Milwaukee."
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Tianne Webster-Barrett
Ravenclaw Prefect
Sixth Year
i'm developing a language and i'm calling it my own.
Posts: 627
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Post by Tianne Webster-Barrett on Sept 5, 2008 1:57:26 GMT -5
Nodding her head at what the boy thought of Hogsmeade, Tianne agreed, even though she was fond of the trips. After the first visit, Tianne had basically gotten bored with Honeydukes; she got her lollies sent in from home, besides, Tianne tended to like those that you didn't have to catch to eat, or pray that you didn't get a disgusting flavor. Tianne rather fancied her muggle lollies, and that was the exact reason she got them sent in via owl.
Nodding with a grin as Henry told her of an Ice Cream Parlor that he missed, Tianne couldn't believe that she had gone so long without Ice Cream in her life. At home, she lived off the stuff, but other than that, she didn't touch it. "You know, I really think that an ice creamery would really benefit the place. It would be great for the kids, that was for sure.
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on Sept 5, 2008 15:44:48 GMT -5
"Indeed." said Henry; If there was one business which he was positively encyclopedic upon, it would be ice cream parlors...aside from book stores, of course. He knew many parlors, and had visited more than one of them more than once. "My dad's company, KevlaCorp., has branches all over the place, but the one in Oxford is the only one outside the United States. Every once and awhile, my mum and I would go with him to Milwaukee when he visited the branch there. He's been a pretty high ranking officer in the company for awhile now, you see, so they used to ask him round whenever they wanted to run something radical past him."
This was, of course, all too true; Henry's father had been the chief design officer for the company as a whole for quite some time. He hadn't done much in the way of direct control, however, until the company had entrusted him with the command of their brand new foray into international production, as England had taken an interest in KevlaCorp. for a possible arms and armor contractor for their military. It was a much more important job than it sounded, but Henry's father had done a very good job of keeping work at work, and making the most of home and family.
"Anyways, I digress; I was on Ice Cream, yes?" said Henry with a sigh as he charged up the story for the telling "Wisconsin, that's the state Milwaukee is in, is quite well known for it's dairy products, and they have some of the best ice creams in the world...well...if you know where to look."
Where to look meant knowing the spots, and, oh did he know them. There was Kopp's Frozen Custard, a muggle frozen custard parlor, Paul's Omega, a muggle restaurant, not well known for it's ice cream, perhaps, but amazing all the same, and Miss Katy's Diner, which was a nice little corner diner that was a great place for a large group to enjoy a good meal. Henry was, frankly, amazed that he didn't weigh a thousand pounds after tucking into these amazing places, but if he was amazed about not putting on a fair few stones there, he was astounded that he hadn't put on a few hundred stone in the restaurants and parlors of Alvian Alley near Germantown in north Milwaukee. Grandrir's Diner, Monton Grey's Steak-House, and Eisburg's Ice Cream Parlor were the chief locals among the foodie stops inside Alvian Alley, and they earned their positions.
Emiline Grandrir's Diner was the accepted best wizarding restaurant in the alley, and her menu was to match. Monton Grey made the best steak for three thousand miles, at least, and Hanz Eisburg was famous for the triple cherry and mega mint varieties that he himself had invented, like it's muggle counter-part, Kopp's, Eisburg's usually entertained two specialty flavors that rotated out every day, and weren't seen until that same day the following year.
Henry explained all of this to Tianne, who was an excellent listener beyond even Henry's standards. By the time he finished speaking, he was quite surprised that she hadn't fallen asleep.
"Marvelous place, Milwaukee, past it's prime, of course, but fun all the same." said Henry "Probably my favorite city for eats. Mark you, I'm amazed I haven't put on a hundred stone through my visits there. Don't even get me started on the state fair. Houston's a fun place too, long as you take it in moderation. I'm this close..." he held up his fingers to show them about a millimeter apart "...to judging a city by it's restaurants. One thing I'll say for Houston is, they have a good range, you know, like, they have great sushi there, I love sushi, but there aren't any good places in the cities I've lived in...that I know of, anyways."
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Tianne Webster-Barrett
Ravenclaw Prefect
Sixth Year
i'm developing a language and i'm calling it my own.
Posts: 627
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Post by Tianne Webster-Barrett on Sept 6, 2008 19:29:58 GMT -5
Tianne would love nothing more than to just have the opportunity to travel and explore the wizarding world. She would love to find and try every single ice cream shop, lolly shop, and even joke shop around the world, it would be so amazing. Even if she could only go to a different country, one with a big magical community or something, but Tianne was a little bit bored of everything in the United Kingdom.
There was only so many times that she could wander up and down Hogsmeade, or explore and adventure in Diagon Alley, and other than those two places, Hogwarts was the only other that she had been to. Her parent's weren't magical, and it would be rather awkward going with them because of that. She wished that she had an older brother or sister that were magical and could take her, but she was the oldest, and her younger sister wasn't magical; they aren't sure about her brother as of yet.
But then came the problem of money. Tianne isn't rich, and she probably never will be. She'd have to save for an eternity, but its not like she had a job that could help her with that. She supposed that after she was seventeen, and took her apparation test, then she'd be able to travel, but there was no way that she'd be trusting of herself to go across the oceans, no way, no chance.
Listening intently to what the boy had to say, as she always did, Tianne couldn't help but smile. She had a new place that she was sure she would visit; she had to go there; thanks to the boy. Milwaukee, even the name sounded fun. She could imagine it in her mind, and, quite foolishly, Tianne could imagine herself there. It all excited the girl so very much.
"Oh, that all sounds so... exciting. I've never really been out of the United Kingdom, but I'm starting to wish that I wasn't even born here. This Milwaukee place, it sounds really cool. Do you live there, outside of school, I mean? Where exactly is it?" Tianne spoke, quite a mouthful it was. She had stumbled over her words a couple of times, but she had gotten through basically unscathed.
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on Sept 6, 2008 19:53:03 GMT -5
"Northern end of the United States, almost halfway between the east and west coasts; It rests on the west bank of Lake Michigan." said Henry thoughtfully "It's actually a pretty quiet place where cities are concerned; Chicago is far more active, but you will never find better food and drink than in Milwaukee. It used to be the steel capitol of the world, it put out more high quality steel than Germany even, and it made the place rich for a time. It has a quite large German community, in fact."
"As to whether or not I lived there...only in my dreams." said Henry "It's not much in the way of excitement, but you'll never find finer food, as I've said, and it has a fair few sights. We really only went there when there was call for my dad to attend a conference or something of the sort."
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Tianne Webster-Barrett
Ravenclaw Prefect
Sixth Year
i'm developing a language and i'm calling it my own.
Posts: 627
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Post by Tianne Webster-Barrett on Sept 6, 2008 21:24:45 GMT -5
Nodding as she was told where exactly Milwaukee was, Tianne was quite surprised. She knew that it wasn't in the United Kingdom, but the United States? That really surprised the girl. She didn't realise that it was so far away, and really, Tianne couldn't even dream of going there. This boy that Tianne was sitting with was so lucky, Tianne was excited at just the thought of traveling.
Giving a laugh at the boys next comment, Tianne paused to listen to the rest of the reply. "Well, anything that is outside of the United Kingdom poses an excitement to me, but uh, what does you're dad do exactly?" She asked, not knowing anyone that had ever had to go to a conference or something of the type. "Have you been all around the U.S?" Tianne asked, curious to know more.
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on Sept 7, 2008 5:28:38 GMT -5
"Mmm...Most of the larger cities, some of the smaller ones." said Henry "As for dad, he's the chief design officer for his company, has been for awhile now, and when the company went international for the first time, they had him transfered to Oxford where the new facility is, they trusted him to run it, see, and so I got transfered here, to Hogwarts. Mainly he designs military arms and armor, but sometimes he had a few other things he works on."
His father had, in fact, been working for KevlaCorp. since he was 24 years old, and was one of their more senior officers; So highly valued was his opinion, that every design the company implemented went across his desk first, and had his seal of approval. You wouldn't know it, to look at him, but Henry Sr. was quite an important person in his company, and he was very well liked by his subordinates who worked in the factories, or in the lower design corps. It had been he who had convinced the company to start using a range of environmentally friendly techniques to lower their carbon footprint, namely, constructing in or around a forest that would be able to absorb large quantities of carbon dioxide. The facility in Oxford, a good square mile in size, was built in a forested area outside of town. The trees that had lived in that spot had been moved to create the plot, but were replanted just outside the facility.
"Very influential in his company, he is." said Henry "Very influential; He got them to spend millions making the factories more environmentally friendly, and even got the workers better benefits and such. Course, the funny thing is, he doesn't think much of his own deeds, you know, he does them, and doesn't care about how much he helped people; He's more interested in magic."
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Tianne Webster-Barrett
Ravenclaw Prefect
Sixth Year
i'm developing a language and i'm calling it my own.
Posts: 627
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Post by Tianne Webster-Barrett on Sept 8, 2008 2:07:55 GMT -5
After hearing what Henry's father did for a living, Tianne felt a bit overwhelmed. What her parents, or parent and John, did for work was nothing to be ashamed of, but it was certainly different to what Henry's father did. It wasn't a bad thing, no, but Tianne couldn't help but feel that her parents work was a bit... unworthy. Her mother worked in a bakery; not the best, cleanest job there was, but it was great for Tianne, providing a summer job AND they got awesome cakes and all that jazz.
Back when her father lived with them, you know, before he was sent to jail, he was unemployed. Her mother was the money-maker, and that never really changed. Still to this day, she is, even though John, her stepdad, works too. Well, kind of. John is a player on the local representative soccer player, and he coaches Tanya's team, so there isn't always time for him to work.
When he does, though, he works at the local mechanic, not as a mechanic, but as a bookkeeper. Its alright pay, but the bakery usually provides more. "Wow." She said, shaking her head, almost in disbelief. "That is... really cool." She said, her face breaking into a wide grin. Why had she been overwhelmed by that, her parents were cool to. "My mum works in a bakery. My real Dad's in jail, but we don't usually talk about or to him. I have a step-dad though, John. He's a soccer coach, player, and he works at the mechanic near my house." She said, still grinning. She couldn't believe that she had just told Henry about her biological father, if he asked why the man was incarcerated, though, Tianne would have been sure to tell him. "And I don't blame your father, magic is... well, awesome."
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on Sept 8, 2008 9:43:16 GMT -5
"He certainly seems to think so." said Henry; His first reaction to hearing that her father had been put in jail would have been to say sorry, but the fact of the matter was that he had two old friends who had been in the same boat, and knew from experience that it was a touchy subject in the extreme. He compensated for this unwillingness to push what he was sure would be a conversation ender by continuing with: "My Aunt Megan works at a bakery; I KNOW how cool that can be. Don't know if you could tell, but I have sort of a thing for food."
Truth of the matter, and he was careful not to mention it because he didn't want to sound like he was pompously trying to trump her on everything, was that his Aunt Megan owned a bakery...three, in fact. Years ago, when his Uncle Peter had gathered up enough money with his company, Black Manx Inc. (a movie prop and set design place, and all around craft hall), he had fronted the funds for his wife's business. As she no longer had anything to do at home (Peter Jr. having moved out, and she having been a stay-at-home mom), she had wanted something to occupy her time with, and had always wanted to test her hand at a bakery. As luck would have it, her business blossomed nicely, and she was able to expand across town in Seattle at two additional locations to the one near her house.
Henry took a swig of his butter-beer while he compiled his thoughts and decided whether he dare comment on her step-father; She could hate the man, for all Henry knew. After a few seconds, he decided upon a compromise.
"Soccer huh?" he said "Love soccer; Especially when you get into the international stuff. Germany vs. England is always fun; Usually ends with a riot, but, all the same."
He figured that if she wanted to elaborate on the subject, this would prompt her to do so; If she changed it, then he would play along. He didn't have much, if any, personal experience with families like Tianne's, which had been pulled apart and put back together again in a different way, and couldn't imagine how he would feel talking about his own father if the man had been put in jail and he had a replacement. He decided that he would follow Tianne's lead on this particular subject, and avoid prying at anything she didn't freely give.
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Tianne Webster-Barrett
Ravenclaw Prefect
Sixth Year
i'm developing a language and i'm calling it my own.
Posts: 627
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Post by Tianne Webster-Barrett on Sept 10, 2008 3:39:36 GMT -5
Although she hadn't really been expecting Henry to say how his Aunt worked in a bakery, she knew that he was tiptoeing around the subject of her father. For some it may have been a taboo subject, but not for Tianne. Her father was in there for a reason, and she couldn't care whether he ever came out. They were the facts, and there was no point trying to hide from them. Reality wasn't always fair, no, but it was there and you couldn't hide it; and this was reality. It bites, but thats the way that life goes.
Nodding with a grin, Tianne laughed. "I know, right? I'm not much of a cake person, but when it comes to muffins and rolls, oh, I'm the princess." She said, giving a light laugh at the boy's comment about his 'thing for food'. "I didn't notice." She said, jokingly of course. Hey, when you could, why not? Tianne wasn't the kind of person that loved food to the extreme, she ate to live, not lived to eat. Two completely different things.
"And yeah, it's pretty cool having him as my step dad. When I'm home he takes me to all the big games. It's really fun." She said, looking down at her hands as she spoke. She knew she had to elaborate on what had happened, she felt that she had to open up, not for Henry's sake so much, but for herself. She hadn't really told anyone, not even Matty, and that weighed down on her. It was stupid, for something that she didn't really care about on the outside, she did mind on the inside.
"But, um, the reason my, um, father is in jail." Tianne spoke, looking up towards the boy, the incredibly happy look gone, leaving a well, normal face. "I was seven, nearly eight and I remember sitting in my room, listening to my parents fighting. I don't remember much more, except for the gunshots, and running to the phone to call an ambulance. He tried to kill my mum." She said, looking up at the boy, not crying, not smiling, in fact, not showing any emotion on her empty face.
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on Sept 10, 2008 16:08:40 GMT -5
Henry almost choked on his drink, but managed to pass it off as a minor spill. He placed his drink down on the table, and looked across the table at Tianne with a quite emotionless expression, however, internally he was feeling a bit of shock. Never, in a million years, would he have guessed she had such a terrible shadow in her past; He couldn't imagine what it would have been like to witness such a thing.
"How do you feel about that?" asked Henry; He didn't exactly know what else to say. For some reason, she had decided to share this with him; Surely one didn't normally give this kind of information on a first visit. He didn't mind hearing it, but he felt that it might have been Tianne's desire to get the information off her chest more than her interest in sharing info with him.
He felt so much like a therapist, sitting there, but he didn't mind all that much; He had nothing better to do, but he couldn't help but wonder why she was telling him this. Part of him was curious to hear more, but another part was telling him that what he heard wasn't going to be good.
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Tianne Webster-Barrett
Ravenclaw Prefect
Sixth Year
i'm developing a language and i'm calling it my own.
Posts: 627
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Post by Tianne Webster-Barrett on Sept 11, 2008 2:44:08 GMT -5
Okay, so Tianne might have lied when she said she hadn't told anyone, Matty knew, and so did Seth and Ryan. It wasn't as if she was intent on keeping her pasts and all the 'secrets' hidden, it just hadn't come up in conversation. To be honest though, it felt kinda good to talk about it. Sure, Tianne wasn't that fond of her father, but that didn't mean that he didn't exist. It wasn't as if Tianne didn't like talking about the topic, actually, she knew that those with her didn't like talking about it. But it was good for Tianne to express her feelings, however little she did.
"How do I feel? I never want to see the jerk again, and to be honest, I can't, nah, I don't even want to believe he's my father. I don't know how someone can do this to someone that they 'loved'. Sorry to burden this on you, but at least there's a reason as to why I'm so messed up now!" She joked, her mood lighter than the subject she was talking about.
"But anyways, its not exactly the cheeriest subject." She said, with a laugh, taking a sip of her butterbeer, after almost having forgotten it. Tianne had talked about the subject enough for her likings, but if the boy asked more, she'd answer him, she wasn't about to close up and keep to herself.
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on Sept 11, 2008 14:29:30 GMT -5
"No, I suppose it isn't the cheeriest subject, but things like that never are." said Henry with a thoughtful smile "It may not mean anything, but my family have suffered their tragedies as well. I'm fairly certain that all people must endure some moment of darkness; It helps us realize the nature of the world..."
It was one of those slightly awkward moments when a pearl of wisdom was dropped (In this case, one belonging to his maternal grandfather), and he didn't quite know where to continue to. He looked out the window at the rainy high street, and then back at Tianne before continuing.
"...Ah, but what do I know?" said Henry, raising his butter-beer bottle to her with a smile before taking a sip. "The important thing is, now you have what, I gather, is a happy family with your mum and step-dad yes?" he looked at her over the top of his spectacles for a moment, and then continued. "And that's that. My feeling on it is, if you'll forgive the view, that you and your mum deserved better than him, and he didn't deserve you."
He felt this was a rather insensitive, but he also felt that it was a truth, however painful. He straitened up in his chair, and waited for her answer.
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Tianne Webster-Barrett
Ravenclaw Prefect
Sixth Year
i'm developing a language and i'm calling it my own.
Posts: 627
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Post by Tianne Webster-Barrett on Sept 15, 2008 5:42:47 GMT -5
Shrugging her shoulders at the boy's comment, Tianne returned his thoughtful smile with a sweet smile. She really felt like she could trust Henry, there was no awkwardness and they were really getting along. He was caring, he was interesting, and he was thoughtful, Tianne had learnt that much just from sitting with boy this one Hogsmeade trip. She knew that if she hadn't talked to him, she'd be back at the castle catching up on some homework, but she was willing to forget about studying, just for this day.
Nodding as she was told that the boy too had suffered through not so great incidents, Tianne grinned at what he said. "You know what? That's pretty deep." She laughed, admiring the boy for his comment.
Simply listening as Henry explained his opinion of the matter, Tianne was quite surpirse. She didn't mind that he was throwing his own two sickles in, no, it surprised her that he got the situation so spot on, she couldn't help but laugh. "Exactly. And I don't think that we could be happier, what with John. Him and my mum have just had a kid." She grinned, remembering Liam, although it saddened her to think that she had not yet met the little boy.
"We like to think that, though, as insensitive, arrogant thing it may be for us."
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on Sept 19, 2008 4:38:55 GMT -5
"Well congratulations on the sibling," said Henry, nodding and taking another swig of butter-beer "I always wanted a little brother or sister; I'd have had a use for a good, close partner in crime."
He chuckled for a moment, and then took another drink. He had always, always wanted a brother or sister; Being an only child had never been a gift for him as it had been for others. Inwardly, he felt a little hollow as he thought this; The time frame where he might have had a sibling had long passed, and he felt a bit sad that there was little or no chance of there ever being another member of his immediate family, at least until he had kids.
"Boy or girl?" asked Henry
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