Out For A Stroll

[CAI TASGALL CARR]

Cai was walking through Diagon Alley, mostly because there was little else that he had to do today. Swallow, as always, was at his side. He had decided to come here to just walk, and maybe get dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. He enjoyed watching the street venders parade their wares around, trying to prove that they were, in fact, better than everyone else. Swallow was a constant shadow at his side, never leaving him, always staying close. They had been inseparable for years, and weren't about to start leaving the other behind now. Cai's attention was drawn to a young street vender who had hard candies for sale. Cai walked slowly over to him and purchased several for future use. Sometimes a bad day could be turned into a good one with a simple candy. His favorite was probably the ones that tasted like muggle root beer. He thanked the young man and continued to walk along the store fronts, watching people and just walking for the sake of walking. He stopped and cast a critical eye on a new broom display in the window. He was considering getting a new broom, mostly for the sole purpose of annoying his mother, who was still alive and happy. Swallow nuzzled the man’s leg and he looked down into the dark eyes of the dog. Swallow was hungry and his master somehow knew, as always. Cai looked around for something to feed his friend, when a passerby caught his eye. She was pretty, no doubt. And fairly close to his age. Words of greeting stuck in his thought like always. The poor man was too embarrassed to speak to a woman some said. Others thought he was just shy. His face colored a bit as he stood there, waiting for her to go away so his heartbeat and breathing could return to normal. Sadly this took a while and as he waited he began to get a little fidgety. He didn’t like waiting like this, it made him almost want to burst. Finally she moved on and he exhaled heavily causing some nearby to turn towards him, both in concern and in curiosity. To avoid the stares he moved on, Swallow following right on his heels. Then something strange happened. Shadow pressed his weight against Cai’s leg, causing him to avoid running into a street vendor. Cai thought this just a product of his distraction, but filed it away in his memory just in case it might be more than just that. Other times like this had happened in the past, but none of them came to his mind at the moment. He stopped at a storefront and studied the display somewhat distracted. Sighing, he walked to a bench, sat and pulled his lunch out of his pocket. He happily shared half of his ham and cheese sandwich with Swallow as they watched others pass by.

[MADISON AMBROSIA CAULDWELL]

Madison was shopping with her parents again, still debating her need to upgrade to the newest broom. She was good, and her old broom was still a pretty new one – the best of breed when it came to the 1974 brooms. Of course, it was a whole new year now and she wouldn’t be able to survive without that edge if she wanted to keep her spot on the team. She had something to prove, and though she had done an alright job the previous year as a Beater she knew that this newest broom would really send her over the top.

This was their third trip to Diagon Alley since they had figured out what she needed for the coming school year, Madison getting closer and closer to getting that broom each and every time. She knew that she could convince her parents to give her the money, it was just a matter of phrasing it correctly. They didn’t like the fact that she played Quidditch, They REALLY didn’t like the fact that she was a Beater. They were all about ladies being proper and graceful and, well, not hitting bludgers with clubs and putting themselves in harm’s way. Not ladies who started building arm muscles at the age of 15. Madison was certainly deviating from her parents’ ideal view of her adolescence.

And like any teenage girl who had been shopping for more than ten minutes, she grew hungry. Madison grabbed a few knuts and grabbed a pretzel from a vendor nearby, her parents waiting patiently behind her as she waited in line for it. Madison really did love soft pretzels, especially while they were still warm. The line moved swiftly enough and her family didn’t have to wait for very long before she was placing her order and leaving with not one, but two pretzels in hand.

Turning around from the vendor she spotted Professor Carr sitting on a bench with his ever-present companion Swallow. A smile crossed the fifth year’s face as her eye caught the sharing of the sandwich and she walked swiftly back over to her parents. ”Mum, dad, I just saw a professor of mine from school! I’m going to go say hi, alright? I’ll meet you two in Flourish and Blotts?” Madison hoped that they would let her go and talk to him alone. It would be so awkward to do the whole, ‘mom, Professor Carr. Professor car, mom’ thing, then make awkward small-talk about grades and school work. Plus, her dad was allergic to dogs. Once he saw Swallow he simply nodded and started off towards a shop he needed to visit.

Madison made her way over to the two, completely comfortable with the out-of-school interaction. Professor Carr was one of those rare professors who you just felt comfortable with being around no matter what.

“Hello, Professor!” Madison knelt down to pet Swallow, having encountered the dog enough times in the past to not be afraid of petting him. ”I know he’s all full of sandwich, but would you oppose to a desert of pretzel?” Madison didn’t want to give him any food that Professor Carr wouldn’t want him to eat.

[CAI TASGALL CARR]

Cai laughed at Madison's words. He recognized her from school, as one of the students who were in his old house. "Well, I think you should ask him, not me. He's the one who's trying to watch what he eats.” Swallow gently nosed her hand and looked upwards, pleading. He really wanted at least part of that pretzel, mostly because he knew that Cai wouldn’t share if he was offered any. Cai watched the interaction between the two with a smile slowly playing across his face. Swallow was a good way to bridge the gap between professor and student to create something more like a friendship. He valued his old friend greatly for his ability. “Madison, correct? Are you still planning to be on the house quidditch team this year?” He smiled as he asked. He believed this to be one of the beaters for the Ravenclaw team. He knew that a couple new brooms had come out recently and wondered offhandedly if she was looking to get one of them to further her quidditch career. He liked fast brooms, and knew that they were good for the game as well. His vision flickered in and out again and he sighed. This had been happening on a fairly regular basis over the past few days. Swallow instinctively moved closer to his master. Both sighed in unison.
He watched as her parents headed off in separate directions around Diagon Alley. He got the distinct impression that one didn’t like dogs, and that the other had far too much shopping to do to be concerned with her daughter’s desire to talk to a teacher of all people. Cai smiled to himself. He prided himself in being one of those teachers who was easily approachable, and not extremely intimidating.
“And if you don’t mind my asking, what classes are you planning to take this year?” He enjoyed making small talk with the students. It was fun to see what they all were interested in. But above all he liked to watch his friend Swallow interact with the students. Neither of them were especially fond of Slytherin house members, both had rather unsavory experiences with them in the past. But there could always be exceptions.
His hand fell to his friend’s back and he rubbed gently, thinking about his decision to prolong the dog’s life with magic. It had worked, but had discolored his friend and created a firmer bond between the two. Cai frowned and shook his head slightly. This is why he did so well in Divinations. He had a wandering mind that continued to catch the most random details. He looked up to the girl, and managed a half grin. She would know about his wandering thoughts, especially if she had been in one of his classes. But even if she had not, the fact he was easily distracted was fairly well known.

[MADISON AMBROSIA CAULDWELL]

Madison was glad that Professor Carr recognized her. She didn’t know how they did it. With how many students they had coming through every year, some people taking up the class later on, or people dropping out after a year, not to mention the fact that he didn’t even teach first through third years, meaning he didn’t meet most of the students until they were fourth years… wow. Of course, it wasn’t a terrible amount of students, but still, Madison knew that if it had been her in his position there would be a pretty good chance that she’d only recognize half of her students outside of school.

“What do you think, Swallow?” Madison asked, turning to the dog with the pretzel still in her hand. When the dog nudged her hand with his cold, wet nose and looked up at her Madison smiled. “I’ll take that as a yes, then!” She confirmed before giving a piece of the doughy treat to the canine, rubbing behind his ears for a few seconds. Madison always wanted a dog, and so whenever she was in public and she saw one, well, she just couldn’t hold herself back from seeing if it was a friendly one that she could pet or not. Of course she knew that Swallow was friendly since she’d seen him around the castle so often with Professor Carr.

“Yes, sir,” Madison said when he asked to make sure her name was Madison. “I do plan on coming back, assuming the team wants me back! I really loved playing last year, and I’ve gotten even better over the summer since I had more free time to practice and play some pick-up games.” Madison was confident that she’d make the team again this year. After all, she was easy to get along with, and if she had made it last year, having never played the position before, then she would almost have to make the team again after a year’s worth of experience. She hadn’t been slacking – as a matter of fact, she even had some defined arm-muscles now, something she had never imagined herself gaining, especially not as early as 15 years old.

Madison watched for another moment as her parents faded from sight, into a store or into the crowds of people bustling around the narrow streets. ”I don’t mind. I’m definitely taking Divination again,” she started, giving Professor Carr a small smile. “The usuals, Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Transfiguration, History of Magic… and I’m thinking about Ancient Runes instead of Care of Magical Creatures, though I haven’t decided for sure yet,” she admitted. She loved Care of Magical Creatures, it was one of her favorites. But she really didn’t think that it would help her much later on in life, since she didn’t foresee herself doing anything that would involve her working with animals at all. She felt as though Ancient Runes may help her more academically, but did she really want to take something she wasn’t sure she’d be interested in? The answer was no, she was not sure, which was reflected in her hesitation to finalize her schedule. ”It’s almost a pity we can’t take more classes! But I know I’d never be able to take three electives and still find time to get all of my work done.”

“Do you ever get tired of teaching the same thing every year? If you don’t mind me asking, that is,” Madison added quickly. She realized that the question could be seen as too prying and out of line, but she hoped that Professor Carr wouldn’t mind. And if he did mind, then she hoped he would just point it out casually and not make a big deal out of it. She knew that sometimes she was too inquisitive for her own good. But there was no harm in asking, right?

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