Looking you up (Lita & Merry)

[Leandra Graas R3]

“Have a nice day, George!” Leandra hollered out cheerfully as the doors to the elevator opened and she skipped out, youthful and fresh in her white shorts and green top that bared her belly-button to the world. “Thank you, Leandra. I hope you have a pleasant day as well,” the door-man told her with a kind smile, pulling the heavy glass door open before her. Leandra waved at him merrily with her white wide-brimmed slappy hat, before stepping out of the shaded foyer into the sun-lit street, the bright sunshine nearly blinding her for a moment. But her body knew where to go anyway, as Leandra bounced down the couple of steps and into the silvery-grey car waiting for her. The apartment was too far from the Leaky Cauldron to walk and she didn’t like passing through the tavern anyway. This car would let her out behind the Leaky Cauldron for her to tap the stones and enter Diagon Alley. Leandra couldn’t cook. She didn’t like cooking either. So she much preferred to eat out or survive on ice-cream and sweets when none of his family that could cook was around. Besides she was yet to thank Merry – Meredith – Garwin for saving her book. Because that’s what Rister had told her had happened. And a lady should always be courteous. Even if Rister had only laughed at these words and told her that she would probably be better as a young page. All the better. Ladies were whiny sometimes.

Leandra giggled at the thought even now, as she lifted the heavy tome of ‘Song of Ice and Fire’ to her nose and breathed in deeply, liking the scent of a book. If she closed her eyes tightly enough, she sometimes imagined a monk with a hooked nose and burned cheek, bowing over a parchment in flickering candle-light to tell the story of when he was a knight. Not because he overly wanted fame or people to know. But only because there was no other way he could go on, without spreading his life open before strangers, even though they would surely judge. Floating in her imagination, Leandra didn’t even notice the drive until the driver opened the car-door for her, having parked the Ministry-approved enchanted car behind Leaky Cauldron. “Thank you,” Leandra claimed as she climbed out of the car and stepped through the portal to Diagon Alley, as the driver tapped the stones in the right order for her. Sliding through the people milling about with a spring to her step, Leandra browsed the displays lazily, making the hanging trinkets sway at the touch of her finger here, looking for a hidden treasure in a sickle-jar elsewhere. She even bought a goblet. A hideous, misshapen thing, teetered to one side, with miniature and sharp stag-horns of dull bronze coming out of cracked and weather-worn wooden goblet, the foot of the goblet shapen like a curvy war-horn, balanced out as the tip of the horn ended in the mouth of a roaring lion. Or maybe the lion would have roared, had he not had a war-horn in his mouth.

She didn’t take long to wander, as she had came here to eat. And to thank Merry. And when she noticed a friend weaving her way before her, she was only happier for company. “Lita!” she called out loudly, trotting off after the older girl who had paused to wait for her. “Lita! Look, what I found! It’s adorable isn’t it?” Leandra blurted out, proudly presenting the goblet to Lita, “And it was cheap too. Only 2 galleons and 40 sickles. It’s an absolutely precious treasure I found.” Leandra tilted her head and smiled unarmingly at Lita, even as she withdrew the goblet as the older girl didn’t seem overly inclined on praising it much. “I was about to go and eat. And thank Merry, who had rescued my book. And whose brothers threatened dad. I like the salmon. And I must be courteous and thank her. I’m a Graas, after all. The café is just this way,” Leandra claimed as she continued merrily next to Lita, feeling immensely pleased and smug over her new goblet.

“Oh, look there she is!” Leandra claimed loudly, waving at Merry as she caught sight of her serving another table. Merry looked up at them, perhaps slightly startled but Leandra didn’t pay any attention to that as she hopped onto the terrace of the café and found a nice empty table. “The salmon was delicious. The pickles and sour crème salad wasn’t that good, but the salmon was good and that’s the main thing. And I could even order one serving of rice and three servings of fish next to it, even though the bill was a bit awkward due to that I suppose.” Leandra tilted her head and peered at Lita who sat down as well. She was subtle, Leandra knew that. And smart too. But Leandra knew her and she was subtle too. “Stop staring at her. I don’t’ think she’s a regular heiress. Rister has been claimed to get married before too. Besides she’s pretty. And she saved my book,” Leandra stated lowly enough not to be over-heard, but firmly enough as if saving her book made all the difference, “No one else has done that before. Though some have taken my books to my brothers, as if they didn’t know the book was mine. I don’t mind. It saves me from the trouble of carrying my school-books myself.”

Leandra glanced up as Merry approached the table, twisting the front edge of her hat upwards as she beamed at the girl. “Hei, Merry. Can I call you Merry? Rister called you that. I wanted to thank you for saving my book a couple of weeks ago. It would have been a disaster had I lost it. And could you think your brothers could tease dad again? But only when I’m there too. I want to watch! It would be sooooooo fun. Rister also said your name was Meredith. Did you save my book because my name is Meredith too. My name is Leandra Chardonay Meredith Graas,” Leandra chattered off with a tilt of her head and a wide smile at Merry, as she gestured towards Lita. Despite everything, good manners had been bred into her absent-minded head as well, “This is Lita. Lita Hollows. She’s Rister’s friend. Best friend I think. Or do you think it matters that we’re family when it comes to rating friends, Lita? Probably not. He’s not as protective at you. He was the one who had to take you to Hogsmeade to help set you and Gaenor up after all, wasn’t he? I don’t think any of my brothers would ever help set me up with someone,” Leandra caught her lower lip between her white teeth as he considered it for a moment while peering at Lita, before shrugging.

Turning her attention back to Lita, Leandra beamed at her: “So thank you. I won’t forget what you did for my book.” And those words held more weight than Merry would probably understand. Est Sularus oth Mithas.- My honor is my life. Those words had a meaning for all of them. She hadn’t talked to Merry much the first time she was there. But she didn’t like stranger. It made her think of the night. It had been dark and smelt salty and she had been afraid of the knobbly fingers that clutched at her elbow. It sometimes came to her at nights, but she didn’t think of it. Now Rister had seen Merry and he hadn’t minded, so she wasn’t afraid anymore. “Do you think you could sit and eat with us? I’d like salmon. Three servings of grilled salmon with lemon. Rice on side. And sauce made from dill pickles and sour cream made together. And milk. Do you think I could drink from this? I just found it in a small side-stall. I know it looks cracked, but it had a bit of rain-water in it before, so I’m sure it’ll hold the liquid. It’s gorgeous, don’t you think? Rister said I would make a good page. Maybe I should eat only bread and drink water? But maybe not. I’m not in war with anyone. But one day I’ll conquer a castle. And name it… Rock. Winter Rock. No, I like colours. Green Rock? Green Mist Rock. I like that.” Leandra handed the goblet to Merry, as she imagined the castle she might one day conquer.

[Lita Hollows R6]

“You should go out. Get something from Diagon Alley, go to Hogsmeade, even visit Gaenor if you have to,” Adrian suggested as he entered the room that she had commandeered and turned into an office, closing the door behind him and leaning against it as he regarded her unhappily. Lita didn’t bother to lift her head from the parchments in front of her, scanning accounts and hearing the scratch of her quill as she jotted down quick notes about things to look in to, things to keep an eye on and things to contact Thom about because, although she was determined and quick to learn, she was nowhere near experienced in business matters. Adrian had been the only one trained in how to handle a business and their father hadn’t rectified that even after kicking Adrian out. She didn’t have to lift her head; she knew what he would see as he looked at her and she didn’t want to invite another lecture. Thick dark circles under her eyes, emphasised by the paleness of her face and the dullness in her eyes were almost like permanent additions to her features lately and it wasn’t a look that suited her. There was a splodge of ink splashed across her cheek and her hair had been twisted into a messy bun and secured with a quill at some point over the last few hours. “Lita!” Adrian’s voice was annoyed and Lita startled when she saw that he had somehow crossed the room and perched on the edge of her table without her noticing. “Get a shower, put on some make-up to hide those dark circles and go out for a few hours,” Adrian advised her quietly. “I’ll finish your paperwork.” Lita opened her mouth to protest – she was quite capable of doing her own work! – but Adrian met her eyes and she closed her mouth meekly. “And when you get back, you’re going to sleep even if I have to slip a potion into a drink,” he warned her as he lifted her to her feet and guided her to her bedroom smoothly.

She had lost too much weight, Lita realised with surprise as she glanced at herself in the mirror. Her face was pale from stress and lack of food and sunlight and the skin was stretched tightly over her hands and wrists. Lita grimaced, rifling through her jewellery box to find the thick cuff bracelets that she knew would cover the taut skin, before sitting down in front of the small mirror that she used to check her make-up after applying it. Carefully, Lita aimed her wand at herself and muttered the incantation for a glamour, erasing all sign of the dark circles that rested underneath her dark brown eyes. Her top was no longer form-fitting, Lita noted as she glanced down at herself discontentedly, but now hung around her frame loosely. With another sigh, Lita used another spell to shrink the top until it fit perfectly and promised herself that she would start to eat and sleep properly just as soon as everything was resolved and she was secure in her business dealings. Slipping on her heels, Lita straightened up and turned an assessing look to the full-length mirror she was facing. She looked confident and pretty and ready to face the world with just a pair of blue heels and topaz-encrusted silver bracelets as her weapons and a skirt and top as her armour. And her glamour, Lita added ruefully as she remembered days when she hadn’t needed that extra tool, she had her glamour too.

Coolly, Lita strode out of her room and down the stairs, her heels clacking against the wooden floor in a rhythm that she recognised like an old friend, twirling when she stopped in front of Adrian as if to show that she was ready to go out. “Very nice,” her brother commented as he rolled his eyes before ushering her out of the house, closing the door firmly behind her. Lita took a deep breath, surprised to find that she had missed being outside more than she had realised, before turning on the spot and apparating away. The first thing to do was to drop into Gringotts to withdraw some money since Adrian had pushed her through the door before she could grab her bag and then Lita idly started browsing the shops. A necklace caught her eyes and, with the laughing guiltiness that came from knowing that Adrian would looks at her exasperatedly upon seeing her latest frivolous purchase, she bought it and then clasped it around her neck, feeling the three gems that made up the pendant rest against the hollow of her throat move slightly to the beat of her pulse.

Lita waited for Leandra to catch up after hearing the younger girl call her name, smiling at her warmly. “It’s a...unique goblet,” she answered tactfully as Leandra presented it to her. “Maybe you could give it to one of your brothers as a present?” Lita suggested wickedly with an innocent, bland smile. Her attention was caught when Leandra informed her that she had been on her way to visit Merry but her eyebrow arched questioningly at a different part of the sentence. “Her brothers threatened Kris?” Lita asked disbelievingly, feeling the urge to giggle. She couldn’t imagine anyone trying to threaten Kris, it just wasn’t plausible. Kris just wasn’t the type of person people threatened. He was big and scary and seemed more likely to be the one threatening people. Even after years of knowing him, she still found herself blinking up at him nervously for a few seconds before relaxing.

“I’m not staring, I’m studying.” Lita corrected quietly before subsiding into silence as Merry approached with her notebook and pen in hand, content to let Leandra chatter while she observed her reactions and responses.”There’s a big difference between Rister setting me up with someone and Rister letting his little sister date at all,” Lita laughed as she glanced at Leandra affectionately. “For one thing, I’m the same age as Rister so he’d be a hypocrite if he tried to stop me dating and he’s not protective of me like he is of you and Morgana.” Besides, Rister knew that she could take care of herself. After her whirlwind dating fiasco with a different man every month if not more often – though never so indiscreet that Morgana or Leandra could hear rumours of it because Lita would never forgive herself for corrupting the two younger girls and she had a feeling that their brothers would never forgive her either – she had more than proved that she could handle wandering hands and a perverted nature or whatever else a guy had to offer. Even lost in a daze of alcohol and fuelled up by dancing, Lita could break noses or bring her knee up sharply in the best way to incapacitate a male with a casual ease. Her brother had taught her well.

[Merry Garwin H6]

She hated days like these. Merry shared a weary smile with two other waitresses as they passed each other, each of them balancing plates and glasses on large circular trays in each hand. They were constantly busy, a steady stream of hungry and thirsty people coming in and leaving only to be replaced by more and more people. The Asteroid Café was popular today and it made Merry want to scream. She was hot, sweaty and exhausted; all she wanted to do was go home, take a shower and then relax with one of her fantasy stories. One of the orders wasn’t entirely ready to be taken out yet – and Merry was grateful for that because the table it was meant for was comprised of rowdy teenage boys with an appreciation for a pretty face so she’d rather avoid them for as long as possible and then serve them quickly – so Merry angled her back toward Mr Saunders office and gulped down a glass of water thirstily. Technically, they were entitled to water while they were working but their boss frowned upon it and had been known to fire people for doing so while he could see them. At this moment, Merry couldn’t bring herself to care. “Here,” Lena, one of the kitchen staff, pushed a sandwich toward her discreetly. “Don’t look at me like I’m insane. It’s cut up into tiny pieces so that you can eat it quicker and so that he,” she jerked her head toward the office discontentedly, “won’t be as likely to catch you.”

Smiling her thanks, Merry popped a piece of it in her mouth and then grabbed the tray for Table 7, placing it in front of the boys hurriedly before dashing away. They had been in here before and they had a bad reputation but all of the waitresses knew better than to complain. Complaining about the boss’s son and his friends would be like begging to be fired and Merry couldn’t afford that to happen. So she gritted her teeth, forced a smile and smacked the hand that seemed to be creeping toward her and felt grateful when she could escape to another table. “They’re a disgrace,” the old man sitting at the table Merry had escaped to remarked disapprovingly. “I heard what they were talking about before you brought their food over.” His head shook disbelievingly as he frowned at them. “Want me to beat them up for you, dearie?” Merry stifled a laugh and patted his hand sweetly, jotting down the order without even asking him what he wanted. Clive came in every day and ordered exactly the same thing. He was sweet so the waitresses liked him and made it a habit to memorise his order and he tipped well so they absolutely adored him. “I’ll be fine,” she assured him with a confident wink. “Don’t forget, I’m friends with the people who prepare the food.”

“They’re talking about you, dearie,” Clive advised her just as Merry glanced up, startled by a loud voice. Ah. The pleasant redhead with the book, Rister’s sister. Merry frowned slightly, concentrating as she tried to remember the name. Ahah! Leandra. And one of her middle names was Meredith, Merry remembered with amusement. Clive nudged her again and Merry glanced at him questioningly, looking up to see a grinning blond man who instantly hugged her. “Reid. Why are you here?” Merry eyed him suspiciously as she pushed him away, glancing around nervously for her boss. Reid sat across from Clive, smiling warmly at the older man. “I came here for good food and my sister’s company. That, and Clive has some great stories about the last century.” Merry cuffed her brother around the head punishingly, rolling her eyes at the laughing Clive. Reid needed entertainment and Clive needed company and neither of them minded if the other was cheeky. They suited each other, despite the age difference in their odd friendship.

Linda deliberately caught Merry’s eye, signalling that Mr Saunders had left his office and Merry immediately took Reid’s order and delivered it to the kitchen before heading over to the table Leandra had chosen for her and her companion. There was no fun to be had when Saunders was watching your every move. “Yes, you can call me Merry,” she reassured the younger girl easily. Everyone called her Merry; it would feel odd to answer to Meredith. “My brothers aren’t being allowed anywhere near your father ever again, even if I have to knock them out and tie them to a chair. They had no right to interrupt his dinner. I was happy to save your book. And with all the notes written in it, it certainly would have been a disaster to lose it. I’m glad I could help.” Merry inclined her head at Lita and greeted her warmly enough but still eyed her with a bit of suspicion. The dark-haired girl hadn’t been in here this summer – Merry didn’t know about before that since she had been working in a different café last year – and Merry could only guess that she had either been dragged along by Leandra or that she had come to see just how much of the rumours about her and Rister were true. Perhaps both.

Merry took down both orders before answering Leandra’s question. “No. I wouldn’t be allowed to sit with you while I’m working.” If she was caught even lingering at a table for this long, Mr Saunders would haul her into his office for a lecture and his lectures could last for an hour when he was feeling particularly annoyed. Generally the hour-long lectures were followed by having to find a new job and the loss of a good wage. Merry peered at the goblet curiously, accepting it from Leandra and examining it more thoroughly. “I think it would need to be cleaned before you could drink from it safely,” Merry answered slowly, turning the goblet over as she gazed at it. “I could clean it so that you can have your milk in it, if you’d like. And I could probably fix those cracks in it too, unless you would prefer to keep the cracks because they add to the beauty? Even perfection has to have flaws after all.” Merry tilted her head inquisitively, waiting for Leandra’s answer even as she felt a heavy gaze resting on her. Without lifting her head, she couldn’t tell if it came from Reid, Lita or someone else entirely – please don’t let it be Mr Saunders, Merry begged mentally – but it still made her uneasy.

[Leandra Graas R3]

Lita didn’t like the goblet, but was too good of a friend to say it. Didn’t matter. Leandra liked it and so it would get a special spot among her treasures. Her relics of knights, squires, pages, and legends. “It’s unique and it’s all mine,” Leandra agreed with Lita cordially, even as she shook her head at her suggestion, “And I won’t give it away as a gift. My brothers would be more straight-forward than you are about it and wouldn’t appreciate it. Besides I already found a birthday present for Damon and his birthday is up next.” Leandra tilted her head and giggled as he recalled Rister’s letter and mom’s recollection of the tale, even as she reacted to Lita’s prompt and gave her the short version of the story. “Mom and dad and Rister were out eating and Rister had gone to the bathroom. Apparently the Garwin’s came to eat there as well, and her brother mistook dad for Rister, as dad had sunglasses on. He hadn’t listened to them much but the main gist had been the general brother-routine of not playing with their sister. But I actually doubt a bit that Rister and Merry played some ballgame in the park though, so I wonder why they said Rister couldn’t play. What’s even wrong with a ballgame?”

Leandra wanted to curl up comfortably and pull her feet on the chair as well, but Lita was there and the café was full so she merely, shifted in her chair, swallowed a sigh and sat politely. “I suppose you have a point,” Leandra mused lazily, “Rister wouldn’t set me up with anyone. Which is for the better too, don’t you think? I don’t need to waste my time on random fellows I won’t settle on in the end anyway. Besides then I’d have to worry about they having fun during a date. I’d much rather enjoy myself. I know you don’t like the saying, Lita, but it has been true for generations already. A Graas loves once and loves for life.” The only other option was to never love at all. Leandra didn’t think it would get that far. At one point her own body and hormones would demand male company. And even if she perhaps wouldn’t marry the man she would let her heart decide on – she could still love him and the idea of him. “Dad’s grandmother. Godmother, but in reality she was more of a grandmother too, was named Meredith as well. But I doubt she let anyone call her Merry, but I like it. It’s flirty and clever,” Leandra promptly informed Merry, as she tilted her head to tuck a strand of hair back under the flappy hat.

“Shame. I’d like to see them. It has been years since anyone but mom has so much as even tried to raise their voice at him. Even though he isn’t even so scary and mom and dad were mainly done with dinner as well. And it gave all of us a very fun evening of giggling over it and teasing dad,” Leandra wondered out loud, even as a blush graced her cheeks, “They weren’t notes. Just random doodles and stuff that popped in my head. Hope you didn’t waste your time reading them, because they weren’t entertaining or deep enough to even be worth being written down.” There was tension between Lita and Merry. It was obvious by the way they studied each other. Lita probably considering if she had enough of a character to tame Rister, like she kept saying some girl one day would. Merry wondering, perhaps, why Lita was here and how she should behave towards her. It was obvious that they weren’t friends in Hogwarts, even if they were in the same year.

“Double the order,” Leandra cut it sharply, a sharp flash in her eyes, “All four of my brothers are coming to England on Monday, Lita. Do you really want them to camp in Adrian’s house? You’d do well to hurriedly regain some weight and perhaps spend an hour or two in the sun. Or go hide in Gaenor’s bedroom, as they might not seek you out that fast then, but it wouldn’twin you more than a day or two even then.” Leandra smiled serenely at Lita, as if she didn’t entirely understand the connotations behind what she had just said. It sometimes amused her. All of them – his brothers, Lita, Gaenor – all of them treated her so gently as if she already had cracks running up and down on her, just waiting for her to break. Didn’t they understand that if she hadn’t broken before, she wouldn’t now? That she and Morgana didn’t know how to read people, how to listen, and look out of windows? That they hadn’t learned anything from their parents or ever read some racy book? Or that they didn’t know Lita had kissed her fair share of guys too? Anyone could see her going on dates and returning. Leandra had observed and decided that she wouldn’t bother. It would take far too much effort to be polite to the idiots to worry about dates. But she had taken so much effort to try to be discreet that Leandra and Morgana had smiled demurely and pretended to not know. Lita knew that out of the ordinary behavior drew attention so how come she hadn’t realized dates would never stay a secret in a school like Hogwarts.

“But seeing that you’re here now, you worked the morning shift I guess. Does it mean your work-day will soon be over and you can come and sit and eat and talk with us then?” Leandra questioned with a tilt of her head, after pondering for a moment. “The goblet isn’t beautiful,” Leandra retorted, blinking curiously at Merry, “It’s not. Everyone could see it. Well, except blind people. But they could touch it and realize it’s not pretty. It’s crude, shapeless, and doesn’t fit together. But I wanted it and it’ll serve it’s purpose for me. It could be cleaned, perhaps. But I don’t want it fixed or changed. Thank you though.”