After making sure her daughter Tayla was preoccupied at Flourish & Blotts, Nicole entered Quality Quidditch Supplies and went straight to the broomstick displays. Seeing them made her excited for Tayla, and also reminded her how much she missed being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"It's her turn now," she thought, and looked carefully at the brooms. She wanted to get her a good one, but which?

"Locketbreaker..." she read softly, approaching a broom display with a big "NEW" sign in front of it. "Hmmm..." Moving around, she read the names of the other brooms. "Nimbus 7003...Firebolt 600...Oakshaft 2010..."

All these models looked new. The brooms she remembered riding for a Quidditch match was a Cleansweep and early versions of the Nimbus and Firebolt.

Nicole looked around for the shopkeeper. She couldn't decide which to get. "Excuse me?"

Helena turned around when she heard a voice asking for help. "Yes, dear? What do you need?" she asked her, still slightly distracted but trying her best to be as helpful as possible.

"Oh good," Nicole smiled, not sure if she would get anyone's attention. "I want to buy a broomstick for my daughter. She plays Quidditch and usually uses the school brooms or my old Nimbus..."

Nicole walked closer towards the Nimbus 7003. The model of her old Nimbus started with a 3 or maybe a 4. Whatever it was, it was definitely not as good as this new model. Maybe she should get that... But the new Firebolt and other brooms looked great, too.

"Hmmm...Which broom would you recommend? My daughter's 13, tall. She usually tries out as chaser or seeker, but being a chaser's her favourite."

It would have been quite the best day if she had not only spoiled the tea she had over break time on her skirt. But that was just no time to blame herself or the tea for it already happened. She just had to live with that for now.

She walked inside the QQS shop to find out it was empty. Eliza just couldn't help but frown. Back on her days, it was always crowded with her fellow students, chatting to and fro about the best model there was and discussing plans on how to buy a known broom model. Yet today, it wasn't crowded. In fact, it was even deserted. But then again, students are the ones who are very much into the whole Quidditch sport. The elders commit themselves on more serious issues. Gaaaah, didn't they know how to live life to the fullest?

Looking around at the various displays of quidditch equipments, Eliza siiiiiiiiiighed.

Ashley walked along the shelves admiring the newest brooms, a copy of Quidditch world stuck under her arm so she wouldn't forget to purchase it. She had her youngest brother's birthday coming up and wanted to get him something he would love.

Looking at the brooms caused a wide grin to spread across the blonde's face, memories of the previous summer playing quidditch with her siblings fresh in her mind, so much had changed since then...At least her younger brother still loved to fly, almost as much as she did. Now to decide which broom to buy...

So here she was… at Quality Quidditch Supplies, having no clue why, out of all the places, she decided to come here. The objects displayed all reminded Gwendolyn of the team tryouts she had backed off from in the last minute. And still, the girl couldn’t explain this to herself. Why? Truth be told, she wasn’t frightened of heights or flying… well, just in her first year… but the fear of flying had soon disappeared. Perhaps it was the fear of disappointing people? Of doing something stupid during one of the games, causing Ravenclaw to lose valuable points…?

Kind of. This seemed to be the most plausible explanation. Still turning her head to look at the items showed off there, Gwendolyn wasn’t sure what she should do. At least give it a try? It failure was certain, there was no need to attempt… but what if it wasn’t? Hmm…. Still doubting everything, the fourth year stood there with her eyes fixated on Oakshaft 2010.

Jen walked into the store and straight to the brooms. "Um...exscuse me but which broom would be good for someone that hasn't owned a broom before?" she said adressing the shopkeeper.

Ella Bishop was ecstatic! After lots of persuading and even a little puppy-dog eye action, her father had finally agreed to buy her a broom. Her very FIRST broom. He had even agreed to wait at the front of the store while she looked, given she didn't pick out the most expensive one. Ella thought this had more to do with the fact that her father was juggling little Caleb in his arms than the fact he completely trusted her. No matter though, she was here and it was time!

She skipped over to the broom display and the eleven year old's eyes lit up. Wow. They all looked so...so...beautiful. Careful not to knock anything over, the blonde ran her hand along the one closest to her, her lips forming into a smile. This was going to be wicked.

Minerva walked into the shop. She had the money in her pocket and pretty much knew what she wanted before she entered. She looked around and saw a familiar face. "Hey Ella, what's going on?" she smiled and walked over to her friend.

Ella had been reading the different names of the brooms, more and more excited as she went along, when she heard someone greet her. A friend? She whipped her head around to see a very friendly face. "Minerva!" She said cheerfully, giving the older badger a wide smile. "I'm here to get a broom. I'm so excited!" Clearly. The bouncing eleven year old could hardly contain her excitement. "How are you doing? What brings you here?"

Coming into the quidditch shop right now probably wasn't the best of ideas. It was summer, the place would probably be packed with kids, and seeing as he was a quidditch superstar. Not his brightest ideas really. But then coming into Diagon Alley in the middle of summer maybe wasn't the best of ideas. But he was here now, so it was awesome. And hopefully he'd be okay in here. He was sure nobody with a big flashy camera had been following him. That was getting kind of annoying. Hmm. He didn't really need anything, but maybe he'd just have a little browse. Maybe there was some new brooms or something. Not that Finn really needed a new broom, especially when he was kind of supposed to be advertising the broom he was on currently. It was okay though. Looking couldn't hurt.

Finn wandered along the shelves, casually passing the magazines. Oh lookie. There was his picture on the front. Interesting. He carried on past it though, probably wasn't the best idea to be caught reading a article that was about himself really. Ahh. Here were the brooms. Finn stopped here, and had a little mooch. Nice.

OH STUDENTS!

Nancy had heard the door open and close from the backroom but once she had returned to the counter, there was nobody there. Maybe they were hiding. Or had left again? But no, why would they do that? This was the most amazing shop in Diagon Alley after all. Well, after Florean's maybe. Only maybe though. Not that she was biased or anything. No.

Oh maybe they were looking at brooms. Why of course they would be. So off to the shelves she went. And yes, there they were! "Hello! Welcome!" Nancy greeted the students there with a smile, hoping they were finding everything they were looking for. Or didn't need any help. Hang on, was she supposed to ask them? But no, they would come to her if they needed something right? Err...

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2111jen

Jen walked into the store and straight to the brooms. "Um...exscuse me but which broom would be good for someone that hasn't owned a broom before?" she said adressing the shopkeeper.

Before she got to dwell on this further, she heard a voice presumably addressing her, causing her to turn around on her heels. "Hello!" Oh okay, her first REAL customer. "I'm Nancy." Not really what the girl had asked her for but you know. She didn't really care. She was just doing what she felt was appropriate. And introducing herself seemed like a good idea to her.

A broom for someone who hasn't owned a broom before..."Hmm." Nancy let her blue eyes wander around the room for a moment, allowing them to rest on random brooms for a moment. Yes. Right. Uhm. "What do you need it for? Do you play Quidditch?" She asked the girl with a small smile, trying to guess her age. She did go to Hogwarts already right? At least she looked old enough.

Minerva smiled and hugged her friend. "You looked excited. Will you be trying out for the team next term?" she looked at all the brooms. "I'm doing well." she thought about that, yeah well sounds good. "Well I'm actually here to buy a broom as well. I'm a bit tired of using the schools brooms." she smiled.

Minerva looked around for help with the brooms. Maybe the nice looking lady could help Ella and her. "Excuse me when you have a moment could we have your assistance?"

Roxanna De Rivera had aboslutley no idea why she was in Diagon Alley on one of the most busiest weeks of the summer. It wasn't the warm weather or the must to buy something new. No, now she remembered it was because of a certain someone she had heard would be working in the Alley.

With her little blue hang bag swung over her shoulder and her pretty brown hair pulled back into a braid in the hot air she pushed opened the door. Heading into the cool aired Quality Quidditch supplies Roxxy started to browse as much as search for Nancy.

Now where was the blond ex Slytherin hiding out?

Going over to check out the brooms she debated if she should get a new one. Her old broom had had its share of accidents in quidditch games lately.

Stupid brothers...and stupid birthdays! Sometimes she really wished she were an only child. Sometimes she wished her family didn't live on a dragon preserve....the stupid Ridgeback had decided to go and eat half of her brother's broom tail whilst Daisy was out for a derelict joyride. Was it really her fault that her brother was dumb enough to leave his broom around for her to use?

She didn't think so. Furthermore, she wouldn't have had to use her stupid eldest brother's broom if her parents would just buy her her own. But they still looked at her like she was 5 and needed help picking out her own socks. Like she'd voluntarily pick out wool socks to wear!! Ha!

So, here she was, wondering if she could simply purchase a new broom tail, rather then the whole broom....

She turned a corner to head down a new isle and found herself looking at brooms with another girl. The way she was drooling over staring at the broom, made Daisy believe she knew a thing or two about them.

"Looks like a nice broom," she started trying to sound casual.

Now, where in Diagon Alley did Finlay managed to vanish to?? And how could he find him again? Easy. Where does a Quidditch player go to when in Diagon Alley?

Yeah, that was his first thought. Quality Quidditch Supplies. But...during summer? When he could be easily spotted by fans?

Treyen decided to ignore that and headed that way. Might as well look at a magazine or two until he found him, in case the young man was nowhere around. AND...that's when he saw him...a picture of him on the page he was seeing before turning to brooms. Sigh.

"Might be better reading about other players than yourself, don't you think?" he said, adding a chuckle at the end, "It's one strategy, to see what could help you beat them." Which works better for Beaters and Keepers, but Chasers benefit too.

While waiting for a shopkeep Minerva looked up and smiled "Treyen, what are you doing here? Look Ella it's Treyen, I didn't think I would really ever see you again." she was glad to see the seventh well graduated head boy. Maybe he could give advice on brooms she thought.

It had been quite silly of him to come to Diagon Alley today, he knew. Especially now that school was out for the term and the streets would be bustling with teenagers and all kinds of angst he disliked even while he was a student. But for some strange reason, he arrived at the streets and found himself wandering toward a store he never thought he'd set into again.

It wasn't that he disliked the sport. Quite the contrary. But he hadn't played it in over six years, which was perhaps what led him to the shop today was the need to investigate new brooms and who was playing. Who knew really why Dominic Denton had walked into the shop that day? But whatever the reason, the last thing he expected was to see a familiar face of a Slytherin female behind the counter . . . .

Standing here looking at brooms kind of made Finlay want to buy a broom. It would not be good. Because well he was going to need to save up his money and stuff. Not that Finn didn't have a lot of money. Quidditch payed well, but Finn knew it wouldn't last forever. So that meant he needed to make sure he'd be okay when he was older. Especially if he was going to end up working with his dad. That would be interesting. Hopefully Tim would do that, and he could go do something with Jackson instead. That would be more fun.

Ooh. Treyen was here. Finlay smirked at him. "Gotta make sure I look good." Of course he looked good, but that could be an excuse right? Finn wandered over to his friend, smiling at him. "I know that...." He had been doing it for a while. Especially with the holyhead harpies. They were a nice team to watch. He wasn't about to tell that to Treyen though. Finn was sure his friend would not approve of that...

Hearing another voice asking for her assistance, Nancy turned around from staring at a random pile of magazines to look at the girl. Or girls actually. "Of course. What can I help you with?" She asked as she took a couple of steps into the girls' direction, cocking her head slightly to the side. "Are you looking for a broom?" They were looking AT brooms so that assumption was quite justified.

When one of the girls' attention was caught by somebody standing a little further down the aisle, Nancy turned her head too - curious as she just was - and found herself looking at two older looking boys. Men. No, she was still going with boys. Thinking of them as men made her feel old. She didn't even think of Steven as a man. Not most of the time anyway.

One of the two boys looked fairly familiar. Treyen. Huh. He didn't look as young as the other people here and she wasn't THAT old yet sooo. Nancy just ended up smiling at the two boys before turning her attention back the younger girls. They definitely hadn't been BFFs or anything so a smile seemed sufficient.

Lazily glancing around the shop, Nancy had just been thinking about whether or not to put the Locketbreaker a little further to the right so that people could actually get a better look at it when her eyes fell on somebody who had just entered the shop. Somebody who looked very familiar. Somebody who she hadn't seen in a while. Somebody who still reminded her of a very bad time in her life.

Not that it had been the Gryffindor's fault. The contrary actually.

"Roxxy?" Nancy approached the slightly younger girl with a grin, briefly thinking back to her years at Hogwarts. Or well, the two they'd been there together. "What are you doing here?" Did she need somebody to Langlock somebody? Which...frankly wasn't that funny. Or funny at all. But her way of coping. Still. Crazy how long things like that stayed with you.

Seriously? TWO people she had gone to school with in one day?! Not that she knew this one as well as Roxxy but she still sort of knew him. Only would he actually remember her? She highly doubted he had even looked at her properly back then. No, why would. And why would she care either. She didn't. SHE hadn't been the one after him after all. Not that him and Camira had worked out. Or happened.

Running a hand through her hair to get it out of her face, Nancy decided that smiling seemed like a good start. She was supposed to sell things to people here after all, so she had to be friendly and welcoming. "Hi." She greeted the former Hufflepuff with a smile as she slowly walked up to him. "Can I help you with anything?" The 23 year old added, cocking her slightly to the side while waiting for him to respond.

Ella returned the hug and smiled widely at her friend. "Yeah, I'm thinking about it. I'm kind of nervous but thought I'd give it a go." As for Minnie doing well, that was good. She had been through a lot. "I'm glad you're well. I'm also glad you're buying a broom too. I'm not sure what I should be looking for." Nope. She was just kind of winging it.

Ella smiled as Minnie asked the shop keeper for help, that would be good. She could use some help deciding which broom would be right for her. As for Treyen's appearance, Ella smiled brightly at him. "H-Hi!" She greeted him, still recalling their pinky promise. That had been the highlight of Ella's feast.




Ella looked up at the woman with a smile, hopeful that she could help Minerva and her find sufficient brooms. "Erm. I'm here to get my first broom but I...well I guess I'm not sure which one would be right for me." Shrug. Not much to work with but hopefully Ella could get some kind of guidance.

Minerva smiled at Ella's nervousness. "Don't be nervous Ella, I have been flying for going on three years now and have only used school brooms so I have no clue what to get for my own personal broom either. Miss what do you think we should be getting?" Minerva turned to the shopkeeper hoping she would be able to help.

Before he could fully comprehend why he was in this shop, let alone Diagon Alley, the familiar looking shopkeeper approached him. That smile. He was SURE she was a Slytherin. A couple years younger than him. But other than that, his mind was a blank slate. Scratching absently at the back of his head, he flashed her a hesitant, but polite smile. "Er.... I'm honestly not sure. But you... when did you graduate Hogwarts?" Best be upfront. And hopefully he wasn't mistaking her with someone else and she DID attend Hogwarts, because that would be awfully embarrassing if he did.




That was when he heard two young females talking about brooms and instantly his mind flickered back to one in particular... The Oakshaft 2008. Good broom. Lots of memories. "The Oakshaft is a personal favorite of mine. I'm not sure what model their up to these days, but it's quite a reliable company...." Er, what was he talking about? He didn't even work here. He should totally just back out of the shop slowly now and go hibernate until September, clearly.

"Okay, thanks Minnie." Ella said, relieved. She didn't feel as out of place now and besides, everyone had to get their first broom some time. She was waiting for the shop keeper to reply when another man caught her attention. AND he knew about brooms too! Brilliant!



"The Oakshaft?" She asked, looking at the man curiously. She didn't know too much about reliable companies or anything but it was the first advice she had gotten so she was curious. "What's so great about that one? I mean if you don't mind me asking, Sir." She said, a nervous smile on her face. Maybe this guy had been a quidditch player? That would be cool!

Minerva looked at the guy that just spoke to them. "Thank you sir, you said the Oakshaft?" hmmm she looked around trying to find one of those brooms.