Gems Among Junk -- Open

[BRICE PAUL BECKETT]

It seemed forever ago since the first time that Brice had stepped foot in Diagon Alley. Life seemed so fresh and new then. Everything that he had ever thought about the world pretty much got turned on its head after receiving his Hogwarts letter, the whole thing stating that he was a wizard and that there really was magic in the world. Indeed, there had never been a more happier time. Not only was it nice to know exactly how he had managed to make a glass disappear when his temper got out of check as well as many other things that just could never be explained by rational muggle means. Though there was still some humour in the fact over the time he had actually let it slip to his grandmother that he was a wizard and instead of believing him he found himself on the reciting end of a mouthful of soap. Not that he really ever understood that punishment, sure it did taste bad and he did remember that she was never going to believe that he really could do magic, but other then that it was a complete waste of time. Regardless, to this day his grandmother still was kept in the dark and merely thought that he went through some sort of lying phase. There would be no telling the woman other wise either. Even at his age and with the fact that he had grown significantly taller then her, he had no doubt in his mind she'd still be trying to give him the old soap punishment. Sometimes it really was better to keep people in the dark.

Brice couldn't help but smile ever so slightly as he weaved his way through the crowded alley. That really was a cheerful time, that was for sure. And now it was more then a little different this time around. No longer did he find the crowded alley something filled with a new world that he had never so much as seen before. The whole idea of having a new school to go to where he was there to learn... magic, was something that really had become nothing less then familiar. By no means had he gotten to the point that he took his gift for-granted but the fact of the matter was there was a part of him that had grown more accustom to it. How could a person not after being at Hogwarts for seven years and then finding a job in an all wizarding community? It had become a normality in life, even though there were more then a few muggles that were quite content in believing that magic was nothing more then a thing of fiction. Indeed, there had been more then a few times where his mother had commented to him about magic not being real at least before she was proved wrong by an owl dropping a letter on her head. But that really did seem like forever ago. Now he was a young man, trying his best to keep his life together while his family didn't even have a single clue as to where in the hell that he even was. Perhaps to a degree it wasn't right of him to hide from them but it was something that was arguably for the better at the moment. Even if it was just him doing his best to stall as long as he possibly could to avoid informing his family about his illness.

Though fretting over them was very much so far from the reason that he was in Diagon Alley. More then anything he had visited London to nab a muggle paper seeing as he had promised a certain friend that he was going to get to see a film. The second would be that his paycheck had come in and there were certain things he required. Sure there was a chance that he could have gotten everything he required in Hogsmeade but considering the amount of time he spent in that small town it was safe to say that he really did require a change of scenery even if it was just for the afternoon to keep himself from going mad. Plus with the rent of his small flat taking up most of his meager earnings there wasn't much he could afford and the secondhand shops in muggle London and Diagon Alley were far better then the ones that Hogsmeade had. While it was beneath so many others' ideas of lowering ones self to looking through old things that most of the population didn't even want anymore, it was nothing that really bothered Brice. Never had. For some reason or another there was just something attractive about going through a shop of borderline junk and coming up with a few gems. Really as long as he left the place with some half decent robes, he wasn't going to be complaining. Perhaps it was left up to his own paranoia but there had been more then a few whispers heard about his particular habit of wearing muggle clothing. And with the so-called darkness on the rise, the wizard found himself deciding not to stick out too much more then he had to. There were more then enough problems had thanks to a furry part of his life.

The bell on the shop's door chimed as he opened the door to the second hand store and stepped inside. Brice wasted no time in going through the first bit of junk he located after giving the shopkeeper a pleasant greeting, of course. He didn't want to risk missing out on anything and found himself nearly blocking out the world as he sifted. There had to be the likes of something that was worth while in the store. There always was at least one thing. Hopefully today there was more then that. Full priced things were not on the list of affordable at the moment. Still anything was better then nothing, at least that was what he liked to think. Whether it was truth or not was anyone's guess.

Words;; 1,016
Outfit;; Outdated wizarding robes
Tagged;; Open
Notes;; Anyone? I'm not picky as to who. Just someone would be nice. Anyone. Have floo mess up and end up there by mistake. Purposely set out to ruin Brice's day. Not picky. Brice needs things to do.
Lyric Credit;; Inside My Head. Digital Summer.