A New Bat

[Harley Duke]

Harley pushed open the door of Crennent's for the first time in years, hoping to repair some of the damage he had done to his friendship with Padril, all that time ago. His heavy leather boots left a dusty print on the floor as he walked silently around the shop, looking at the merchandise, and realising how much had changed in the world of Quidditch. He walked over to the beaters bats, deciding to indulge in a brand new one since this was the first time he had been outside the Auror academy in a long time. This was one of those rare weekends that we has allowed off the campus, and he was pleased that he had won this small luxury. He took off his glasses to better observe the bats, and one really stood out, it had small metal studs around the base of the handle, and was made of a dark wood. He now regretted wearing his leather jacket in the heat, a trickle of sweat was slowly making it's way out of his short blond hair, and straight down his spine.

A noise behind the counter made him jump, and he spun around to face the counter, drawing his wand in the middle if this aggressive pirouette. He was too used to surprises now, and quickly realised that the person behind the counter was not, in fact an opponent.

[Timothy Crennent]

"WOAH!" Tim exclaimed, dropped the All Singing, All Dancing Victor Krum Doll! that had caused the startling noise and shot his hands into the air.

"Sir! I... Harley?" Tim couldn't be sure. It had been years, and Harley's appearance had changed dramatically... he was even larger than before. But more than that, Tim just couldn't believe that Harley would be in his store. He had left so abruptly, and crushed both Jaden and Padril's hearts in doing so.

Through his imagination and his discussions with Padril, Tim had developed an image of an odd, super-hostile Harley who no longer cared for anyone. Seeing Harley standing there with a wand pointed at him, it was hard to argue against that image. He wasn't sure whether to be more relaxed or more alarmed.

[Harley Duke]

Harley could feel his heart slamming against his ribcage, so he shook his head, and replaced his wand into his jacket, straitening up, and taking a better look at the worker, realisation rushing through him. He took a step towards the counter and said, smiling. "Timmy, dude, you grew up, is your brother in the joint?" He was completely oblivious to the possibility that Tim would have any resentment towards him, after the way he had left.

He didn't blink, he hadn't realised how much the people had changed, and he felt a twist of worry spread through him, like ice water, when he thought of what might have happened to Jaden. Even though he hadn't seen her in years, he still felt there was a connection there, something that he couldn't explain, it was a mystery to him.

[Timothy Crennent]

Timothy couldn't help but shift backwards a little as Harley approached the counter. "No... you're not going to kill him are you?" he said, forcing a smile but clearly still very nervous. "I mean, don't they do those kind of drills where you have to tell the difference between a Death Eater and, say, a woman with her baby or a shopkeeper?" He wasn't sure whether Harley had actually even gone to the Institute, but that was what Padril had told him and it seemed in-character for Harley.

[Harley Duke]

Harley chuckled, slightly, and answered. "Yeah man, we do the stuff, but you're lucky, because I barely passed that thing. Yeah.....nah, I won't kill you. Where's your brother dude, I've only got this weekend off, then I'm back to the institute for a few months." He recognised the defencive body language that Tim was displaying, and realised that he might have caused a fright, and continued. "Sorry about that dude, you're not going to kick me out of the store, or call the Aurors for armed robbery are ya?" He chuckled slightly, but soon realised that this might be an actual concern.

[Timothy Crennent]

Tim paused for a moment as the word struggled out of his mouth. "No..." Tim didn't like how much Harley was smiling and joking. It seemed peculiar for someone who had left so horribly and caused all that pain. Tim wondered whether he had expected a warm welcome or just hoped for one.

"I don't know if Padril would want to meet you. I MEAN - I don't know where he is, anyway..." He added quickly. "He doesn't own Crennents or work here anymore. I own most of it, but Louise Troy..." he gestured towards the back room with his head, where Louise was filling out order forms. "The old Hogwarts flying teacher has a share and manages the place while I work full-time at the Ministry. Accidental Magic Reversal Squad."

It seemed kind of odd that Tim had to explain all this. Shouldn't Harley know, somehow? But of course, he knew why. They had never written each other.

[Harley Duke]

Harley's smile faltered at what Tim had said, and he sighed as he scratched his forehead, perhaps Padril still did hate him, he had hoped that there would be less resentment from him after so long to let the issue rest, but perhaps not. Either way, he had to meet up with him, corner him if need be, to explain what had happened, and see what the hell else was going on. He tried to keep the conversation light though, and replied. "Oh, that means we'll be seeing a fair bit of each other as soon as I've finished my course, assuming I pass. So you don't run the shop anymore huh? I'm actually here to get myself a new bat, if you'll still serve me."

He glanced over at the shelf that the bats were on, to indicate what he had been looking at, hoping to make the grounds a little more positive with Tim before bring his brother up again. He needed to make contact with Padril, and it would be so much easier with Tims co-operation, thought he would be able to cope without it. He moved closer to the display, and pointed towards the bat he desired. "Isn't this a Mockingbird bat? I heard one of the mess hall staff talking about them the other day, supposed to be pretty good aye?" Quidditch was, at least some common ground on which to construct a conversation with Tim.

[Timothy Crennent]

"I, um..." Tim turned quickly back to look at Louise counting stock in their storeroom. She looked busy and still had a fair way to go, and it would probably be too rude and obvious to deflect Harley onto her now. "Yeah, I'll serve you of course. I still own the place and work here when we're low on numbers."

Tim walked out from behind the counter and towards the Beater bats where Harley was standing. "Mockingbirds? Yeah they're not bad... They're pretty strong, but I think for your build you'd want something with a bit more reach instead. Where is it...?"

He located another bat. It was longer, glossy white, and with a peculiar slender curve towards the handle which pushed the main part of the bat further away from the holder. "This is the Cygnus, it's fairly new, different design but it's gaining popularity. I think we also have it in black." He pulled the bat from its hook and handed it to Harley. "Do they let you play much?"

[Harley Duke]

Harley took the new bat in his hands, and tested the weight, it was fairly comfortable, and as Tim said, provided better reach, which was something he liked in a bat. He would most likely get the black version, because as important as performance is, style should never be ignored. He rarely got the opportunity to get out on his broom, unless it was part of training, but there were a few chances to get out and smell the fresh air, and it was this that he thought kept him sane.

Harley gave the bat a s last wave, and looked back at Tim, smiling slightly. "Yeah, that's great, there was a bat that I was looking at during my last year at school, that was like this, but this is lighter. Just goes to show the world of Quidditch is still changing, can I have a look at the other style though, I think this colour is a little prissy for me."

Harley was trying to keep the conversation away from Padril and Jaden as much as possible. Talking about Quidditch was even easier than normal, because he hadn't seen any of this stuff in so long, talking about it seemed to take away the pressures of exams.

[Timothy Crennent]

"Yeah, always changing..." Tim wondered whether Harley knew about the Nimbus 2003s, and couldn't decide whether to try and push a sale or to avoid extending the conversation. They didn't have any in stock at the moment (they were a hot item after all) so he decided it could wait for another day.

When asked to fetch the black bat, Tim hesitated. "Well, it's exactly the same, but it's black. Still got that glossy finish." he said truthfully, but he moved into the store room anyway. It didn't take long to find. "Yeah, it's in stock, here..." He opened the box and handed it to Harley.

[Harley Duke]

Harley held up the bat to the light, and nodded his approval, the black was certainly less girlish than the white. Harley was surprised by the swiftness with which Tim was serving him, and sensed his desire to not be around him anymore, so he cast around for another reason to stay. "...And what about gloves? My last pair are worn through, so I'll need another set." This was not at all true, as his beaters gloves had been used no more than a few times, but he really did need to put Tim in a better mood.

He replaced his bat into it's box. Storing the package under his arm, he allowed his eyes to wander around the store, relishing the chance to chill in the shop he had frequented in his youth. He saw one pair of gloves on display, and began to move a little closer to the solitary glove.

[Timothy Crennent]

((It would look about the same but it's not actually the same store, since Crennent's was burnt down in 2009. ))

"Okay. Beater's gloves." Tim said, nodding and smiling politely. Harley had spotted a pair further along the wall but didn't seem especially interested in that particular pair. Tim's eyes scanned their displays for the current specials. "Beater's gloves. What was your old pair?"

[Harley Duke]

((Yeah, but there's new stuff, which is what I meant))

Harley quickly remembered the specifics of his gloves and recited. "They were a pair that Padril got made for me, for my birthday. They were a full-finger version of the Opal, Holdin' 7's in a black washed leather. I got them half a size too small because I like my gloves fairly tight. Though, of course they stretched a bit to fit my hands perfectly. But I'd like a pair with some sort of plate on the top of the right hand knuckles, because I almost broke my hand trying to hit a bludger, and I missed and smacked my hand into it."

((Sorry, terrible post))

[Timothy Crennent]

Tim considered this for a few moments before deciding upon two pairs of gloves which he fetched for Harley so that he could get a good feel for them.

One pair felt and looked like it was made of rhinoceros skin all over. It was a good three centimeters thick. "Try those on, pretty strong, good grip, and if you like them tight..." They were definitely tight, most players found them too big and cumbersome but Tim thought that Harley might like them.

"Or there's these ones, newer Opal Holdin's. We only have them in a Children's at the moment, but I can order them in, and we can fit a plate to the right glove if you like."

[Harley Duke]

Harley tried the thick gloves on, they were tight, it was true, and the surface would provide good grip, however, they were too thick to excellent gloves, so he took them off, and said. "Nah, I'm too used to the feel of the Holdin's I think I'll take up your offer of getting them in, and yeah, please try get the plate as cool-looking as possible. I'm going to need to get you to hold onto them for a while, because I gather you're not going to have them here tomorrow. I'll be able to pick them up in a few months if that's cool with you?" Before he had left, he wouldn't have needed to ask, but Tim's attitude reflected a possibility that he might not get his way now. Before he did most of his Quidditch dealings through Padril, and he was friendly enough with Tim to get good deals most of the time. Although he still had a perfectly good pair of gloves at home, he still liked the opportunity to waste some of his extensive supplies of Galleons.