[1]
It was beginning to reach that portion of the year where shopping turned into an imposing chore punctuated by the occasional touch of overbearing Christmas cheer. Aisling, despite having purchased some percentage of the required gifts early, still had more things to buy. And given that most of them were for her parents, siblings, spouses, and various children thereof, that meant shopping in Muggle areas of London.

And Jacoba, whatever other motivations Aisling may have had, seemed a quite pleasant companion for such an excursion. The young Muggle could be quite the interesting young woman, particularly given her position. Thus, Aisling found herself seated at a small cafe with her hands wrapped around a cup of tea. The chatter of patrons added the perfect level of background noise for the environment.

There was a paper, now slightly damped with a few droplets of the tea, on the small table as well. Occasionally Aisling would flip to another page and attempt to absorb whatever topic it covered. Something managed passably well, though there were a few instances of her quirking an eyebrow at an article or two as her thoughts attempted to find their context. Overall, hardly an unpleasant way to wait.

1.

Outfit

They were within the two week mark of Christmas morning and that fact was evident everywhere, even deep within the Tube.  The train had been overcrowded with busy shoppers and it was clear fewer than half were still remembering to pack along their holiday spirit.  There were more than a few cranky kids with overly permissive parents in tow.[1]

Jacoba was planning on spending the coming week down in the Netherlands and Germany, making the social rounds and gathering some holiday things before Hogwarts let out on the coming weekend.  Which meant today was her last day to get the holiday shopping done before what was bound to be an interesting, emotionally heavy and unpredictable winter vacation started. 

The cafe was busy but warm when Jacoba stepped inside and scanned the tables for a familiar face.  Jacoba spotted the witch at a table near the window and, after ordering a café mélange, weaved between the tables.  "Tis the season," Jacoba offered with a friendly grin as she settled into her seat.  "It's not quite like migration season on the Serengeti out there, yet, but it's getting close.  The herds were restless on the train."  Jacoba wrapped her fingers around the coffee mug, trying to allow them to warm thoroughly before the ventured out into the weather, again. 

"Are you almost ready for the holidays?" she asked.

1.

Outfit

Aisling smiled over at the young woman, then folded up the newspaper and set it near the edge of the table. "The usual panicked shopping, yes. It's almost enough to make me wish I'd worn higher shoes, so as to avoid being trampled." The cafe was beginning to grow crowded, and a burst of people entering sent a few gusts of cold air over Aisling.

"But the birthday shopping is completed, as well as most of what I need for the holidays. There's more every year. It's mostly the grand-nieces and nephews that I still to find presents for." She took a long, warming sip of her tea. Then, once the cup was set back on the table, she absently toyed a finger over the simple ring on her finger in thought. "I've been told what not to buy them, but that's hardly much help."

That her nieces and nephews, and consequently their children, didn't know that she was a witch wasn't of much aid in such situations either. "The perils of the season, I suppose. Last year, the girls' cousins gave them t-shirts."

Sympathetically, Jacoba's eyes widened but she nodded as she took a sip of her drink.  The coffee was, blissfully, just cool enough to drink without scalding.  It was incredibly warming, especially in contrast to the cold rain that fell outside.  "Holidays and Birthdays together.  That's got to make for a full to do list.  And, to think I was pleased I'd managed to strike two Christmas gifts off the list already."  Jacoba grinned before tugging her own holiday to-do list from her pocket.  Of course, they'd been amongst the easiest: two of her coworkers at Reducto.  Alcohol for both and it had been done.

"How old are they?" Jacoba asked, in reference to the grand-nieces and nephews.  "I can remember well enough what I wanted as a kid.  There does seem to be a fine balance between pleasing the kids and not annoying the parents.  Very rarely did what I want coincide with what my family hoped for.  Luckily, they didn't have to deal with the consequences for too long since the gifts usually went with me to school."

Jacoba wrinkled her nose and shook her head in disapproval.  "Not t-shirts," she stated.  "Not unless they're really really cool t-shirts.  Signed by someone.  Or, kissed Bieber or Brad Pitt or someone." 

Days like this made Aisling wish that she could cast a quick charm to dry off coats, or to warm something turned far too cold. Not that she would, as she had little desire to become the sort of mess she usually addressed. Particularly given Tarron's position. A bit of embarrassment would be such an issue there. "I used to struggle with buying gifts promptly. Would try to find something perfect for weeks before panicking and finding whatever might suffice a few days before the event."  It was, depending on how one viewed it, either a habit she'd grown out of or one which she'd become skilled enough at for it to no longer become an issue.

"The oldest are about ten? Maybe eleven. I have a niece who is about your age, as well." Birthdays were much easier to remember than ages, in Aisling's opinion. She did have them all written down in a notebook somewhere. One which she hadn't brought with. Memory was close enough for this.

She nodded slightly at the t--shirt comment amid sipping her own drink. Those were not names she was particularly familiar with, but such things didn't usually need to be spelled out. "Tarron wouldn't let them wear such things about in any case. He tends to be rather confused by what my family considers appropriate gifts." She couldn't properly explain to most of her family about her work, Tarron's position, or why electronic toys would suddenly stop working when they were brought home. Rowena had been rather upset by that a few years back. "He couldn't understand the point of fuzzy pink slippers. Not that I'm certain of it myself." There was a little bit of a laugh with the last comment. Dour did not mix well with such clothing.

Somehow, Jacoba suspected they'd probably had different approaches to holiday shopping in the past.  "My brother's the perfectionist in the family.  Before now, I never really worried about the gift being perfect."  But, then, her brother had the luxury of being able to put the gift's perfection as a first priority.  She and her social circle were usually scraping together change to get by.  Amongst her circle of friends, it had definitely been about the thought and not the actual gift.  "Sometimes the last minute mad dash actually results in the best gift.  Buy more on impulse and first impressions and less over thinking.  My friends and I used to go and just spend fifteen minutes and ten Euros in a thrift store for everyone and then wrap and gift whatever we found.  Led to some pretty hilarious gifts." 

So, younger kids.  And, another just-entering-adulthood type.  "What are they like?  Do you know much about what they're into?  Hobbies or interests?  It's definitely getting harder, though, what with everything going digital. Used to be you could just wrap a few CDs or movies and call it good.  But, you can't really wrap an MP3 file, can you?  And, a burned blank CD with the title written in sharpie's a bit tacky.  Unless their tomboyish, shoes are always a good bet." 

"Oh, that's right."  Jacoba had forgotten about the little detail of electronics in magical households.  That certainly complicated the gift giving process.  What with electronics comprising at least two-thirds of the wish list of muggle kids. 

Jacoba finished her coffee and set the cup to the side.  "What about legos?" she offered.  "Nothing electronic there.  Just good old bare feet piercing plastic.  Those were my favorite at that age.  Or, those wooden train sets when I was younger.  Or board games."

Aisling gave an amused, and sympathetic nod. "Thrift stores and too little money. Seems about what I did at your age, though it certainly did not help with the perfectionism. My mother always managed to make the most beautiful things from whatever she had about, and I could never manage to imitate her. That I'm awful with sewing certainly did not help." Though at least her Hogwarts letter had delivered her from being too much of a problem child.

"I had a list somewhere," Aisling fished around in the pockets of her jacket for a moment before pulling out a somewhat battered list which had several of the items upon it already scratched off. "And it seems Legos are even on it. You're much better at this than I am."

She tapped a hand on the table in thought. "I don't remember much beyond this. Never get to see them as much as I would like." And there were so many aspects of her life she couldn't touch on with them.  It made conversations so much more difficult. "Teagan suggested gift certificates, if nothing else."

Jacoba grinned.  It was nice to know Aisling understood where Jacoba was coming from though this wasn't the first time Jacoba had been able to glimpse beyond the woman's current-day, more aristocratic exterior.  If nothing else, it helped minimize the self-consciousness of the situation.  "You're mother made stuff?" Jacoba asked, curiously.  "As gifts?  You mean like sweaters and ... cards?" 

For whatever reason, homemade, maternal made gifts conjured up images of knitting needles and crochet.  That seemed to be the theme in movies, after all. 

As far as Jacoba was concerned, Legos were always a safe bet.  But, there were always other options.  "Do you know if they already have any electronics?  Gaming systems, for instance?  Are any of them particularly, you know, nerdy?" The highly insurmountable task of trying to shop for her brother had already gotten that side of her brain churning.  What did someone one her budget get a kid who could buy his own island, if he wanted to? 

"Gift cards," Jacoba corrected.  "Very few places offer gift certificates anymore. They're pretty old school.  Except they probably can't go to magical places.  It'd be too bad if you gave them only for them to find they were empty." 

"Well, in some ways, older kids - muggle kids - are pretty easy to shop for.  I mean, money.  Real or fake, really.  Online money and credits seem to be all the rage with the kids over at Bruce House.  Facebook.  Online games.  Odd how excited they get over money that doesn't exist for buying things that don't exist."

The mention of her mother and sweaters sent Aisling's thoughts drifting for a moment before she pulled them back. "Sweaters, socks, shirts, other terribly practical pieces of clothing. She used to make or fix things for our neighbors as well, brought in a little extra money." It was, in spite of everything, a good memory. And a much less complicated one.

She took one last sip of tea and inclined her head in acknowledgment of Jacoba's correction. "Gift cards it is. And I believe they have an...x-box of some sort. Ah, yes, there's something about that on the list as well. I really should request that whoever writes these lists practice their penmanship beforehand." A frown as she rubbed at one poorly-placed smudge on the wrinkled paper.

"I should be able to send a few items to my sister for safe-keeping. She's always been understanding about such matters." At least some of her family knew. Though the explanations grew harder with every passing year.

Thoroughly warmed from the coffee and almost completely dry, Jacoba resigned herself to the pending cold and rain and tugged the still-damp coat back on.  The weather was no more inviting than when she walked in but the gifts weren't going to purchase themselves. 

"Well, we'll see if we come across any must-haves for them.  But, fake money's always a safe fall back."  Gift cards always be relied upon to save the day in a gift-giving catastrophe - few people, especially teens, would regret getting one.  But, they certainly lacked the originality and surprise element of unwrapping an actual something.  Gifts were suppose to have meaning, at least that's what Jacoba had always assumed.  Gift cards just said 'I didn't know, so here's some money since you obviously need more stuff.' 

After tugging her cap back down over her head, Jacoba led the way out onto the street before falling in step next to the older woman.  "Any of them brainiacs?"  Jacoba asked, glancing curiously at Aisling.  "What about a membership to the natural history museum?  Or - they do sleepovers.  My brother used to turn into the biggest geek there.  I think he would have lived there if he could when he was six."

The weather outside seemed unpleasant in comparison to the warm cafe, but at least with a coat it brought no danger of freezing or soaking wet clothes. And there were several pleasant shops nearby. One could hardly apparate about muggle London simply to shop faster.

"Yes, see what we come across. You're welcome to drag me away from large stacks of books if needed, I do have such a weakness for them." Such was quite blatantly evidenced by her home library, though Tarron was to blame for some of that as well. "I begin to think that I'll have too many ideas rather than too few, though. You're quite good at this."

She grinned at the mention of the museum. "The natural history museum would be quite appreciated, I'm sure. Think most of my family would have been in Ravenclaw give the chance. Particularly my sister." A careful sidestep of a small puddle as she continued down the street.

Why was Jacoba not surprised the woman next to her was one of those.  Jacoba slipped her hands deep into the warmth of her pockets as she grinned in amusement at Aisling.  "Luckily, I'm well versed in the art of book herding.  I'm not entirely sure why but I seem to surround myself with you reading-addicted types."  Which was rather odd, given Jacoba was anything but that type. 

"And, if you happen to come across any ideas of what to get a teenaged wizard who could easily by himself whatever he wanted, do speak up."  Jacoba wasn't sure if she'd manage to come across a suitable gift for her brother anytime soon but she needed to find something.  Since, especially for him, any sized gift card Jacoba might offer would seem rather lame.

Especially, given the other significant purchase Jacoba would need to make.  This was going to be one of those uncomfortably tight months that left Jacoba reluctant to drive anywhere for quite some time after.  However, that particular purchase might be something Aisling would be able to help with. 

"You may already know this-"  Jacoba had no idea what the rate of gossip was, inside the Ministry.  "But, I've actually been invited to the Yule Ball.  But, I have no idea what I'm supposed to wear to such a thing.  If you happen to notice anything appropriate?"  And, if it didn't drain her grocery budget, all the better.

"I'm told the phrase 'don't you already have a lot of books to read' is helpful in such herding, and it's all too true as well. And here I'd thought I might even have time for writing." Aisling laughed a little at her own naivete in the matter. "Maybe after Christmas. It's rather remarkable how many things can appear to fill up time that once appeared to be free."

She stepped around a piece of greenery that had fallen, or blown into the way. "And I can keep an eye out for gifts for him, though...hmm, perhaps something unique or personalized. I've seen some amazing things made from books, though that's not something to do with a rarer one." Her pace slowed a little as she thought. "The dress shouldn't be too difficult. No one will be expecting astute political commentary from your choice of clothing, and it is the schools who are there to show off. Something classic that you can dance in should be perfectly fine."

While she would never say anything, Aisling had to admit to herself that she was a bit jealous of the simplicity of such a position. Having to worry about how her clothing, how every little action would impact Tarron became tiring at times. "We could try the ten Euros and a thrift store strategy for you, even. Done similar with my sister at times." She shot Jacoba a conspiratorial smile. "I won't tell if you don't."

Jacoba arched an eyebrow in the older woman's direction, grinning in amusement.  How nice it must be for the woman's social circle for such a simple tactic to be useful.  Once upon a time, Jacoba supposed it might have worked with her brother.  "Nah," Jacoba said, shaking her head.  "Not sure that'd work.  He'd just point out he doesn't have that book.  Keeps him occupied, I suppose."  For better or worse.

"I suppose it's remarkable.  Though, my holidays tended to be rather boring until recently."  Jacoba admitted, her grin faltering a moment.  "It's got to be nice though.  A good busy.  This year already seems like it'll be hectic but I'm looking forward to every moment of it."  It would be her first, proper holiday in years - though it promised to be a rather unique and unorthodox one.  So much more haphazard and awkward than the ones she remembered growing up but, at the same time, so much richer for it. 

Aside from the unfortunate implications. 

"No.  No more books," Jacoba dismissed with a grin.  "Not unless it's somehow horribly, blatantly inappropriate.  Like.  Graffiti for Dummies.  Or...A Photographic History of Streaking."  Jacoba took a couple strides, lost in thought, before she remembered what she'd said and, more importantly, whom she'd said it to.  "I'm sorry - just ... ignore ... so, dress."   

"I'm willing to give it a go.  And, I have no intentions of telling."  What were the chances she'd find something magically-elegant in a thrift store?  "And, if we don't find anything, I may have something from a while back still laying around my grandmother's place.  Might not be quite the right style but, like you said, people won't be looking too close.  Other than those who wouldn't be satisfied, no matter what I wore."

Aisling nodded at Jacoba's response. There was always something to be found for a gift, but perhaps the younger wished to grumble about the subject as much as anything. "We'll see what we find, then."

"A Photographic History of Streaking?"  The effect of her raised eyebrow was mostly alleviated by the smirk than flicked across her face at such a title. "I cannot say that I've ever seen or heard of such a title, so dresses and existing books would be better to look for. Unless you wish for a present that states 'relax and display a sense of humor'." The smirk spread a little wider.

"I might have a few other places to look, if we don't find anything there. And don't worry too much about the style. I've seen clothing which appears to have been transported from a century ago at such events before. Something a decade or so old looks positively modern in comparison." She paused and gave Jacoba a closer look. "Though I'm certain that you will look lovely in whatever we find."