Working was a lot better than Zia thought it would be, to be honest. It wasn't slave labor, like she originally had pictured. Grueling hours spent on the clock, putting all of her blood, sweat, and tears towards someone else's goal. Instead, working at Madam Malkin's was a delight. Zia enjoyed chatting with the customers and helping them pick out clothes.

Even as she was folding fabrics, a rather tedious task, Zia found herself in the zone. The hours passed by rather quickly, and Zia found it hard to believe that she was getting paid to do this. It was rather ingenious... she wondered why she hadn't started working earlier! Money earned felt a lot better than money given, she realized.

Today she was hanging up cloaks, arranging them in size order on the racks. The Malkins made such fine garments -- Zia was very careful with them, smoothing them out and making sure there were no loose threads or hairs on the cloaks before placing them in the appropriate spot. She heard the door open behind her but took a moment before turning around to see who had come in.

Even if Lua was on a minimal allowance and trying to save money for all of those Hogsmeade trips by working that summer, the bouncy, frizzy-haired almost-fifth-year loved landing herself in random shops. Or not so random shops, since she had been spending quite a lot of time in Diagon Alley lately. So much so that she had managed to get lost in Knockturn and find her way back out in one piece before going in— completely knowledgeable— for a second round of adventuring.

Madam Malkin’s had one of the loveliest window displays in the entire high street. While Lua usually didn’t have the funds for custom robes or excessive tailoring, it was still a nice place to loiter about, to think about a future adult Lua outfitted in bright, airy fabrics. And the young woman who worked there seemed like the sort who would absolutely sew on tons of fake flowers if Lua made the request.

What she hadn’t expected when she popped to check prices on new school robes… and daydream over the fancier, more layered creations… was running into her very own sort-of-a-tailor-too business partner. A set of purple robes with black lace trim immediate lost Lua’s attention. “Zia!” She sang out, perhaps louder than necessary, practically leaping across the store to throw her arms around the girl.  “Do you work here? Every day? All summer?” She asked, questions gushing forth because it was obvious by the way her friend was carefully folding the garment. She reached out to pat the fabric the other  witch had been organizing— to make sure she hadn’t ruined her friend’s careful work. “I bet you could go diving in pools of fabric,” she dreamed up as she smoothed the sleeve, thinking of a back room at least four times larger than the store’s front. “Do you learn all sorts of tailor’s secrets?” She asked, in a hush, smile widening, eyes pinning her friend’s.

Lua had always been of mind, even before she’d known she was a witch, that clothiers and tailors and dry cleaners and cobblers had all kinds of behind the scenes magic for tucking and organizing, storing, saving clothes from catastrophe, and generally getting so much done. Even the tiny dry cleaners down the street from her parents had that amazing round-about thing that made clothes swoop in, always the right garments for the right person, every time.

“You know, kind of like when they measure you for a wand. Or that fairytale about elves and shoes," she laughed. She knew that wasn't real... but... there was still  a magic to the mystery.

A familiar voice called out Zia's name and Zia perked up instantly at the sound. A big smile stretched across her face as she greeted her friend, who she hadn't seen in weeks, not since school had let out. "Lua!!" she chirped, hugging the girl tightly. After the hug, Lua asked a bunch of questions about work -- the place where she almost forgot she was, in all the excitement. She took a quick peek to see if her boss had witnessed that tiny scene.

"Well, not every day, but yes! All summer!" Zia revealed proudly. As for the tricks of the trade, Zia added, "I'm learning so many handy spells. Lots of stuff that will help us with the scarves! I'm getting sooo much better at sewing." This was mostly from observation, but Zia was actually thrilled to be allowed to watch the process of tailoring and creating clothes. Zia was an avid learner and hoped to apply her experiences and skills gained as a shopgirl in her life.

She tucked some pink hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear and giggled at Lua's comment about shoe-making elves. "It seems pretty simple here, just some women making clothes, but I don't work the night shift, so..." Zia raised her eyebrows, letting Lua figure out what she was implying.

Lua’s eyes flashed after Zia momentarily as the girl seemed to be on the lookout, but she only smiled and babbled on when the older witch turned back. She was sure if Zia’s boss busted them, they could come up with a good excuse. They had come up with a business plan, after all!

“Ahhh, I’m so excited. Even more now! You’ll have to show me the spells. I’ve been practicing a bit of the stitching you’ve showed me.” But she was nowhere near as good as Zia. “I’ve a couple old sewing machines we can probably charm, too, if you need extra help.” Her parents wouldn’t notice; there were bits of treasure in Lua’s house that had been there for decades now, hand-me-downs and lost items that would make the Room of Requirement jealous. A family of odd-job artistic types with a love for recycling could rack up a collection. “I bet you’ll be able to do a whole clothing line by the end of summer,” she giggled.

The mysteries of clothiers in the night remained so as the Gryffindor looked longingly once more to the back. But her eyes settled on Zia again, and she brightened. “That’s probably good news for us, too. If a successful scarf business required a bunch of secret spells, we might be in trouble.” And Lua wasn’t a fan of secret elf labor… even if the kind from muggle fairytales who made shoes were adorable and hilarious. “If you aren’t too tired when you get off your shifts, we should definitely go get ice-cream or go to the record shop or that dodgy place in Knockturn Alley that sells antiques sometime. Oooh, there was festival concerts this summer, too. Maybe too hot to wear our scarves to, but… So many brilliant bands!”

It was hard to believe how easy it was to come up with a legitimate (or so Zia thought) business plan! The scarves she planned on making with Lua had, in Zia's opinion, been a helpful point in getting her this job at Malkin's. It was also very, very exciting! An opportunity to prove her independence and unique cleverness had to be. Hearing that Lua was thrilled about it too, and was working toward it -- that was just the cherry atop the pumpkin sundae! Even better was Lua's revelation that she had supplies they could use -- they wouldn't have to wait to use the school for those things... maybe they could continue doing it after graduation!

"That's amazing! We should totally get started soon. Maybe just making basic scarves, then we can make separate things to add on..." Zia's eyes sparkled with the concept. She was dreaming of hoards of students fighting to buy one of their products. Compliments from professors for their creativity. Jealousy from her siblings for the innovative idea. The whole shebang.

Going out with Lua sounded perfect! Since Zia wasn't yet old enough to use magic outside of school, she was spending time at her family's London home. This job made her feel so grown up. Having a business of her own creation and the freedom to go out whenever she wanted? It was practically like she was an adult already! "Me? Tired?" Zia smiled. She was always filled with bubbly energy, eager and ready for the next adventure. "Let's do all those things!" Zia grinned broadly. "And we can think of something to sub the scarves... crocheted tops or something." She could already imagine the top she'd make herself. "You should come stay over one night too! I'm staying at my parents' London place, and it's so huge and half the time I'm there by myself!"

Zia’s idea was a clever one. If Lua was tempted to share everything at once, in an explosion of scarves and trinkets and fuzzy chaos, the tranquil side of her at least knew that there was payoff in patience. Like watching baby birds hatch, or waiting for everyone in the house to wake up for the second half of a weekend party. “Yeah, that’s probably the smartest,” she agreed, bobbing her head, even as her eyes peaked around at the shop once more. They landed back on Zia, and a smile spread on her lips. “It’s also easier to do different themes for different times of year and recycle some of the scarves that way.”

They could still be in business while being mindful of their classmates’ bank accounts. Or… lack thereof, in a lot of cases. Plus, Lua loved recycling.

Looking the older girl over, she decided that if Zia ever did get tired, she sure knew how to hide it. Some people just had boundless energy. “Those sound like they’d be awesome to test at a concert.” At least until someone got it caught on something when the crowd swelled. But that was half the fun, and Zia was an adept crocheter. “And if you spill something on it, you just pull out your needles and…” She gestured. Changing in public— that was magic. (Lua, luckily, wasn’t shy.)

A sleepover was probably the best invitation the Gryffindor had received all summer: she loved her family dearly, and their cramped London house, but hanging out with friends for an entire night with popcorn and sleeping bags and no brothers to accidentally walk on sounded amazing. “I’m in! I can bring a cucumber mask. It’s homemade and a little messy, but it works, I promise. And some snacks, too, I’ve always got snacks. Do you like peanut butter?”

Gesturing to camel-colored cloak hanging nearby (it reminded her of peanut butter), she added, “That one’s really beautiful. If I save up enough by the end of summer, I’ll definitely come buy a new cloak.” Otherwise, she hoped window shopping wasn’t too criminal. 

Seeing her school friend outside of the stodgy walls of Hogwarts was thrilling for Zia, who normally spent her summers in Italy. It was rare to see any of her classmates there, but since she had been working at Madam Malkin's she had seen a bunch of her peers. Being at the center of all the excitement in London was a lot like being at home amongst her enormous family... but here, people were a lot less condescending. That was nice.

"Why would a cucumber need a mask?" Zi asked, her face clearly exposing her confusion. Lua had some fun ideas, but sometimes they were a little crazy. Zia was of the opinion that cucumbers were perfectly fine the way they were- she was not a very big fan of pickles. Why mess with success? "I love peanut butter, though. Have you ever had hazelnut spread? It's...." Zia closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, swooning as if she were in love. "I'm almost drooling thinking about it," Zia laughed.

Lua started perusing some of the items in the store and pointed out a lovely cloak. It was a color that would bring out the gold in Lua's hair. "That would look great on you!" Zia said earnestly. "You can totally use my employee discount," she offered as extra incentive.

“Oh! I mean a mask made of cucumbers, not a mask for cucumbers,” Lua explained earnestly, eyes wide and hands attentive with flair. But a smile crept in at her friend’s confusion, nonetheless. It was hard not to laugh, but at least it was a warm and Lua-ish laugh. “That would be brilliant, though. Can you imagine? Masks for our green fruits and veggies. Maybe we could get little kids to love them a bit more.” And play with their food instead of politely finishing dinner, but shhhh. Why couldn’t they have their masked superhero cucumbers and eat them too?

But back on track, Lua Taylor… “Cucumbers are cooling and hydrating. You know how they put them on people’s eyes at fancy spas? It’s like that, but mixed into a mask for your whole face instead.” Tangent aside, she thought it was a good sell. Not that she wanted to sell anything! Besides scarves… Lots of scarves.

“Like Nutella?” She asked, perking up, if it were at all possible to be any perkier. That magic word. “Not a lot, but a few times!” Lua’s house was too full of people to be able to hoard a jar, and that could get expensive. “It is amazing. Do you get loads of it in Italy?!”

An employee discount was another sort of magic. “Could I really?” She asked, and then looked around quickly, lowering her voice as if it were a secret. Some bosses were nicer than others, something Lua knew from having a family constantly finding themselves. “I’ll definitely buy it then. Thanks so much!” It was like Christmas, in the summer. “I hope you’re getting some cute things to bring back to school, too.” She wheeled around again, looking for pieces she thought Zia would wear. There were so many. “With pockets for Bobble, of course.”