Pictures of the House

Candy and Teagan came out of the fireplace in the living room of a two story cottage. She coughed quietly, knocking the soot from her clothes as she inspected the living room. The house was on the very edge of a small wizarding community in rural England. It had all of the amenities of muggle life that she was accustomed to, with the added benefit of being in the midst of magic. As a halfblood, it was something that Candice could enjoy. There was the floo network to think of, too, which would give her access to the rest of the wizarding world.

She had been looking at houses ever since she had gotten her new job. Candy had wanted a change in her life, and her old flat was just not cutting it anymore. She wanted something more permanent, something that might help her to get a firm root in the wizarding world. So Candice had found a magical realtor and they had worked together to find the sorts of houses that she would be most interested in.

Candice had asked Teagan if she wanted to go with her to look at the house. Her friend had the day off, and the two of them had less time to spend together these days because of Candy's ever-changing schedule with Calaveras. But finally the two of them had the time- and this task was something she definitely wanted a second opinion on.

The realtor came out of the fireplace behind them, smiling. "This is the living room," she told them. "As you can see it has all of the appropriate hookups for electricity, television, et cetera..."

Candy nodded. "Mmhmm. I like that it is painted purple." Candice gave the woman a small (rather fake) smile. "Would you mind if my friend and I had a look around?" She hoped the woman would bugger off and leave them alone. Candice liked the realtor well enough, but she could be pushy, and had a knack for pointing out the obvious.

Luckily the woman took the hint. "I'll be outside checking a few things," the woman said before quietly seeing herself out the front door.

Teagan was kind of excited. When she'd moved to London, her brother had already been there for a few years. She'd had a place to live already, in the extra room in his apartment, so there'd been no need to go flat hunting. But now that Candy had found a new job, she was looking for a new place. And, thankfully, Teagan had the day off, so she was able to go with her friend.

It wasn't the same as looking for a place for herself (and she swore she was going to do that someday, because she was not going to live with her brother forever, much as she loved him), but it was still fun. And it was fun to imagine herself doing this some day. It was like how she sometimes looked at the listings in the paper, only this was better because she got to see the houses in real life.

And the first house they saw was totally cute! Or at least, the living room was. Since she'd only just come out of the fireplace, Teagan supposed she couldn't really make a judgment on the rest of the house. But as far as first impressions go? This one had done well.

"I like the purple, too," Teagan told her friend with a nod, after the realtor had gone outside. She was kind of glad that Candy had sent the woman away. It was hard to really focus on looking at a place when the realtor wouldn't stop schmoozing or pointing out everything. "It's very cheery. And television! That's good. You know, I still don't understand why we haven't developed an entertainment medium like that in the wizarding world."

Candy grinned. "I love the purple! I mean, even if I didn't like the colors, I could always paint. Or use magic. I mean- magic makes decorating much easier, you know?" There were some things that were done better with magic, even though Candice still used muggle techniques for most things (especially cooking). But if it was hard work she didn't enjoy, a magic shortcut was just fine by her. It was definitely fine as far as cleaning was concerned, as long as it wasn't dishes. Candice still did her dishes by hand- she was particular about that.

"The furniture I have in my flat wouldn't look right in here, though. But I suppose that's what transfiguration is for..." Candy tapped her foot on the floor. "And wood floors are always a plus. I hate carpet. It's harder to clean up spills, and after I move in I want to get a puppy."

Peering through an archway, Candice saw green walls and went to the small room. "Dining room," she announced to her friend, based on the cruddy table that had been left behind. "Wrong kind of table for this room though. Round just won't do. But I love that butterfly painting! They certainly left a weird mish-mosh of things behind when they moved out, didn't they?" Candice commented to Teagan. "My grandparents have a long, glass top table that would be perfect though. And there's the back door..." She walked over and opened it.

"No- not the backdoor, it's the little half bath. I don't think I'd want people going where I eat... Though, I guess you just gotta squeeze those facilities in where ever. The view from that window is nice, though. I wish there were big tall windows in the dining room- I love dining rooms with windows. But you and I both know it's the kitchen that makes or breaks it for me."

Candice had a point. There were certainly some big advantages to living in the wizarding world. It made a lot of tasks a lot more simple and inexpensive than they would have been otherwise. Sometimes she just didn't know how muggles managed to get along without it. But they did, of course - sometimes in very clever ways. Electricity? Genius! But one thing muggles definitely couldn't do was completely change their living room furniture. At least, not at the flick of a wand. For them, it would require a whole lot of fuss and money and heavy lifting.

Teagan looked around the empty room and tried to picture Candy's furniture and things in there. The blonde was right - it wouldn't go. "Redecorating things will just make it more fun when you move in," she pointed out, nosily leaning over to peek up the stairs. Couldn't see much from down here, of course. That would have to wait for later. "That was my favorite part of moving to London - fixing up the flat." Declan had been living there for a few years already, but hadn't really done anything with it. Teagan was quite proud of the way she'd spruced things up.

"A puppy?" Teagan's interest was most certainly piqued by that. She was a dog lover, too, and had two of her own - a daschund and a dalmation. Someday, if she ever had the room and time to devote to the idea, she wouldn't mind adopting another. "Do you know what kind you want to get?"

Next on the tour was the dining room, which was painted a pretty green color that made a pleasant contrast to the living room's purple. "I'd keep the painting. But not that table." Candice's grandparents' table sounded much nicer. And Teagan agreed with her friend. The dining room? Not the ideal place for a bathroom. "Word of advice: if you decide to move in here, never invite my brothers over for dinner if that is the only guest bathroom." She wrinkled her nose. It would just... no, not be a good idea.

"Oh, let's go look at the kitchen!!" She suggested eagerly, bouncing on her toes. Teagan's own kitchen was pathetically tiny, and she wasn't a stellar cook, exactly, so she didn't really spend a lot of time in there herself. But Candy practically lived in hers. "If it's as nice as the living room I bet you'll be sold on the place," she teased, grinning.

"I don't know what kind I want to get," she said. "Something small and cute. But I like big dogs, too. I'll check the animal shelters again- I'll know when I find just the right dog. I've seriously considered a great dane. They're huge but they are so gentle and cuddly that I can't help but love them! Besides- my bed is always going to be empty other than me, it'd be nice to have a friend." There was  a twinge of sadness in her voice at the comment. She missed having a boyfriend, being alone for so long could really get to a girl.

When Teagan advised that Candice not invite her brothers over for dinner, she grinned. "Well- I don't think that I can do that. I like to cook and I have to have someone to cook for- and like it or not, your brothers are good eaters." Especially Declan- but Candy didn't need to add that part. He always appreciated the little things, and Candice made a point of owling him sweets now and again... At least she used to, then her attentions were diverted by Ward and she got fired and Candice had a horrible past few months.

"Yes! Kitchen!" Candy agreed, glad for the distraction from the topic of Teagan's brothers. It was no secret that Candice had had a crush on Declan since Hogwarts- at least not to most people. Perhaps to Declan, he seemed a bit clueless.

She entered the next room and gasped loudly when she saw the incredibly large, white room that was the kitchen. "Merlin!" she breathed, walking to the cook top and then opening the cabinets. "Look at all of this cabinet space! And the counters! And this island! And there's even a PANTRY!" She was zooming all over the kitchen, smiling broadly. "The window even has a nice view of the rest of the property! Goodness this kitchen is just perfect. And the outlets are all so conveniently placed! That never happens in kitchens."

"I could put my mixer here," she began- then started listing off her most commonly used appliances and where she could place them. "I haven't seen such a perfect kitchen yet!"