Candy Time?! {Nani, open}

[andra]

Amaranth was so starving. She'd spent the whole afternoon with her best friend but she was really craving... something... sweet. So, everyone knows what that means. To Honeydukes! It was nearby and she was way too lazy to go anywhere else to get normal food. Plus, nowhere in Hogsmeade has better sweet, sweet candy than Honeydukes.

Shoving through the door, she went around the whole store grabbing whatever candy her fingers found that looked pretty. Icing, rainbow lollipops, gummy bears... You name it, Amaranth had it in her hands. Once her hands got full she finally put it all in a basket and soon that began to fill up. Sure, she was getting looks that looked like she was some fatty who'd never been in a candy shop before, but she didn't care. Her taste buds craved sugar and sweetness, and that's exactly what she was going to give them. Weird looks or not, she needed this!

She only hoped her wasn't embarrassing her buddy. The last she wanted was to humiliate the poor Hufflepuff in Hogsmeade, but she didn't think she'd mind if her friend was a candy maniac or not. Once she got through the line and purchased all her stuff, she shoved the first she grabbed into her excited mouth, and began munching on the jolly ranchers and sour gummy worms, not to mention the chocolate cookies and taffy she'd grabbed along the way.

She held her hand out to her best friend. "You want some?" she asked with her mouth stuffed to the brim and fingers full of different sweet treats.

[nani]

Nani looked around the crowded high street of Hogsmeade. Beside her stood Amaranth, a lively sixth-year Gryffindor and Nani’s best friend. The two had spent all afternoon together in Hogsmeade roaming the little wizarding village. Nani was craving some food as was about to suggest they head to The Three Broomsticks when Amaranth seized her arm and dragged her into the candy shop Honeydukes. Nani rolled her eyes as her best friend began grabbing at least one of everything from the shelves. When Amaranth’s hands got full she grabbed a basket and soon that was full. Nani watched in amazement as Amaranth flew around the sweet shop in a whirlwind.

When Amaranth had finally enough candy to last her a lifetime the Gryffindor girl made her way back to Nani, smiling. “You think you have enough candy there?” Nani teased, eyeing the overflowing shopping bag. It really surprised her that Amaranth could eat so much sugary goodies and never seemed to gain a single pound. She rolled her eyes in disgust when Amaranth offered her some candy through a mouthful of jolly ranchers and sour gummy worms. “You’re dentist must get a heart attack every time you go in for a check-up.” Still, she took a bag of non-sour gummy worms and began to munch on some.

Together the two girls made their way back outside to the main road. They walked for a few minutes, eating Amaranth’s candy until Nani caught site of the display in Mariol’s Music Emporium. This time it was Nani’s turn to grab Amaranth’s arm and drag her friend into the shop. Bookshelves piled high with sheet music lined the walls but Nani went straight to the guitar section of the shop."Aren’t these beautiful?” she breathed, her eyes roaming the guitars hung on the walls.

[andra]

There was one thing about Nani that Amaranth had trouble relating to. Her love of guitars. Sure, they made pretty music and you had to be pretty musically talented to get a good melody out of them, but Nani seemed absolutely obsessed with the poor instruments. But, it was only fair. After all, Amaranth had dragged Nani into the candy shop randomly, so now she was being pulled into the music shop and straight, of course, with no surprise, to the guitar section.

Her mouth was still full of hard stick candy as they entered, and she looked around at the different guitars. Some were shiny and electric, and some were made of very elegant shades of wood for the acoustics. Amaranth had to admit, it was truly astonishing to see that many well-made guitars all at once. Of course, Amaranth found any instrument easy to stare at and examine for hours. Clearly, Nani felt the same way if not even stronger about it.

Amaranth went down the isles of different brand name and shiny guitars, looking them all over at Nani's side with her. "Yeah, they are pretty amazing," her Greek accent was still heard clearly even with a mouthful of taffy. By now, she was beginning to get bored with them, but she was loyal to Nani wasn't going to leave her side, no matter how boring these guitars were beginning to seem.

She stuck another piece of taffy in her mouth and munched on it slowly, savoring its flavor as she walked down the isle with Nani. She really liked to have a friend who could be so into something like this. Amaranth never found anything as astonishing to her like Nani was with music. Nothing took her breath away like that, and she was beginning to think that nothing ever would.

[nani]

Nani could hear the boredom in Amaranth’s voice and felt a little guilty. Quickly she selected some pieces of sheet music and made her to the counter, her eyes alternating between a look of worry at Amaranth and longing aimed at the guitars. Maybe she shouldn’t have dragged her friend into the shop, it wasn’t like she needed a new—Nani’s train of thought stopped dead. In a glass case was the most beautiful guitar she had ever seen. It was an Epiphone EJ200, the exact design Nani had been begging her dad for over the summer. Never before had Nani been so appreciative of Mario’s Music Emporium.

She rushed to case and pressed her nose against the glass. “Ní féidir liom a chreidiúint é!” she cried, forgetting that no one around her understood Gaelic. Pointing excitedly at the guitar she looked around at Amaranth, any thought of her friend not sharing her excitement completely gone. “Do you see this! This is amazing!”

A plump woman with the look of a one-time rocker came over to them. “Would you like me to take it out of the case?” she asked. “Oh yes please!” Nani begged. The woman took out her wand, tapped the lock, which popped open, and took out the Epiphone EJ200. Handing it to Nani she said, “Be careful and when you’re done just let me know.”

Nani nodded and sat promptly down on the floor. Strumming the guitar she smiled, best part about the magical world in her opinion was that the instruments never went out of tune. Nani lay out the sheet music she had grabbed and began to play Time of Your Life by Greenday.

{Gaelic= I can't believe it!
Guitar: www.musicradar.com/tuition/guitars/10-best-acoustic-guitars-under-300-217607/7}

[andra]

It was clear to Amaranth that Nani was completely in love. Not with a boy, though, with a guitar. She had to admit, it was a very nicely made guitar, and definitely one that will catch your attention out of the corner of your eye. Something about it just popped. And it was obvious to her that Nani wanted it more than anything else. And if it was behind that glass case then it must be pretty valuable, and expensive.

Amaranth hesitated a moment as Nani held it like she was holding a Zeus's guitar. She watched her with it and smiled. "That guitar fits you."

[/color] And when she began to play it so beautifully she was knew she had to do. She went up to the counter and found the lady who'd let Nani see the stunning guitar.

"Excuse me, but how much is that guitar? The Epiphone EJ200?" The worker said that it was $400. She looked back at Nani and sat down in front of her as she played. "You really want that, don't you?[/color]

She knew that Nani probably wouldn't want to accept a $400 dollar gift, even if it was from her best friend who was secretly filthy rich. Just because her parents were muggles didn't mean they don't make tons of money. Nani just seemed so fixated on that guitar, and she knew she'd been asking for this certain one for a long time now. But for some reason her parents haven't gotten one for her yet. Maybe because of its price, or maybe because they think it's stupid to spend that much just on an instrument. But whether Nani wanted to accept the fancy guitar as a gift or not, Amaranth was going to buy it.

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[nani]

Nani was happily absorbed in her own little world as she played. She didn’t notice Amaranth wander off or her come back. It was only after she finished the last cord that she heard Amaranth say, “That guitar fits you.” Nani blushed. “Do you really think so?” she asked sheepishly. She looked down at the instrument in her lap. "It's too bad.". With a sigh she stood and looked longingly back at the guitar. The thing really was beautiful. Nani looked at Amaranth and noticed the gleam in her best friend's eye.

The gleam in Amaranth's eye was as familiar to Nani as Amaranth was herself. It was her I'm-about-to-do-something-really-nice-and-overly-generous look. "No," Nani said firmly. "You are not doing what I think you're thinking about doing. No." Amaranth didn’t seem to pay any attention to Nani's protests.

Amaranth went up to the saleswoman and asked how much the guitar was. "Please, Am, please don't do this. If you're going to get me something get me this music," Nani held up the sheaves of music and held them out to her friend. "I can't have you buying me such an expensive present, at least not on a whim."

Nani ran after Amaranth and grabbed her shoulder. With pleading eyes she asked, "Please, Amaranth?" Nani didn't know if she would get through to her best friend. It was just too embarrassing to have Amaranth buy her something like a guitar, especially such an expensive one when Nani already had a perfectly good one back up in her dorm.

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[andra]

Nani was horrible at receiving expensive gifts. Of that Amaranth was certain. She looked at Nani with smiling eyes as she pleaded and shook her head, going up to the saleswoman anyway. There was no way Amaranth was letting her best friend go home without something. And all she wanted was the music? Yeah, right. Nani couldn't hide anything from Am, especially not that look in her big eyes that said she really did want the guitar. Only, "it was too expensive."

Nothing was too expensive. Not when your parents are filthy rich and send you an unspeakable amount of cash every month or so through Gringotts. She could get Nani the music and the guitar and a piano plus a drum set, not to mention all Amaranth's candy, and she'd still have plenty left over. She didn't know if Nani knew of her parent's fortune, but either was, she wanted to buy the guitar for her.

"Nani," she said sternly, "Do you want the guitar or not? Don't lie to me now. I'll get you the music. Do you want the guitar?"

Whether Nani said yes or no was irrelevant. Am knew she wanted the guitar, so even if she had to do it in secret, she was still getting her that fancy guitar, no matter how much it cost. And grabbing her shoulder wouldn't do anything to stop her. She looked back at Nani with a grim stare that said "don't try and stop me."

Amaranth slid the music onto the counter between her and the saleswoman. As she rung up the sheet music, Amaranth looked back at the guitar but didn't say anything. She was going to wait to see what Nani said. If she said it was alright that Am get her the guitar, she'd buy it now. If she still refused, she'd either get it anyway or next time when she came back into the music shop while she was alone, so Nani wouldn't know. She would randomly wake up one morning and find the guitar beside her bed.

[nani]

Nani stared at her best friend. Really, Am was once of the most wonderful people she knew but sometimes Nani wanted to bash her head in. Amaranth knew Nani wanted the guitar, but didn't she understand that she couldn't let her friend spend so much money one her? Especially for something she didn't need when it wasn't even Christmas or her birthday.

Uneasily Nani looked into her friends eyes. "Do you want the guitar or not? Don't lie to me now. I'll get you the music. Do you want the guitar?"

The idea of Nani lying was perposterous. For one, Amaranth would know she was lying in a milisecond. For second, Nani had always had trouble lying. I guess it came from being a Hufflepuff and all cute and sweet. Nani blinked and said slowyly, "I don't need the guitar. Come on, Am, let's go. I know you want to go to Zonko's. We can get you something fun to use on the Slytherins."

Nani hoped desperately that this was enough of a distraction for her Gryffindor friend. Enough to make her forget about the absolutely beautiful guitar Nani so desperately wanted. Sometimes it hurt having such a rich friend, hurt her pride at least. Amaranth had enough money to buy almost anything she wanted and while Nani was not poor, she wasn't rich either. Her family was well-off but they didn't have the money to spend on things they didn't need. Of course, her mother's wine would always be a necessity, but Nani's instruments? Nope, they were a luxury.

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