Simple Browsing

Noah wasn't a fan of the mall by any means. It was noisy and it had too many people on weekends. The one thing he appreciated about many of the stores though, was the quiet they had to offer. Leaving the main place in the mall and entering the book shop, he noted the difference with a smile. In here, it was silent, almost painfully so. And he loved every bit of it.

He meandered through the shelves, casually touching the spines of books that he thought he would find amusing or intriguing. He chose one that seemed like it had promise, and he flipped it open. It was just his luck that this book was on potions, his subject at Hogwarts. Professor mode immediately took over, and he scrutinized the book with a keen eye. He wanted the best for his students after all.

He had decided to get this book. It had quite a number of pointers that he would enjoy giving his students when the time came for classes to start up. He had just flipped to another page when someone had bumped into him. He idly heard apologizing before he looked up at the woman who had accidentally run into him. She had smiled at him before producing a hand to shake. He stared blankly before shaking his head.

"Sorry, I was spacing," he murmured, extending his own hand and shaking hers. "It's good to meet you, Sofia. No matter how unorthodox it was." He laughed a little bit and retracted his hand, sticking it in his pocket. "Noah Walker at your service ma'am."

Noah nodded, tucking the book under his arm so he could reach for another one. "That's right," he said with a grin. "I'll be the Potions Professor when it's all said and done. And I'm the Head of Ravenclaw as well, so I'll have Potions students and Ravens to take care of."

He flipped through another book quickly, wondering if he'd get this one as well. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to be there for his Ravens, but he thrust that thought out of his mind. After all, if he started doubting himself, he wouldn't go far. He decided to resume chatting with the woman before him. She had asked about Hogwarts, so perhaps she was going to be working there as well?

"Are you a Professor or something at Hogwarts?" He finally questioned.

Noah had to agree with her. Potions was usually a favorite class of his, minus Herbology of course. However, he was more adept at Potion making so he seemed better apt to take on that job. "I'm sure I'd be able to handle any Snakes that got outta line," he said with a quirk of his lips. "I don't tolerate bullying or disrespecting of other people or other staff. They'd either whip into shape or learn to like detentions with me."

He leaned back against the bookshelf, confident that it wasn't going to fall under his weight. Weren't they charmed to withstand anything anyway? "A seer eh? I bet that's a bit of luck, in both good and bad I would assume." He said, grinning slightly. "You get the good prophecies and the bad ones. Everything has to have some equality though."

Noah pursed his lips. Yes, he could certainly see some people getting detention just to spend time with him. That sort of behavior irked him to no end really, since they were wasting his time and their own. He was much too old for them anyway, despite what some students thought. He shook his head and grinned a little before pointing a thumb at the register.

"A drink doesn't sound bad. I have a feeling I need one with school so close to starting. It'll be my treat of course, after I pay for my books." He said, stacking them in his arms and moving over to the register. He figured it would be nice to get to know a coworker. It'd be mighty lonely in that castle if he didn't talk to anyone after all.

Sofia smiled at the thought of having drinks with someone that was older than 18 was nice for a change. Sofia loaded the books that she had purchased and followed Noah over to the checkout area and paid for her books at the other register and then followed Noah out the door to the shop next to it.

Walking in the found a table and sat down and when the waitress came over they ordered a couple of drinks

"So what potion is your favorite?" Sofia was glad to at least talk about something that interests her other than stars and visions.

Noah leaned back in the seat, setting his purchases down on the floor. He made sure they were mainly under his feet though, so no one would take them. Then again, he really didn't have to worry about that. Canting his head, he thought a bit. "I'd have to say Amortentia is my favorite potion."

He ran a hand through his hair and grinned slightly. "I know, it's probably weird to have a love potion as your favorite, but it's the complexity that draws me. It is very difficult to make, not to mention that it can have bad and good affects. The good obviously being the smell you draw from it. The bad is the dosing of the person of course. It's a very diverse potion." He nodded. "Do you have a favorite?"

Sofia smiled when he talked about the Amortentia potion, "I had to make that potion for one of my finals, and I hated it. Its like old hat now. The first time I made it, I smelled sweaty feet and cut grass I thought I was going to die." Sofia had to laugh at the thought.

Sofia had to think about the different potions that she had made over the years, and she loved the simple everyday potions she could make in her sleep, "I would have to say Wolfsbane, not only complex, but challenging to the mind."

Sofia always liked a good challenge.

Noah laughed. "I think when I made mine, I smelled mint, roses, and something else. Chocolate maybe?" He shrugged a bit and grinned. "Needless to say, my senses were on overload with the best smells. I think I near passed out over my cauldron because of it." He explained, shaking his head. "Definitely don't want to dabble with that stuff again."

He ran a hand through his hair again. A habit of his that he couldn't get rid of, and likely would never get rid of. "Wolfsbane huh? It is a bit of a challenge to make, but I'm adept at making it. Had to be to get my master's really. Ya never know when the school might have another werewolf on the grounds after all." He said grinning. "You sure do pick a hard potion to like the best."

Sofia smiled, "Trust me I would have loved to have a better smelling one myself." Sofia remembered she thought she was going to die at the smell, she was sure she had done something wrong.

Sofia had to shrug when he asked her about choosing a hard potion to like the best, "I guess with my life style I have always loved a challenge and this just gives me one more thing. But of course now I can pretty much make it in my sleep."

Sofia took a couple more sips of her drink, "Well if you ever need help stocking the medical stores look me up and I will be glad to help."

Sofia loved to brew, that was why she got her master title.

Noah nodded to her, mentally filing away her helpfulness. He lifted the drink up to his lips and took a few drinks before setting it down again. "I'll be sure to do that," he finally said, smiling at her. "I'm sure that the stores I have with all the ingredients will run low eventually. I'll probably need a little help getting everything that is needed by the time it is required for classes if that happens."

He scratched his eyebrow and grinned slightly. "You say that you've always loved challenges? Lemme hear of a time you were challenged once. Preferably when you were able to complete said challenge, but I don't mind. It sounds like you have had a couple of challenges before, no?"

Sofia was enjoying her conversation with Noah, it was very educational and she new given time they could possible be very good friends and colleges.

Taking a few drinks of her drink she smiled, "Of course anything you need to look me up, or ask for Ali my house elf and she will get me."

When he was talking about challenging things Sofia was trying hard to think about the things that challenge her the most,

"Well to be honest, the most challenging things that I have to face is my visions. I have to decide what to do with the information, and that is the hardest part. I have learned that you cannot always change the future even though you try."

Sofia was trying to think of something else not related to her visions, "I remember a time during my apprenticeship I had to work closely with a couple of teenage boys who thought they were smarter than me and told me that if I was so smart I would be able to figure out how to shave 5 mins brewing time off of a pepper-up potion, and I actually shaved 7." Sofia smiled, she was very proud of herself for that move.